What's all the hype about Metaverse? According to a Precedence Research report, the metaverse market was worth $40 billion and will reach 1,607.12 billion USD by 2030. From 2022 to 2030, it will grow by 50.74%.

For those unfamiliar with the Metaverse, it combines real and virtual worlds. It's a superset of virtual ecosystems where characters enter the virtual world, like in sci-fi movies. Virtual offices are an example. The employee-owned avatar will sit in digital office rooms and conference halls, attend official meetings, and make all the necessary gestures for lifelike office interaction in Metaverse. The Metaverse can benefit social interactions like virtual casual parties, game meetups, club gatherings, and more.

That's how engaging and immersive a metaverse can be, enabling all virtual interactions. What does it take to build a metaverse? How much time and money does it take? Without further ado, let's understand the Metaverse and how much it costs to improve it.

What do you understand by a metaverse?

Metaverse is an interactive virtual space that merges enhanced virtual and digital realms. Video-based social interaction has replaced text-based messaging in the Metaverse due to the Internet's growth. We're entering a metaverse-based colonial era. This virtual world aims to provide an immersive, cutting-edge online interface that lets us participate in various activities rather than just watching them.


A metaverse is a combinatorial invention because it uses multiple technologies and trends. Augmented reality (AR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs), an AR cloud, adaptable work methods, the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G, and spatial technologies contribute to the metaverse ecosystem.
Consider a metaverse as the next step in the Internet's evolution from online communities and bulletin boards. These became shared virtual sites. The Metaverse is generating a lot of buzzes, mostly from tech companies claiming to be metaverse companies or building metaverses to enhance people's physical and digital worlds. Merging activities from different metaverses into one is also possible.
Now that we know what a metaverse is, let's briefly discuss how blockchain integration decentralizes it.

What role does blockchain play in a metaverse?

If the Metaverse is to be decentralized or open, blockchain must be its backbone. The Metaverse will be multi-layered and use several technologies. Blockchain technology addresses digital proof of ownership, collectability of digital assets (like NFTs), governance, crypto value transfer, interoperability, and more to create a decentralized metaverse.

AR or XR users can enter the Metaverse's interconnected virtual worlds. Multiverse games are an example. Users now need a trustworthy currency to fuel their metaverse actions as they spend more time in metaverse game worlds, travel across virtual spaces, own digital identities and in-game assets, and play games. Users need a distributed ledger system and smart contracts to automate and record transactions. Because of their security, cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology are ideal for metaverse needs.

3D objects and virtual places make up the Metaverse. Therefore, tailored interoperable blockchains are crucial to a fully decentralized metaverse's efficiency. :

Decentralized data transmission for permanent, real-time connections is made possible by a high-bandwidth decentralized network of computers that hosts the Metaverse.
Text, photos, music, video, 3D landscapes, objects, sequences, and vectors require public and interoperable media standards to enable 3D applications.
Open programming language standards include HTML, JavaScript, WebXR, WebAssembly, WebGPU Shader Language, and others.
Extended Reality (XR) devices include smart glasses, Omni treadmills, haptic gloves, VR headsets, industrial cameras, and scanning sensors.
Censorship-proof, permissionless, and transparent transactions are possible with blockchain and smart contracts.
High computational capacity for data processing, AI, projection, etc.
Three-dimensional ecosystem simulations.
Cryptocurrency and fiat money payment gateways.

What are the benefits of a metaverse?

More people are networking and communicating online using virtual communities and video and web conferencing. In a 3-D immersive world, the Metaverse offers real-world capabilities to enhance their digital experience. Metaverse benefits include:

Problems with remote work: Metaverse can solve all remote work issues. It lets managers interact with workers' avatars, read their nonverbal cues, and simulate in-person interactions. The company can prevent time theft and goldbrick by managing staff in a virtual office.

Benefit monetization: The Metaverse is attracting attention. Some are programming experts trying to use the ecosystem to build business-specific products, while others want to make money. Fortunately, the Metaverse meets both parties needs. Anyone can create open-source metaverse projects. Anyone can become a regular ecosystem user and produce and trade NFTs for money.

Touring virtually: Traveling is fun, but not everyone can go to their dream destinations. The Metaverse lets people see those places effectively. A first-person virtual environment is created using Metaverse, AR, and VR.

Online gaming is immersive: Decentralized metaverse games support play-to-earn gaming with integrated economic mechanisms. NFTs let players buy, sell, and trade in-game assets. Avatars exploring the vast virtual universe also appeal to gamers.

What are the technical elements of a decentralized Metaverse?

VR and AR are often used to describe the Metaverse. Beyond these two fundamental technologies, metaverse development continues. Axie Infinity and Decentraland use common technologies to connect the physical and virtual worlds.
One metaverse technology is blockchain. Blockchain technology can provide a decentralized infrastructure and help create compelling use cases for metaverse projects in Web3, the next phase of the Internet. Decentralized metaverse technology:

Decentralized storage database
Data security with authorization keys
Decentralized ecosystem
Smart contracts
Interoperable environment
Non-fungible tokens
Cryptocurrencies
Self-identity authentication
Frontend and backend development
AR and VR technologies
Artificial Intelligence development
3D reconstruction
Internet of things

After reviewing the basics of a decentralized metaverse, let's estimate its development cost.

How much does it cost to develop a metaverse virtual world?

Companies are touting Metaverse's benefits. They are willing to spend on digitally enhanced immersive environments to keep up with industry trends and effectively promote their products and services.
Every firm should understand the Metaverse's role in business ecosystems, users, and our physical and digital worlds, regardless of industry.

To estimate a generalized metaverse development cost, one must understand metaverse development's technological components. The platform's features and Metaverse needs determine this cost. Decentraland, Axie Infinity, STARL, and Metavesal have different development costs due to their functionality and utility.
A basic blockchain-based metaverse ecosystem requires the following:
Decentralized database
3-4 full-stack developers well-versed in React.js and Node.js
1 UI/UX developer
1 UNITY/UNREAL/CRYENGINE developer
3 3D modellers(Blender, Max3DS developer)
1 decentralized wallet developer
One decentralized dApp developer.
The generalized cost components are enough to build a fully decentralized metaverse with 5 virtual rooms and 20 visitors for 15-20k/month. Metaverse features and user needs affect cost estimation.
Conclusion

Metaverse evolution still needs to be fulfilled. Tech professionals evaluate methods and technologies to create more interesting and useful metaverse initiatives.
Live metaverse projects include Axie Infinity, Sandbox, and Decentraland. Blockchain, cryptography, and NFTs are used to make these products.

Leading tech futurists predict that several new technologies will empower the Metaverse, creating many practical use cases that will increase its real-world functionality. Thus, the metaverse development cost will change as people use it in their businesses and lives.