The Rise Of The Multiverse Economies And Social Interactions In Video Games

Now ANYONE can build a business inside of a game.

In  2019 it became a trendy gaming-industry conversation to talk about the era of multiverses and video games, new social media and entertainment hubs.

Now, in 2020, this is reality and the industry is only expected to increase, including gamers spending billions this year alone.

It’s one thing to hypothesize and predict trends and quite another to be forward-thinking enough to have the ecosystem built and ready to go when the trend meets demand.

The very best companies are able to not only predict trends years in advance but create the tools, resources, and applications to be usable by consumers and help to bring the predictions to life.

Los Angeles based gaming tech company DMarket has already successfully launched this model and recently secured $6.6 million funding, solidifying its position as a leader in connecting the gaming ecosystem to the masses.

“There’s always a risk associated with dedicating resources to something you believe to be true but that which has not yet happened. In 2017, we started building a platform for in-game items trading, later transitioning in 2019 to DMarket Technology which is the ecosystem where game developers, players, influencers, and brands are able to co-create video game content securely,” according to DMarket CEO and founder Vlad Panchenko.

Video games such as Fortnite, Minecraft, and Roblox are the 'living' proof of the multiverse concept. The worlds their players live in are parallel virtual realities with their own rules and financial ecosystems.

Everything that defines our human existence is different in these virtual worlds, including laws and rules. Because of these nuanced gaming changes, an entire world is needed to help grow what is possible.

"Fortnite and DMarket are parts of a multiverse, and the experience doesn't have to be as immersive as Ready Player One because it still feels like a virtual world where I can hang out with my friends. Modern games are big, digital parties and DMarket enables personal identity, collecting and trading of digital items and virtual goods,''

said Trip Hawkins, the founder and first CEO of Electronic Arts, who recently joined DMarket as an independent board member.

"DMarket is making money today because gamers care about digital fashion, cosmetics, and personal image. I believe we're in a nextgen phase of social gaming, as best exemplified by Fortnite."

No longer is gaming simply for gaming and developers. It’s now breached the mainstream, attracting celebrities, luxury brands and other high profile brands who want to be part of the gaming industry's growth.

Those who want to participate in the gaming economy’s ability to monetize need to look for tools and mechanics that allow for the ability to:

• build digital in-game stores
• launch peer-to-peer items trading; and
• create user-generated content (this includes content partnerships with brands, celebrities, and influencers).

These three components are essential in allowing those outside the gaming industry to get integrated and have an opportunity to connect with the millions of gamers worldwide. 

While it may seem like an overwhelming undertaking to jump into the gaming ecosystem if you’re not a “gamer, ”companies like DMarket have already done the heavy lifting to make it an easy transition.

And, if you already happen to be a gamer familiar with the gaming landscapes, it’s an even faster opportunity to generate profit while continuing to play and have fun in different gaming multiverses. 

DMarket has the ability to take care of logistics that may seem overwhelming, like: paperwork, legal requirements and streaming the ability to provide payouts for several million users, including brands, game developers, influencers.

When asked how much a typical DMarket customer makes, Panchenko disclosed that some users make thousands per month (enough presumably to make a living from). Brands make millions of dollars. 

This technology allows for industries, like: fashion, design, music, movies to be part of the evolving gaming ecosystem.

We’ve seen more cross-channel promotional opportunities for luxury and gaming, including the 2018 partnership between Gucci and Sega that leverage both brands' iconic typeface in shoe form. 

Multiverse economy 

The time when players participate in multiple virtual worlds depending on their hobbies, social circle, or life approach is already here. People are spending their lifetime not just having fun and playing video games but also hanging out with their friends and colleagues, and attending music concerts inside of those games.

One of the latest examples is Travis Scott's 10-minute virtual concert, the game’s biggest event ever, according to Fortnite maker Epic Games. All told, including four replays spread across three days, 27.7 million unique gamers attended the digital gig 45.8 million times. 

The world will never be the same after COVID-19, and video games have already leveraged this opportunity to become one of the leading entertainment 'tools' during the lockdown. 

Trip Hawkins said that games always hold up well in a recession because they're less costly than many other forms of entertainment. "We cocoon at home in part to save money in a downturn, but with COVID-19 we also have the health dangers.

Finally, we would feel more lonely at home without digital media and we need to use it to maintain our social connections, " insists the EA founder. 

The lockdown has sped up the evolution of the multiverse economy and made brands, content creators, gamers, influencers, game developers and anyone interested in the gaming world think more about the potential source of income from the parallel virtual reality.

Those who are leveraging gaming such as Travis Scott or Louis Vuitton (the brand made a custom collection of skins for the League of Legends) are capitalizing their future today and in turn, are making hundreds of thousands of dollars that will evolve into nine zeros bills in the next 3-5 years. It's not only brands or influencers that get involved with gaming but creatives that are focused on content and already make thousands of dollars creating more fun for the community.