Members of the European Commission claim that Metaverse technologies should be developed as they are the future. Besides, the development of this sphere can create more than 860,000 new jobs in Europe within several years.
Representatives of the European Commission stated that the development and implementation of Metaverse technologies can not only change ways of interaction between citizens but also positively affect the rate of employment in the EU.
According to the officials, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) will provide jobs for more than 860,000 European Union citizens by 2025. They estimated that the rapid global development of Metaverse technologies could create over 2.4 million jobs worldwide in the next two years.
The officials also noted that activity in the region’s Metaverse sector is currently focused on creating gaming space and entertainment projects. China, Hong Kong, South Korea, and the U.S., which are considered the industry leaders, are building Metaverse-based apps for commerce, manufacturing, education, and even healthcare. Members of the European Commission stress that Europe currently has no technology giants capable of making a significant contribution to the development of industrial technologies in virtual space.
The European Commission also presented a document in which the officials described a strategy for virtual worlds. This initiative is designed to make the EU a world leader not only in the Metaverse space but also in the next stage of the global network evolution called Web 4.0. They believe that Metaverse technologies are key drivers of the technological transition to Web 4.0 that will be based on the ability to interact with the virtual environment in real time.
The main points of the EU strategy for this initiative are:
- Raising awareness, access to reliable information, and building a talent pool of specialists for virtual worlds.
- Supporting the development of a European Web 4.0 industrial ecosystem and virtual worlds to overcome fragmentation.
- Supporting the use of virtual worlds for social progress and public services.
- Forming open virtual spaces with the possibility of interoperability between them, preventing the dominance of a few large players, and promoting standards in line with European values and vision.
According to experts’ estimates, the Metaverse market volume may reach $50 billion by 2026, as about 93% of consumers and over 70% of brand representatives are ready to use virtual space.
