Metaverse Platforms Infographic: Now Well Over Half a Billion Monthly Users!

Update, 10/26: Nic just confirmed to me that his official total is now 505 million monthly active users across all the metaverse platforms he's tracking. 

Here's a core slice of the Metaverse Universe chart just updated for Q4 2022, from longtime virtual world analyst Nic Mitham. (Click here for the full version from his analyst firm, Metaversed.) When I blogged his Q1 2022 chart, the total number of monthly active users (based on publicly available data) was just under 500 million. Now, counting  platforms which roughly fit the classic Snow Crash definition, it's over 505 million monthly active users. Those include:

• Roblox (202M MAU)
• Minecraft (174M MAU)
• Fortnite (81M MAU)
• Zepeto (22M MAU)
• Avakin Life (11M MAU)
• Rec Room (7M MAU)
• IMVU (7M MAU)
• VRChat (4.5M MAU)
• AltSpace VR (1M MAU)
• Second Life (1M MAU)

And these are just the prominent platform leaders, discounting many that are metaverse adjacent for one reason or another, nor Garena Free Fire, which is estimated to be enjoyed by 1 in 10 people on the entire planet earth.

Comments

[Grace]

Why is Second Life categorised as "browser virtual world"? It is not accessed through a web browser.

[Adeon]

It was a browser virtual world to be during that short period where someone made a Javascript powered Second Life renderer, before Linden shut it down because if it's locally rendered they can't charge a subscription to cloud render it instead.

Then everyone promptly forgot about it and thinks Cloud computing is the only way forward.

[Martin K.]

I believe that all flatscreen/pancake/non-VR virtual worlds are classified as "browser virtual worlds" in this chart. Probably because the non-VR virtual worlds using blockchain technology are typically browser-based (Decentraland etc.).

[slime rancher 2]

After a brief period of popularity as a Javascript-powered Second Life browser renderer, Linden pulled it down since they couldn't make money off of a subscription model for cloud rendering if it was available locally.

[Walid1]

before Linden shut it down because if it's locally rendered they can't charge a subscription to cloud render it instead.