The gaming industry is entering a new dimension with the emergence of the metaverse, a shared, persistent, three-dimensional virtual realm where users interact with objects, the environment, and each other through digital representations of themselves or avatars. The metaverse has quickly become a first mover in this space, with gaming companies leading the way. An estimated 2.9 billion people played video games in 2021, and the industry saw a considerable boost in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The gaming industry is expected to continue to grow, with a compound annual growth rate of 15.6% from 2016 to 2021.
