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In 2021, after the outbreak of the metaverse and blockchain game field, it has begun to show some trend development directions, and this paper will briefly discuss the five development trends worth paying attention to.

1.Many consumers will start accepting blockchain games

Regardless aside growing pains, games like Axie Infinity have spawned a new wave of blockchain game development.These successes have transformed blockchain games from unproven concepts to the overlapping reality of other companies.While still receiving a backlash from some traditional gamers, even large AAA publishers like Ubisoft are involved in the blockchain game layout.In a recent earnings call, EA CEO Andrew Wilson went so far as to say that NFT would "play a big role in future games".

Based on previous gaming experience, the upcoming blockchain game will have more in-depth gameplay and high-fidelity graphics, potentially attracting more curious players into the ecosystem, especially those on-and-see.At the same time, big publishers' blockchain experiments are blurring the line between traditional games and blockchain games, which will also be the entry point for many players.

For gamers on the sidelines, the entry threshold is too high for many of the existing blockchain games, as any player who wants to start working in the Axie Infinity immediately has to pay hundreds of dollars in upfront fees.But these barriers will fall further in 2022 as developers are working to improving their first user experience for their blockchain games.

2.Investment and merger activities accelerated in 2022

The Metaverse is still in a very early stage, and its growth potential has attracted investor attention.Venture capital is flowing into the Metaverse market, with more investment happening every week.It is expected that the metaverse industry will receive greater investment in 2022, or even many direct acquisitions.Companies already active in the Metaverse will seek strategic acquisitions to consolidate their lead, also in line with consolidation trends in today's gaming market.

Meanwhile, M & A is one of the fastest ways for companies that lack Web 3.0 expertise to catch up with their competitors.Since the Metaverse is already an important part of the strategy of many large tech companies, many companies will choose mergers and acquisitions to complete the layout of new areas.

3.NFT will become a luxury and lifestyle brand

NFT collections such as Bored Ape Yacht Club are already popular among celebrity circles, and these celebrities are eager to present their expensive NFT collections to a broad following.Currently, the social media celebrities with Bored Ape NFT include: Snoop Dogg (67.2 million Instagram followers), Post Malone (22.4 million Instagram followers), and Logan Paul (21.9 million Instagram followers).Jimmy Kimmel and Paris Hilton also recently showed off their Bored Ape NFT collection on Jimmy Kimmel Live, a leading US talk show.Similar to the traditional luxury fashion market, the exposure from celebrities can increase the consumer demand for NFT among the rich people and the public, and the scarce NFT will gradually become a status symbol of the wider public.

In addition, social media platforms are also actively embracing the technology.For example, Twitter Blue subscribers can now display their collection of NFT in their profile.The move is logical because Twitter itself is the platform of choice for many cryptocurrencies and NFT enthusiasts.Twitter can profit from these fans, while presenting the NFT to a wider audience.

4.Fashion brands will be the early winners of the metaverse boom

Clothing brands played a huge role in the early stages of shaping digital identity.Digital expression through the identity avatar is an important part of the player's virtual identity.Brand skin is not really new, but with the continuous development of the virtual world, fashion brands are the easiest way to grasp this trend.Fashion attracts many consumers in the real world and transforms it well into the digital world.

Luxury fashion brand Balenciaga has partnered with Fortnite to launch its digital skin and physical clothing line.While real-world clothing are out of reach for most fans, Balenciaga's digital Fortnite cosmetics are a fraction of the real cost.Thus, Balenciaga can reach and profit from a wider audience through the metaverse, while keeping the brand exclusive in the real world.The company also benefited from early connections with a large number of young gamers, some of whom one day get into the real-world luxury market.

Nike also recognized the opportunity, and in December 2021, Nike acquired RTFKT, an NFT manufacturer focused on digital sneakers.Similarly, Adidas has partnered with Bored Ape Yacht Club, and created its own custom NFT in Adidas clothing, and even invested in virtual land in the virtual world.

5.Meta-growth and FOMO sentiment will encourage brands to buy virtual real estate

Brick-and-mortar retail stores are struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic and brands are expensive to maintain, while virtual land allows traditional companies to build interactive experiences for consumers in the virtual world.Virtual land in evolving metaCosmos such as Decentraland and The Sandbox can offer attractive and cheaper alternatives for brands that are reevaluating their physical footprint.These virtual plots can serve as activity venues, or provide a highly realistic virtual shopping experience for real-world goods.

Moreover, individual plots in the metaverse may cover more customer share than the physical locations of most entities.To this end, early metasmos such as Decentraland and The Sandbox attracted major investors looking to build virtual shopping malls: Tokens.Subsidiary Metaverse Group com bought digital assets in the Decentraland downtown fashion district for $2.4 million; virtual real estate developer Republic Realm bought a land in The Sandbox for $4.3 million to build a virtual shopping mall called Metajuku, a digital counterpart of famous Tokyo Harajuku; Adidas also bought the Sandbox lots to fill brand content and user experience...

In 2022, it is expected to see more brands getting involved in virtual real estate.After all, some of the world's largest tech companies are laying out devices such as Metacverse and VR, and the virtual property brand gold rush is just beginning.

*The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of SparkDAO. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.