A new economy has risen from the ashes of the global pandemic. The only barrier to entry and success in this land of opportunity is technical savvy, grit, and intellect. Any person, young or old, can access lucrative opportunities and viable supplemental income opportunities from this new system, known as the ‘virtual economy’.
As per JPMorgan Chase Institute data, only 4% of people made an income from virtual platforms in the period between 2012 and 2015. However, the rise of virtual economy platforms has led to the emergence of independent workers as more people seek alternative sources of income. They have chosen an unconventional approach by investing their time in online platforms.
Gaming at the heart of the virtual economy
The gaming industry is one of the fastest-growing virtual economy sectors. It comprises mobile, PC, and console games and the upcoming blockchain-based games sector. Games such as Minecraft, Fallout, which can be easily obtained on Gamecamp, and virtual worlds such as Decentraland have attracted over 2.5 billion people to the virtual world.
Consequently, the video game industry generated $177.8 billion in revenue in 2020. Its income will cross the $200 billion level by 2023. The video game industry has grown larger than the glamorous global film industry.
It has taken over the entertainment industry, dwarfing the revenues of the music and film sectors. The music industry had a retail value of $5.7 billion in while the global box office industry had a $12 billion revenue in 2020.
Games have become the heart of the virtual economy, with games such as Grand Theft Auto minting $800 million in sales in a day, while its production only cost $266 million. You can attribute the gaming industry’s ascendance to its ability to nip piracy in the bud and ease of access.
Games as online communities
On top of that, massively multiplayer online role-playing games such as Old School RuneScape or World of Warcraft have immense support from their online communities. Players that enter virtual worlds with top-quality mobile game art, enjoy social gaming, forming deep relationships with each other, and building a persistent identity.
These games operate as a service and community rather than a product. The gaming industry is not only engaging, but it has an impressive economic system. Music and film hinge their success on full immersion experiences, such as festivals, concerts, and cinemas. These social experiences are not sticky.
Hollywood has failed to leverage the social viewing experience to its advantage as a revenue generation tactic. Games thrive on massive multiplayer teams, raids, and tournaments. More so, the gaming industry has a vast supportive network of third-party service providers and in-game assets marketplaces.
As an illustration, players looking to buy or sell WoW Classic SoM Gold can do so on Eldorado.gg. Eldorado is a secure marketplace that keeps scammers and fraudulent practices off the transaction process via its formidable TradeShield feature. Eldorado further lowers the barrier of entry and success to the gaming world, boosting the growth of the virtual economy.
