Metaverse is the next big thing, which is much-hyped among game developers at the moment.
Even though the use case of the metaverse is multifold, the gaming industry has so much scope for development in the future when compared to other industries.
Many game developers consider the metaverse as the future of the gaming industry. Besides that, iconic brands like Microsoft, Facebook, and Epic Games have invested billions of dollars to build technologies and infrastructures that support the metaverse.
Furthermore, McKinsey & Company conducted a survey and found that the metaverse might grow up to $5 trillion by 2030, and the gaming industry alone will have a market impact of $108 billion to $125 billion by the year 2030.
Just when you think about making metaverse games, you will eventually stumble upon the game development budget. The cost to develop a metaverse game can range anywhere from $50,000 to $1,000,000. Multiple factors influence the metaverse game development cost starting from the type of game to game testing.
Here, we have listed some of the important factors that impact the metaverse game development cost.
Metaverse is the three-dimensional virtual space that blends the physical and virtual worlds providing an immersive and interactive experience to the users. It is a virtual space where people come to socialize, play, earn, and hang out.
In other words, the metaverse can be defined as the iteration of the internet, which is accessed by people on various platforms like Fortnite, Minecraft, Decentraland, The Sandbox, and Earth2.
Metaverse is basically built upon four important elements such as content and experiences, platforms, infrastructure and hardware, and enablers (such as security, and payment). But despite that, we cannot truly put the metaverse into a box, as it is constantly changing and evolving. Some experts even feel that it will constrict its growth possibilities in the future.
Metaverse is constantly expanding and so are its features. Here are some of the important features of the metaverse
As mentioned earlier, there are a few important factors that impact the metaverse game development cost. We have detailed them below.
Technology and infrastructure are one of the building blocks of the metaverse. As new innovative and cutting-edge technologies come into play, the metaverse keeps expanding. To enable these technologies, the game developers need to optimize the game and check for device and platform compatibility, input methods, and device-specific features. Apart from that, testing and quality assurance are done to ensure that the software and hardware configurations are functioning properly. The implementation of these cutting-edge technologies in a game will cost a lot more along with the game development cost.
Here, are the tech stacks in metaverse game development.
Blockchain offers a decentralized metaverse. As Web 3.0 is decentralized web, it is important that the metaverse platforms are decentralized platforms, in order for it to sustain. Hence, the metaverse uses blockchain technology. It also provides various features like NFTs, smart contracts, crypto, and user security.
Cryptocurrency is gaining attention day by day. NFTs, and Ethereum, are some of the famous cryptocurrencies used for transactions in games right now. Ethereum charges a small charge called a gas fee to regulate crypto transactions. The gas fee helps to improve security and ensure faster transactions.
AR/VR technologies help players to gain access to the metaverse and ensure an immersive gaming experience for the players. Nowadays, replacing AR and VR technologies, MR (mixed reality) has been becoming popular in the reality landscape., This technology is expected to grow even more in the future.
3D reconstruction is one of the important technologies that is used in the metaverse to reconstruct life-like features in virtual space. To make this possible, high-performance game development tools, high-end graphic processing software, and game engines are required. Also, it takes more time and resources to build 3D models.
With the introduction of 5G, we were able to overcome many of the network and technical difficulties. High latency and low buffering were some of the network demands we were facing when working with Metaverse. We were able to overcome these with the use of 5G.
Edge computing is breaking the limitations of the computational hurdles that game developers were facing when making metaverse games for mobile devices. A mobile game development company can make immersive metaverse games with the help of advanced edge computing technologies. As they are high infrastructure technology, they need more cost and time to build them.
Hardware demands of simple Metaverse games in itself require high-end graphic processors and larger storage capacity. In order to have a very good gaming experience, you need a high-end processor of 6GB VRAM like NVIDIA RTX 3060 or AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT with i7/ i9 core OS and a storage capacity of 16GB RAM or higher.
High-end graphic processors help to render high-quality 3D graphics in the game. For that, you need to optimize the graphics for different hardware capabilities which will greatly impact the game development cost.
In addition to that, if the game integrates VR/AR headsets, the game needs to be optimized for that. It also needs to be checked for device and platform compatibility. Apart from that, in case haptic devices such as gloves, vests, or full-body suits are incorporated into the game, then the game needs to be optimized for sending sensory feedback.
These devices are not necessary features in a game, but they enhance the sense of immersion and help players to experience the metaverse to the fullest.
Cyber security is an important concern in the metaverse. As it contains personal information about people and they are lively participating in the virtual space, they might be subjected to cyber attacks like phishing attacks, impersonation, data theft, and identity theft. Hence, ensuring a safe and secure metaverse presence is one of the important factors you need to focus on when developing a metaverse game.
In order to ensure it, you need to implement certain cyber security measures which include secure transactions, data privacy, authentication, anti-cheat mechanisms, fraud prevention, security audits, and penetration testing. A certain percentage of game development costs is spent on preventing the users from facing any vulnerability. Besides that, legal compliance with the laws and regulations, adds to the cost of metaverse game development.
The type of the game largely influences the game development cost. We have divided the metaverse games into three types which are given below.
Independent games are developed by one or two to a few game developers. Most indie games do not have a huge budget. Indie games have less complicated features, simpler levels, and a basic virtual environment.
Hence, the Indie game’s cost range can be between $50,000 to $5,00,000.
Mid-scale games have nearly 50 to 100 game developers working to develop games. They have somewhat detailed game elements, immersive virtual space, high-quality assets, and more complicated game mechanics. They also have multiplayer functionality. They mostly make games in genres such as role-playing, action and adventure, and storytelling games.
The cost range for mid-scale metaverse games can be from $5,00,000 to $ 1 million.
AAA metaverse games are made by 100+ game developers. One of the popular metaverse franchises, Fortnite took nearly 700 employees to develop the game. These types of games have highly detailed virtual environments, complex physics, complicated game mechanics, and realistic graphics. It also comprises an expansive open world and massive multiplayer functionality.
The cost range for AAA games ranges from $1 million to tens of millions of dollars. In huge game development projects, the budget can extend up to 100 million dollars.
Game development cost is also influenced by the size of the team. Yet again, the size of the team depends on the type of game you want to make. AAA game demands the work of many developers whereas small indie games can be made with a few game developers.
In case, if there is a time constraint, then more game developers need to be employed to complete the game. The game developers might need to work extra hours to complete the project quicker, which will definitely cost more.
Here we have broken down the cost of metaverse game development.
Content Creation Cost: $25,000 to $2,00,000
Software Development Cost: $12,000 to $1,20,000
Hardware Infrastructure Development Cost: $15,000 – $1,50,000
Game Engines, Tools, and Platform Cost: $100,000 – $200,000
Staffing Cost: $50,000 – $500,000 (per year)
Server Development Cost: $5,000 – $15,000 (per month)
Legal and Compliance Cost: $5,000 – $100,000
The above given cost breakdown is an estimate of the metaverse development cost. The cost can be higher or lower than the mentioned cost.
Setting apart all the facts, the metaverse is still evolving. We cannot constrict the metaverse into a small sphere. Similar to the internet, metaverse has opened up the gate for so many possibilities for growth and development. In particular, the gaming sector has an open and broad scope for the metaverse in the future. It is not just a space for providing an immersive virtual experience but it is also becoming a platform for players who are interested in earning money by playing games.
To conclude, the metaverse game development cost ranges somewhere around $50,000 to $10,00,000. It basically differs based on the type of game and the size of the team. Apart from that, there are certain other factors like technology, infrastructure, hardware, and security that influence the game development cost.
To get an estimation of game development costs, reach out to Juego Studios. We are a leading metaverse game development company, specializing in making metaverse, NFT, blockchain, and AR/VR games. Our talented team of game artists, designers, programmers, animators, and testers collaborates to provide end-to-end game development services in a timely manner.
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