Meta’s ad revenue soars in Q3, yet costly data center investments and metaverse losses weigh on future profitability.

Roblox could kick down the door to an in-game advertising boom: The gaming and metaverse platform is deepening ties to the ad industry and hiring for ad tech roles.

Metaverse set to grow to $54.5 billion by 2028: Meta's one of many believers in the category.

Some stability will finally emerge in Asia-Pacific’s retail sector after several years of disruption from the pandemic. But the market and businesses will be unsettled, beset by a new wave of technological disruption from AI, the metaverse, and more.

Metaverse hype may have died down, but tech companies are still investing in VR. And a crop of new devices will continue to expand audiences—albeit slowly.

At the same time, Walmart is deepening its bet on AR and the metaverse, as it tries to reach new generations of consumers and reduce friction when shopping online.

Updates to Horizon Worlds and fresh immersive experiences could point toward potential metaverse applications. We expect AI-powered developer tools that enable creators to use generative AI for crafting AR filters, experiences, and other applications within Meta's ecosystem.

Founder-led projects still matter: The existence of Orion, which is still in a very early prototype stage and likely years away from production, could be credited to CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s stubbornness of vision and the billions of dollars spent developing metaverse technologies.

The news: Roblox announced Q3 earnings that soared past expectations, reversing the narrative of a difficult month for the gaming and metaverse company. By the numbers:. Revenues: $919 million, up 29%. Bookings, the company’s primary metric, were up 34% at $1.13 billion. Daily Active Users (DAU): 88.9 million, up 27% YoY. Hours engaged reached 20.7 billion, up 29% YoY.

Walmart, for example, launched two metaverse experiences on the platform in September 2022. Walmart was also the first merchant to sell physical items on Roblox with its user-generated content (UGC) creator partners and later with e.l.f. Beauty. Our take: Having a large base makes Roblox an enticing platform to experiment with ecommerce.

Meta is in the middle of an industry transition: Meta remains the leader in AR/VR headset sales and has launched multiple generations of its Quest headsets that work as gaming devices and metaverse portals and are increasingly being pitched as productivity tools. In Q2 2024, Meta held 60.5% market share of the VR headset segment, per IDC.

Costs and expenses grew 14% YoY, including wider losses for metaverse segment Reality Labs. Headcount was up 9%, bringing its total to 72,404. Despite significant revenue gains, Meta shares were down 10% in pre-market trading, a sign that investors are anxious about slow user growth and rising business investments.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss what artificial general intelligence (AGI) is capable of, why everyone is rushing to create it, and how close we are to reaching it. "In Other News," we talk about 'Ready Player One' becoming a metaverse experience and how we will start controlling our smart homes. Tune in to the discussion with our analysts Jacob Bourne and Gadjo Sevilla.

Brand interest in video games is rising, especially with the buzz around the metaverse. This report will look at the different ways developers monetize video games, and which of those methods are the most useful for marketers.

Metaverse market set for rapid growth through 2028, despite setbacks. US game ad revenues growth slows. Roblox's new video ads take aim at the lucrative Gen Z market. Methodology: Data is from an April 2024 CivicScience study as cited in company blog. Surveys of US adults ages 18+ were conducted during April 1-10, 2024, with response counts ranging between 503-1,381.

Metaverse market set for rapid growth through 2028, despite setbacks. The increased sophistication of games will attract more brand dollars. US game ad revenues growth slows. US In-Game Ad Revenues Forecast 2024 (EMARKETER subscription required). Note: Data was provided to EMARKETER by Collage Group.

Is now really the time for that metaverse campaign? Playboy and the Care Bears seem to think so, economic outlook be darned.

Meta thinks users need stepping stones to the metaverse: Its Crayta announcement suggests many consumers need to be pushed along the “immersion continuum.”