Infrastructure Projects Are Becoming Real! It's META Time

New job creation will be taking place inside the metaverse in 2022, from developers working on gaming and NFT transactions for luxury brands and social media platforms to gamers monetizing their skills.

The venture capital community will continue to make investments that bridge the world of gaming and the metaverse economy. A new global infrastructure based on massive computing power needs should support leading chipmakers like Nvidia and Intel.

Avery Akkineni says 2022′s will be “Web 3.0.”

As president of VaynerNFT, Akkineni spends much of her time consulting with brands looking to get a piece of the metaverse action.The notion of a “corporate metaverse strategy” is new — VaynerNFT itself was founded less than 6 months ago — but it’s building momentum.

The company’s first client was Budweiser, and Akkineni foresees plenty of other major brands following its lead. In fact, the baseline, widely agreed-upon prediction for 2022: more major brands will get involved in Web3 projects.

“2022 will be the year major brands embrace NFTs in a big way,” says Lin Dai, CEO of music NFT platform OneOf. The Quincy Jones-backed start-up is behind the near $1 million auctions for an NFT of a never-before-heard Whitney Houston song, and has collaborated with The Recording Academy.

But this year, digital assets built on the blockchain will likely continue to expand well beyond the music and art industries.

Luxury fashion brand Balenciaga has already teamed up with Fortnite to deliver to users designer “skins” to wear inside the game.Gucci has done the same with Roblox, and Louis Vuitton and Ralph Lauren have launched their own Roblox experiences.

Brian Trunzo, metaverse Lead at Polygon Studios, which focuses on gaming, NFTs, and Web3 efforts linked to the polygon digital currency and ethereum blockchain network, says nimble, smart streetwear brands are already in the space as well.

“The players have finally taken the field, and the game is about to truly start,” Trunzo said.

Akkineni says that the focus for brands, at least at this point, isn’t to win but simply to get involved. So far, brand engagement with blockchain projects has been about building community and staying relevant.

The Nike and Adidas NFT drops, for example, generated more buzz than cash, but they lent legitimacy to a still-nascent space.

More direct commercialization strategies could become. Cathy Hackl, CEO, and chief metaverse officer for the Futures Intelligence Group, a metaverse consultant.

“When someone sells their Birkin bag on The RealReal, Hermes does not see a cut of that. But through blockchain and NFTs, they are eventually going to get a cut of the secondary market,” Hackl said.

There Will Be More Jobs In The Metaverse

As more companies seek a foothold in the digital universe, hiring opportunities for candidates comfortable with Web3 will grow. Hackl says her title may become more common.

“Even if you look at job boards, you’re increasingly seeing demand for Solidity developers and Discord managers,” Akkineni said.

Solidity is a computer language used in conjunction with the ethereum blockchain to build and deploy smart contracts. Discord is a social media platform favored by many gamers and the crypto community.

Big brands will naturally help drive Web3 job creation, but a new kind of employment might take center stage.

The play-to-earn gaming model gained popularity in the Philippines with Axie Infinity four years ago, and now the game has over 1.8 million daily active users, some reporting an income of about $10 a day, and up to $1,000-$2,000 a month from solely playing the game.

“It’s kind of like a universal basic income experiment mixed with an e-sport,” says Vance Spencer, a DeFi venture capitalist and co-founder of Framework Ventures.

Gaming and metaverse crossover investments grow

There has been controversy within the gaming world about virtual monetization, but the math that supports more investments linking the metaverse to gaming is simple, according to Spencer.

Gaming is the biggest segment of the entertainment industry, with nearly 3 billion regular participants. Sky Mavis, Axie Infinity’s developer, was the first to monetize NFTs in a gaming environment, but it won’t be the last.

Investors are recognizing the potential in the crypto-gaming crossover. In October, Sky Mavis raised $152 million from the likes of Andreessen Horowitz and Mark Cuban.

Developers looking to do the same are likely to be successful, although, for Spencer, the most upside is for developers making AAA-quality games that can be played on PC, like Take-Two Interactive’s Grand Theft Auto and EA’s FIFA.

Roblox, though, and even Minecraft, have found substantial success despite not being AAA games.