Roblox, Sony, NVIDIA's Metaverse Race: Who Wins, Who Loses?

The Metaverse in Gaming expected to experience gain of more than 15x. From 2025 to 2032, it will undergo an unbelievable 18% CAGR, jumping from $12 billion to a stunning $40 billion. This is not simply the domain of gaming, but rather the development of new economies, means of socialisation and digital identity. Who benefits? At what cost? That is the question that we should be asking.

NFT Royalties: Fair or Fleecing?

Let's talk NFT royalties. These digital payouts need to be one of the more transformational avenues for creators to earn a living wage through their artistic endeavors in the metaverse. Is Roblox, Sony and NVIDIA really doing right by the creators and developers powering their platforms? Or are they quietly stacking the deck in their favor?

Here’s the thing—the devil’s in the details. A transparent, decentralized system of NFT royalties would be the independent creative’s path to innovation and creation. A closed, proprietary system would turn the metaverse into just another walled garden. In this situation, all the benefits would go only to the large players. We’ve witnessed this dynamic with app stores and streaming services. Are we doomed to repeat the cycle?

Consider this: if a small indie developer in South Asia creates a wildly popular game asset and sells it as an NFT within Roblox, what percentage of the secondary market sales actually makes it back to them? Is this support enough to keep them going? Or, as we fear, are they just getting the scraps from the multi-billion dollar corporation’s table?

South Asia: Next Gold Rush or Digital Colony?

Asia-Pacific is the world’s largest and fastest-growing region for metaverse gaming. That’s not just a huge opportunity for developers but gamers coming out of South Asia. Let's be brutally honest: are these markets being equipped to truly thrive in this new digital landscape, or are they simply being primed for exploitation?

Here's the unexpected connection: the metaverse, with its complex financial instruments and digital assets, is essentially a giant, unregulated financial market. And how many South Asians can read the financial literacy required to traverse this growing space safely?

We’re referring to a place where the basic banking services most Americans take for granted are still out of reach for too many. Throwing NFTs and crypto into the mix without sufficient education is reckless. It’s as dangerous as giving a loaded gun to a person who’s never used a gun in their life. It's a recipe for disaster. As the metaverse expands across South Asia, these inequalities will only deepen without a focus on financial literacy. If we want to bridge the STRIDE gap, education has to be as accessible as the games it’s found within. If not, who wins?

Level Playing Field or Land Grab?

Companies like Roblox, Sony, and NVIDIA have the money to create some pretty amazing metaverse experiences. Are they making a fair, competitive environment for the little guys – the smaller developers? Or are they employing their market power to crush competition and crowd out creative new concepts?

In practice, smaller developers do not have the marketing budget or technical know-how to go up against the big guys. Otherwise, they would be obliged to agree to grievous terms and conditions just to have their games featured on these platforms. That’s a shame because it may simultaneously kill some real creativity and limit the range of different kinds of experiences players could have.

The metaverse is most exciting when it’s a place where anyone who can come up with an interesting idea can create something wonderful. If the big players monopolize all the access and resources, it will quickly turn into a monoculture. Besides, who wants to live in a monoculture?

That means:

• Transparent NFT Royalties: Clear, fair, and decentralized systems that reward creators for their contributions.
• Financial Literacy Programs: Accessible education and training to empower people in South Asia and other emerging markets.
• Open Standards and Interoperability: Allowing users to move seamlessly between different metaverse platforms and take their digital assets with them.
• Support for Independent Developers: Providing funding, resources, and mentorship to help smaller developers compete.

If we can pull this off, the metaverse will be a force for tremendous good. Perhaps most importantly, it can provide a gateway to new choices for economic empowerment, strengthen social fabric, and ignite creative expression. If we allow the incumbents to monopolize their control, they’ll continue to prey on our most vulnerable communities. Without careful consideration, this can easily become another wealth and surveillance discrimination tool.

The choice is ours. Who will you choose to support?