Gamefam report: Importance of virtual merchandise underlined

While 2022 proved to be a strong year for the virtual realm and its definitive metaverse platforms, the existence of such digital worlds were brought into question at the beginning of the year when the sector’s biggest players – namely Meta and Microsoft – began initiating U-turns in their adoption of the technology.

Despite this, open-world games like Roblox and Fortnite continued to remain influential, as evidenced in the financial results of metaverse game developer Gamefam, which reported its “most successful year yet” for FY23 in its first ‘State of Brands in Metaverse Gaming’ report.

The firm saw a 35 percent year-on-year revenue increase, bringing it to 16 consecutive quarters of such growth, while it also upped its owned and operated network to 30 games, ultimately surpassing 29 billion gameplay sessions to date.

Alongside a series of achievements in the company’s portfolio, including the launch of Barbie DreamHouse Tycoon and Roblox games for the NFL, this year confirmed the importance of virtual merchandise for Gamefam, with the likes of Hugo Boss’ NFL hoodies and looks for digital concerts by Saweetie and Bebe Rexha being among the highlights.

In total, Gamefam sold more than 2.3 million virtual merchandise items throughout the year, a 100 percent increase YoY, and a proven means of pushing brand exposure and fan engagement on these platforms.

While hesitancy surrounding the future of the metaverse in 2024 continues, Gamefam said that its expectations actually remained “even higher for the year ahead”.

In a release, the company added: “As the industry moves beyond the proving out phase and brands understand the potential of marketing in the metaverse, Gamefam expects to see greater investment from major brand names and projects that new metaverse gaming platforms will begin to gain momentum.”