The extended reality (XR) market, which had been quiet for a while, has ignited. This is because Apple unveiled the headset ‘Vision Pro’ that allows users to enjoy XR, increasing the potential for market expansion. In South Korea, the gaming industry has welcomed this development.
XR is a concept that encompasses virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR). The VR and AR markets saw a brief surge in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, but have been declining due to expensive devices and a lack of content.
However, the situation changed as Apple entered this market. The game platform ‘Apple Arcade’ on Vision Pro hosts over 100 games, solidifying its position as a platform. Samsung is also collaborating with Qualcomm and Google to develop XR headsets, and the XR market is expected to continue growing.
Domestic game companies have become busy. Several companies invested in related technologies or developed and released games when the VR market grew a few years ago. As the XR market expands, companies with a large portfolio of related content will inevitably have a competitive edge.
Smilegate will release the VR game ‘Crossfire: Sierra Squad’ in August. Sierra Squad is the first attempt to expand the game ‘Crossfire,’ played by over 1 billion people worldwide, into VR. It received positive reviews during a demonstration at ‘GDC 2023 (Game Developers Conference)’ held in the U.S. last March.
Com2us is strengthening its competitiveness through its VR game subsidiary Com2us Roca. Recently, it secured 6 billion KRW in investment through venture capital and others. Com2us Roca’s VR game ‘Dark Sword’ also achieved first place in the Chinese market.
Netmarble also holds strengths in the XR market. Through its subsidiary Netmarble F&C, Netmarble is conducting metaverse-related business and possesses numerous XR-related technologies. It also has a history of releasing games that combine VR and AR. Additionally, companies like Nexon and NCSoft also hold XR-related technologies, making it highly likely they will develop related games in the future.
Meanwhile, overseas, the related market is rapidly growing, especially in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia plans to invest 64 billion USD (about 82 trillion KRW) in the entertainment sector of the mega project Neom City, a new city being built that is 44 times the size of Seoul. It is known that a significant portion of this investment will be in VR and AR. Saudi Arabia has already invested 400 million USD (about 512 billion KRW) in VR technology by supporting the VR goggle specialist company ‘Magic Leap.’
Global accounting and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) forecasts that the VR and AR industry market size will grow from 358 billion USD (about 458 trillion KRW) next year to 1.5 trillion USD (1,922 trillion KRW) by 2030.
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