Can Big Business Cash In On Virtual Worlds?

by Alex Roan on Jun 22, 2015

$83,869,981 That is a big number. And surprisingly it is the amount of money that Chris Robert's computer game 'Star Citizen' has raised through crowd funding. You can pledge and buy the game for as little as $54, however if you are really into it and you have the money you can also buy 'The Completionist' digital package for $18,000. What do you get for $18,000 - access to the game and pretty much all the spaceships created for the game to date. So that is $18,000 for digital spaceships in a game not yet completed. Note - you can also get all the spaceships just through playing the game.

I'm a Nintendo generation guy, so I have played my fair share of games, even so, my mind boggles at the money that Star Citizen has generated. Let's look at another game famed for it's loyal following and complex economic system; Eve Online, another space sim.

Forbes wrote an article in 2014 explaining how a large spacebattle in game could cost players $300,000 in real money. I checked out Eve in the past and it is complex, it could be considered an economic similutor, people make money mining, fighting, trading, leading etc. In another recently launched game called city skylines; a city simulator, a former employee of a competitor is selling models of buildings etc. via a patreon page (crowdfunding website).

This shows a continuing trend in human culture to value virtual assets in virtual worlds. I am interested in whether big business will be able to play in this market place in the future. At the moment most of these virtual worlds are 'closed'. That is the virtual assets are all built by the owner of the game and the owner of the game controls the release, pricing etc. However in the example of city skylines given above a freelance designer is able to produce and sell models via his patreon page.

As virtual worlds become bigger and more immersive, will they open up to allow real world companies to provide services to players? A few ideas:

• Star citizen will sell insurance for the ships that players purchase, why not allow large insurance companies to provide the virtual insurance, surely they can use their actuarial knowledge in a virtual world.
• Some games have commodities e.g. mining, or manufacturing and markets/auction houses. These exists in space sims and fantasy massively multiplayer online games. Could investment banks play in these worlds offering financial products based on commodities?
• If the right technology is developed to easily customise avatars, could hair dressers and make up artists provide personal styling for individual customers.
• The proof is out there that people are willing to spend significant amounts of money in virtual worlds. How can real world business get a peice of the pie?

Note: the photo in this article was taken in Akihabara in Tokyo; a traditional centre of gaming culture.