A New Turning Point for Metaverse Platforms: The Rapid Growth and Strategic Shift of the Enterprise Metaverse Market by 2026
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Explosive Growth of the Enterprise Metaverse Market
As of early 2026, the metaverse industry is undergoing a fundamental paradigm shift. After the initial metaverse craze centered on games and social platforms for individual consumers has subsided, enterprise metaverse solutions are emerging as a new growth driver. According to the latest report from global market research firm Gartner, the enterprise metaverse market size reached $27.8 billion in 2025, and it is projected to grow by 89% year-on-year to $52.5 billion in 2026.
The main factors behind this rapid growth include the establishment of remote work culture and companies’ pursuit of more immersive collaborative environments. The adoption of metaverse solutions combined with digital twin technology is accelerating, particularly in the manufacturing, construction, and education sectors. According to an analysis by U.S. consulting firm McKinsey, 73% of Fortune 500 companies plan to partially adopt metaverse-based work environments by the end of 2026, a significant increase from the 41% reported in early 2025.
A noteworthy trend is the active investment in the metaverse by Korean companies. According to a December 2025 report by the Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI), domestic conglomerates invested 1.24 trillion won in metaverse-related projects in 2025, with over 60% focused on developing enterprise solutions. SK Telecom (Seoul headquarters) expanded its ‘Jump VR’ platform for enterprise use, reporting sales of 3.7 billion won in the fourth quarter of 2025 alone, a 420% increase compared to the same period the previous year, exemplifying the explosive growth of the enterprise metaverse market.
U.S. companies are also fiercely competing in this market. Meta Platforms, headquartered in Menlo Park, California, officially entered the enterprise market by launching the ‘Workrooms Pro’ service at the end of 2025. This service was adopted by 2,100 companies in its first month, generating $32 million in monthly subscription revenue. Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, announced that it signed contracts with 147 multinational companies in the second half of 2025, providing a mixed reality work environment integrated with HoloLens through its ‘Mesh’ platform.
Technological Innovation and Intensified Platform Competition
The technological advancement of metaverse platforms is accelerating noticeably. Significant improvements have been made in real-time rendering performance and concurrent user handling capabilities. NVIDIA, based in Santa Clara, California, announced in December 2025 that its ‘RTX 5090’ GPU improved real-time ray tracing performance in metaverse environments by 340% compared to the previous generation. NVIDIA claims that workstations equipped with this GPU can support virtual meeting environments with up to 10,000 simultaneous users with latency under 15ms.
Naver, headquartered in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Korea, is attempting a differentiated approach with its ‘ZEPETO Business’ solution, an enterprise expansion of its ‘ZEPETO’ platform. This platform specializes in avatar-based communication and supports more natural non-verbal communication through AI-based real-time facial recognition and gesture mapping technology. Naver announced that as of the fourth quarter of 2025, 430 companies had adopted ZEPETO Business, with a monthly average usage fee of 85,000 won per user.
Advancements in game engine technology are also significantly contributing to the quality improvement of metaverse platforms. Unity Software, based in San Francisco, California, released version ‘Unity 2025.3’ in September 2025, significantly enhancing cloud-based real-time collaboration features. The new version allows up to 500 users to work simultaneously in a single virtual space, with each user’s work synchronized in real-time. Unity reported that its enterprise solution sales utilizing this technology reached $470 million in the third quarter of 2025.
Samsung Electronics, headquartered in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Korea, is establishing a unique position in the metaverse hardware market. The company entered the enterprise metaverse market by launching the ‘Galaxy XR Pro’ headset in November 2025. Samsung claims that this product minimizes fatigue during extended wear with its 4K resolution micro OLED display and eye-tracking technology. In the first three months after launch, 23,000 units were sold in the global enterprise market, which Samsung claims is 35% higher than Apple’s ‘Vision Pro’ sales.
The issue of interoperability between metaverse platforms is also gradually being resolved. According to the Metaverse Standards Forum, as of the end of 2025, 15 major metaverse platforms began supporting the common avatar standard ‘VRM 2.0’. This allows users to use a single avatar across multiple metaverse platforms. This standardization movement is a crucial factor for companies considering metaverse adoption. According to a December 2025 survey by IBM, 84% of companies considering metaverse adoption cited platform compatibility as the most important consideration.
Industry-Specific Applications and Diversification of Revenue Models
As the industry-specific applications of metaverse technology rapidly expand, new business models are emerging. In the manufacturing sector, metaverse solutions combined with digital twins are particularly noteworthy. Siemens, based in Germany, expanded its ‘Digital Factory’ solution into the metaverse environment in 2025, allowing remote equipment inspection and maintenance training in an environment identical to the actual factory. Hyundai Motor Company (Seoul headquarters), which adopted this solution, reported a 23% reduction in equipment downtime and a 40% reduction in new employee training periods over six months in the second half of 2025.
The construction industry is also actively utilizing metaverse technology. Autodesk, a construction software company based in San Rafael, California, launched the ‘BIM 360 Metaverse’ solution in 2025, providing an environment where architects, engineers, and construction companies can collaborate in real-time in a single virtual space. Daelim Industrial (Seoul headquarters) reported that its ‘Raemian The Central’ project, utilizing this solution, saw a 58% reduction in rework due to design changes and a four-month reduction in the overall project duration.
The adoption of metaverse in the education sector is also accelerating, with notable effects in medical training. Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in the U.S. began full-scale adoption of metaverse-based surgical simulation training in 2025, reporting an average 67% improvement in learning outcomes compared to traditional training methods. Encouraged by these results, Yonsei University College of Medicine in Korea announced plans to introduce a similar system in 2026.
Metaverse platforms’ revenue models are also diversifying. Companies are moving away from subscription-based models to establish multi-layered revenue structures, including usage-based billing, performance-based fees, and custom solution development costs. For instance, Meta Platforms charges a basic subscription fee of $29 per user per month for Workrooms Pro, but implements a usage-based fee of $5 per hour for concurrent users exceeding 100. Additionally, separate consulting fees are charged for developing custom features for each company.
Korean companies are also developing unique revenue models. LG Uplus (Seoul headquarters) launched the ‘Metaverse Office Package’ service in the second half of 2025, offering an integrated one-stop solution that includes 5G network, cloud server, and metaverse software. The monthly fee for this package is 4.8 million won for 100 employees, and as of December 2025, 187 small and medium-sized enterprises were using this service, according to LG Uplus.
Metaverse platforms are also focusing on generating additional revenue through data analytics services. By providing insights that aid in organizational management and work improvement, such as user behavior patterns, collaboration efficiency metrics, and engagement analysis in virtual spaces, Microsoft’s Mesh platform generated an additional $28 million in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2025 through these analytics services.
However, with the rapid growth of the metaverse market, new challenges are also emerging. The most significant issue remains the high initial adoption cost and technical complexity. According to a Deloitte survey at the end of 2025, 67% of companies that considered but abandoned metaverse adoption cited cost burden as the main reason. For small and medium-sized enterprises, the average initial setup cost is 230 million won, which remains a significant burden for many companies.
Security and privacy issues are also obstacles to the spread of enterprise metaverse. According to a 2025 report by cybersecurity company Check Point, based in Tel Aviv, Israel, security incidents on metaverse platforms increased by 156% compared to the previous year. The rise in unauthorized intrusions during virtual meetings and the leakage of sensitive corporate information are increasing companies’ concerns. In response, metaverse platform providers are focusing on strengthening security features such as end-to-end encryption, multi-factor authentication, and real-time threat detection.
The metaverse market in 2026 is expected to enter a mature phase centered on enterprise solutions, with more segmented industry-specific platforms emerging. Market research firm IDC predicts that the global enterprise metaverse market will grow to $78 billion in 2026, with the Asia-Pacific region accounting for 35% of this growth. Korea, Japan, and Singapore are expected to lead the growth in this region. As companies accelerate digital transformation and metaverse technology becomes the new standard in work environments, competition among platform providers is expected to intensify. Ultimately, only platforms that can demonstrate technological stability, security, and actual work efficiency improvements are expected to survive in the market.
*This analysis is intended for general informational purposes only and is not a recommendation for investment or stock selection. Investment decisions should be made based on individual judgment and responsibility.*
