Placing the Lens on the Possibilities of 3D Content Creation

This resource covers Three-Dimensional (3D) content creation, use cases, and market opportunities within the context of the buildup toward a future metaverse.

Market Overview

• Revenue from immersive collaboration and virtual enterprise spaces—key pillars of the enterprise metaverse—will increase from US$45.5 million in 2023 to nearly US$6 billion by 2030.
• The Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) & Real Estate industry accounts for about half of all revenue this year. By 2030, it will still be the leading industry for immersive collaboration and virtual enterprise spaces, albeit at 21% of the market.
• Education is the second-biggest segment for these metaverse technologies, generating US$697 million in revenue annually by 2030. The healthcare, retail/e-commerce, manufacturing, and automotive industries are also significant customer bases.
• Growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 22.1%, the non-industrial/AEC space for the 3D computer graphics and real-time rendering software market will see US$9.5 billion in revenue in 2030, up from US$1.9 billion in 2022.
• The strongest growth occurs in the North American, Asia-Pacific, and European markets through the forecast window. These regions represent the largest markets for gaming, digital advertising, social networking, and early metaverse activity.
• The Middle Eastern region is viewed as a stronger growth market for metaverse applications and is currently still expected to remain smaller than the three primary markets, but it is worth noting that this region could be viewed too conservatively.

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“While 3D use cases are better defined in some markets like gaming (consumer facing) and digital advertising (advertising workflows), there is significant market opportunity beyond these core markets, but this requires new business models (e.g., digital content ownership) and consumer education/acceptance.” – Mike Inouye, Principal Analyst at ABI Research

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Key Decision Items

Create Seamless Integration between Various Types of 3D Content and Platforms

The consumer space outside of gaming is less mature. Content creation is primarily handled by professional developers and content creators. Opportunities here for content creation are driven organically by growth in markets like gaming, social media, digital advertising, and extending 3D content to new use cases. Companies, standards developing organizations, and content creators need to focus on interoperability of content and platforms. The full complement of potential use cases and applications for 3D content needs to be considered and explored to maximize value.

Make 3D Content Creation Easier

Growth accelerators like Extended Reality (XR) (future mainstream smart glasses are key) and greater accessibility to content creation tools (e.g., those driven by generative Artificial Intelligence (AI)) will act as catalysts. In other words, accessibility is key. The availability of more accessible content creation tools to wider audiences is critical to accelerating growth in this market. AI (generative AI, in particular) should be viewed as a key driver, but the market, including regulations and best practices, needs significant development before more heavily driven AI content creation is fully commercially viable.

Identify Novel Use Cases for 3D Content to Expand Opportunities

Compared to the consumer space, which may place user growth above profitability, Return on Investment (ROI) is a critical consideration for enterprises when evaluating opportunities to target new markets, scalability of operations, and other applications for 3D content. When considering “metaverse opportunities,” rather than evaluating new opportunities as a potential driver for new 3D content generation, companies should prioritize identifying new use cases for existing 3D models.

This could include product configurators, virtual tours, Communication and Collaboration (C&C), training, etc. that bring additional value to pre-existing workflows without adding significant cost. Companies should consider alternative means of creating 3D models for applications like digital twins. Volumetric capture, for example, could more cost-effectively capture factory floors and equipment, in a truer manner to real-world conditions and environments.

Ensure AI Models Are Safe to Use

While less relevant to content creators in the industrial space, other enterprises will need to ensure that 3D content created through generative AI is safe to use. The same recommendations apply to the consumer-centric segment, but companies here could limit training models to in-house assets to avoid these types of issues. Content creation solutions providers like Adobe are taking this approach to generative AI, although it does require extensive and pre-existing libraries of assets.

Key Market Players to Watch

• Adobe
• AMR
• Apple
• Autodesk
• Google
• Maxon Group
• Microsoft Corporation
• NVIDIA
• OpenAI
• Qualcomm
• Sandstorm Technologies
• Unity Technologies
• YouTube

Dig Deeper for the Full Picture

To understand more about the opportunities associated with the transition from Two-Dimensional (2D) to 3D content, download ABI Research’s 3D Content Creation and Enabling Technologies research report.

Not ready for the report yet? Check out these other  Research Highlights:

• Enterprise Metaverse Implications for the Workplace, Virtual Events, Retail, and More
• Live E-Commerce to Be a Key Factor in Next-Generation (Low Latency) Video

This content is part of the company’s Metaverse Markets & Technologies Research Service.