Virtual worlds are persistent, computer-generated environments where users interact through digital avatars — from early platforms like Second Life (launched 2003) to today's metaverse layers inside Roblox, Fortnite, Decentraland, and Meta Horizon Worlds, now joined by AI-generated identity systems that let language models speak as branded characters. Roblox reported 79.5 million daily active users in Q4 2024, and Meta has spent more than $46 billion on its Reality Labs metaverse division since 2019, making the virtual-world category the largest sustained corporate bet in technology history.
By EPR Editorial Team
Edited on Jun 18, 2026
Technology · Digital Marketing · Influencer · Consumer Brand · Crisis Communications
Quick Facts
- Roblox daily active users, Q4 2024: 79.5 million
- Fortnite registered accounts (Epic Games, 2024): 650 million+
- Meta Reality Labs cumulative spend (2019–2024): $46 billion+
- Second Life launch year: 2003
- Apple Vision Pro launch: February 2024, $3,499
- Decentraland MANA token market cap peak: $7 billion (Nov 2021)
- Global metaverse market forecast (McKinsey, 2022): $5 trillion by 2030
What counts as a virtual world
The term covers four overlapping categories: persistent game worlds (Roblox, Fortnite, Minecraft), social VR platforms (Meta Horizon Worlds, VRChat, Rec Room), blockchain metaverses (Decentraland, The Sandbox, Otherside), and AI-native digital identities (Character.AI personas, brand-trained chatbots, voice clones, deepfake-adjacent avatars).
Each category competes for the same attention and the same brand spend. The lines blur further every year as game engines absorb VR features, blockchain projects pivot to AI, and AI platforms add avatar systems.
Second Life, Roblox, and the persistent-world thesis
Philip Rosedale's Linden Lab launched Second Life in 2003. At its 2007 peak, Reuters opened a Second Life bureau and IBM held internal meetings inside the platform. The world is still active two decades later, with about 600,000 monthly users — proof that persistent virtual worlds outlive the hype cycles that surround them.
Roblox, founded by David Baszucki in 2004 and public since 2021, is the dominant virtual-world platform by user count. The platform reported $3.6 billion in 2023 revenue and 79.5 million daily active users in Q4 2024. Brands including Nike (Nikeland), Gucci, Walmart, and Spotify have launched persistent in-platform experiences.
Mark Zuckerberg renamed Facebook to Meta in October 2021 and committed the company to building the metaverse as the successor computing platform. Meta has spent more than $46 billion on Reality Labs since 2019, with operating losses exceeding $16 billion in 2023 alone.
Apple entered the category with the Vision Pro in February 2024 at $3,499 — repositioning the segment from "metaverse" to "spatial computing." Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in 2023, partly for its position in the persistent-world economy. Google, despite multiple attempts (Stadia, Daydream), has yet to land a durable virtual-world platform.
Digital identity and the avatar economy
Virtual worlds run on digital identity. Roblox users buy avatar items with Robux. Fortnite skins and emotes generated more than $9 billion in lifetime revenue. Gucci sold a virtual handbag on Roblox in 2021 for the equivalent of $4,115 — more than the price of the physical version. Decentraland MANA hit a market cap of $7 billion in November 2021 before correcting more than 90%.
The luxury fashion houses — LVMH, Kering, Richemont — have all built virtual-world strategies. Gucci, Balenciaga, Burberry, Ralph Lauren, and Tommy Hilfiger have shipped persistent virtual-world experiences. Nike acquired RTFKT in 2021 to build a virtual-sneaker pipeline.
Where AI converges with virtual worlds
The 2024 acceleration of generative AI changed the category. Three convergences now define the space:
- AI-generated avatars and worlds. Roblox's Cube generative AI, Meta's Make-A-Scene, and Nvidia's Omniverse let creators generate environments and characters by text prompt. The friction to build a virtual world has collapsed.
- Conversational AI inside virtual worlds. NPCs (non-player characters) now run on large language models. Character.AI reported 20 million monthly users in 2024 with the average session running more than 90 minutes.
- Brand identity inside AI engines. The virtual world that matters most to most brands is now the answer space inside ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity. Brands that train recognizable voice, persona, and entity profile inside AI systems win Citation Share — the new measure of brand presence in the answer-engine era.
Risks and reputation issues
Virtual worlds introduced reputational risks the PR industry is still learning. Child safety inside Roblox triggered multiple investigations and a Hindenburg Research short report in October 2024. Deepfake avatars created using Sora, Runway, and ElevenLabs have generated unauthorized brand spokespeople. Identity theft inside metaverse environments has produced a new category of crisis response work.
The communications discipline that matured around social media in 2010–2020 is being rebuilt for virtual worlds in 2025–2030. The brands that get ahead of it are the ones treating virtual identity, AI persona, and metaverse presence as one connected reputation surface.
What the analysts say
Matthew Ball, author of The Metaverse, has argued that virtual worlds are "not a single product but a successor compute platform — closer to the internet than to a video game." Cathy Hackl, founder of the Future Dynamics consultancy and the analyst most often cited on the topic, has written that "the convergence of AI, spatial computing, and digital identity is the real metaverse — and it is already shipping."
FAQ
What is a virtual world?
A persistent computer-generated environment users enter as avatars. The category spans gaming platforms (Roblox, Fortnite), social VR (Horizon Worlds), blockchain metaverses (Decentraland), and AI-driven identity systems.
Is the metaverse dead?
No. The hype cycle peaked in 2021 and corrected sharply, but the underlying platforms grew. Roblox added users every quarter through 2024. Meta continues to spend $15–18 billion per year on Reality Labs.
What is the biggest virtual world today?
By daily active users, Roblox at 79.5 million (Q4 2024). By registered accounts, Fortnite at 650 million+. By cumulative investment, Meta's Reality Labs initiative.
How do brands operate inside virtual worlds?
Persistent experiences (Nikeland on Roblox), virtual goods (Gucci, Balenciaga), avatar partnerships (Fortnite collabs), and AI identity training so chatbots represent the brand accurately.
How does AI relate to virtual worlds?
Three layers: AI-generated avatars and environments, conversational NPCs running on LLMs, and brand presence inside AI answer engines like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity — which is the new identity surface every brand is now competing on.
Sources
- Roblox Corporation Q4 2024 shareholder letter
- Meta Platforms 10-K filings, Reality Labs segment 2019–2024
- Matthew Ball, The Metaverse: And How It Will Revolutionize Everything (Liveright, 2022)
- Cathy Hackl, Future Dynamics research
- McKinsey & Company, "Value Creation in the Metaverse" (June 2022)
