What Does the Metaverse Have to Offer? Exploring Value Propositions in Metaverse Gaming Platforms

As the advancement of media and communication technology is opening the possibility of hyper-realistic virtual interaction, the notion of the metaverse with extended reality technology is often debated academically and socially. Consequently, there are many old and new gaming platforms that compete to offer the metaverse experience, bringing the users into the diverse virtual worlds they have created. However, due to the relative newness of the metaverse gaming platforms, the various values that different platforms offer to users have rarely been examined. Considering the increasing competition between gaming companies and the wide adoption of metaverse games, understanding the value propositions these platforms provide became essential. Thus, this research is aimed to answer the following question: How do gaming companies provide value propositions for metaverse games? To analyze the value propositions of the metaverse games in consideration of the complexity of the technological attributes these platforms obtain, the MAIN model (Modality, Agency, Interactivity, and Navigability), which is a theoretical tool invented to examine new media gratifications, was utilized to explore how gaming companies understand gratifications and how the corresponding values are delivered to users in an organized manner. By using qualitative comparative case studies, a total of 10 metaverse gaming platforms were selected and analyzed based on the possible MAIN model-based gratifications. The data consists of articles, observation notes, and screenshots from gaming companies’ official websites and blogs, press, social media, and actual games or gameplay videos. A total of 14 themes were expected and 4 new themes were found. While most MAIN-model gratifications were visible in the metaverse gaming platforms, the findings suggest that Agency-based value propositions showed the most robust patterns as the platform environment promoted users to contribute their actions through various activities. Gratifications related to conventional video games are only partially relevant, and technologically embedded gratifications are implicit and intertwined with many other gratifications. The research found that the different metaverse platforms share similar value propositions although they are offered differently. This research contributes to the development of the uses-and-gratifications approach and the MAIN model but also suggests insights into creating innovative value propositions for gaming businesses.