Naver’s metaverse platform Zepeto. (image: Naver)
SEOUL, Aug. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of South Korean metaverse users, which plunged after the lifting of social distancing rules earlier this year, started increasing again in late July.
According to Mobile Index, the big data analysis unit of local data tracker IGAworks, the number of domestic weekly active users (WAU) for the metaverse application Roblox (Google Play Store and Apple Appstore combined) stood at 871,041 in the third week of August (August 15-21).
After sliding to 773,678 in the second week of May (May 9-15), Roblox’s domestic WAU hovered around the 600,000 to 700,000 level for more than two months.
This figure, however, rose to 813,478 in the fourth week of July (July 25-31) and remained above 800,000 for four straight weeks.
Nonetheless, Roblox’s WAU still remained lower than the figure marked in the first week of May (941,602).
During the same period, Roblox’s per-capita weekly average usage hours stood at 235.33 minutes, down 2 minutes from the previous week, but remained above 200 minutes for four straight weeks.
Domestic metaverse apps such as Naver’s Zepeto and SK Telecom’s ifland also showed an upward trend in the number of users in recent days.
“One of the primary factors behind the recent upturn in the number of domestic metaverse users is the increase in elementary, middle and high school students’ access hours during their summer vacations,” said Wi Jong-hyun, a business professor at Chung-Ang University.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
