A study conducted by Strategy&, the strategy consulting business unit of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), has revealed that the metaverse [4] is expected to contribute nearly 15 billion USD to the economies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries by 2030.
Saudi Arabia would gain more than half of this amount, or 7.6 billion USD, followed by the United Arab Emirates with an estimated economic benefit of 3.3 billion USD.
In 2022, these two countries made their official entry into the metaverse. For example, Dubai officially launched its metaverse strategy in July 2022, designed to generate an additional 4 billion USD for the economy and 40 000 new jobs over the next five years.
The United Arab Emirates has established the first metaverse incubator in the Middle East.
NEOM, a Saudi Arabian project for a futuristic new city worth 500 billion USD, uses the metaverse to provide information on construction operations.