Ever since Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg’s announcement, the tech buzzword on the tip of everyone’s tongue is “metaverse.”  The metaverse, also called cyberspace, covers a broad spectrum of technologies and human interaction.  Exciting new inventions like virtual reality, augmented reality, motion-tracking tools, and NFTs are all considered part of the metaverse.  Taken together, the metaverse is worth billions of dollars and is expected to grow rapidly over the coming years.  In 2020, the metaverse market was worth over $47 billion.  A few major players account for the majority of market revenue, and the key growth driver is increasing focus on the converging digital and physical world via the internet. 

One relatively new niche in the metaverse is the incorporation of pets.  Many humans love their animal companions and want to include them in their digital lives.  Current explorations center around adding pets to the metaverse in two distinct ways.  A metapet is an avatar representation of a real pet.  They are created using holographic images and other 3D imaging technologies.  Chipped pets can be monitored remotely through avatars.  One potential use of this technology is that metapets can let distant travelers watch over their furry companion.

Taking the concept one step further, there are also metaverse pets.  These are fictional animal avatars with no real animal attached.  They allow users to experience some of the aspects of pet ownership without physically owning a pet.  Now people who are allergic or physically unable to care for a pet can still have some of the same experiences.  Metaverse platforms for pets offer a range of capabilities and activities that may not be an option in reality. 

There are several metaverse platforms already bringing pets into their range of services.  Axie Infinity is an NFT pet game that involves breeding virtual pets to advance to the next level.  Players earn more protocol revenue than Ethereum and Bitcoin.  In July 2021, this game collected $30 million in fees.  Another platform with a similar setup is CryptoKitties.  There are over 126,000 users with over 2 million virtual cats on the platform.  People can buy, collect, breed, and chase cats, play games in the Kittyverse, and solve puzzles with the help of other players.  Every platform has a unique idea for how to attract pet lovers to use their services.  Pets are one more thing from the physical world the metaverse wants to take digital.