A virtual world can enable a quicker, or more accurate diagnosis in healthcare, a more experiential learning or skill-building session, a visit to a museum or a gallery with a realistic look and feel, or testing prototypes of complex production lines before building them.
Persistent, immersive environments that blend physical and digital realities in real time, virtual worlds are powered by technologies such as extended reality (XR), artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing and next-generation connectivity. They are transforming sectors ranging from healthcare and education to manufacturing and cultural industries.
However, virtual worlds technologies are still considered emerging ones, with much to investigate about their future potential.
JRC scientists have monitored the evolution of the virtual worlds landscape since the inception and the adoption of the European Commission's 2023 Strategy on Web 4.0 and virtual worlds. Three new studies provide now a comprehensive overview of this evolution, analysing applications, industrial dynamics, skills gaps, and Europe’s global position.
The virtual worlds global landscape
According to the first JRC study, the EU currently accounts for the third largest share (around 11%) of global virtual world players and 9% of related activities, which include research publications, priority patent filings and business operations. While these figures position it as a major actor, the EU still trails global leaders such as China and the United States.
Focusing on research, the EU is the global leader in virtual worlds related publications, with a 30% share. However, there is a lag in translating this into patent activity.
Venture capital funding into virtual worlds reveals stark disparities. Data over the period 2009-2025 show that the US leads the investment landscape, with roughly EUR 17 billion invested by the end of 2024. The EU ranks 4th – behind China with its nearly EUR 3 billion invested and the UK with 1.7 billion – accounting for a mere 16% share of the global venture capital investment.
A new interactive data explorer integrating data from various firm-level sources, patent data from the European Patent Office’s PATSTAT database, Scopus research outputs, and CORDIS EU-funded research projects is available online, to dive deeper into the virtual worlds ecosystem.
Virtual worlds are mainly used for training purposes
A second JRC study analyses 22 real world use cases – mostly from the EU, but also from the EUS and the UK – across domains including education, healthcare, manufacturing, defence, and entertainment. It finds that virtual worlds are best understood not as a single technology, but as assemblies of hardware, software, and contextual features.
Additionally, it highlights how virtual worlds are not an alternative to reality, but an intrinsic part of it, as they rely on infrastructures that have environmental costs, and their use implies real psychological and social consequences for individuals and communities.
Training and skill-building emerge as the dominant use case in professional settings, partly because virtual reality (VR) headsets are well suited to focused, procedural learning and reduce distractions from the physical environment. Findings also highlight that developers of consumer applications often have little feedback and knowledge about their own users, as platform intermediaries control access to user data.
This fragmented approach among developers and platforms is also reflected in how inclusivity, bias and content moderation are approached – with the risk of leaving users exposed to harmful online content or risky behaviours.
Which skills for the virtual worlds jobs?
Finally, an additional study draws on three complementary sources to get a picture of the virtual worlds skills landscape in the EU: a survey of 32 virtual worlds companies, the analysis of 143 master’s programmes in the EU offering VW-related content, and a review of over four years of online job advertisements for ICT specialists.
Together, they reveal an incipient, dynamic industry dominated by small and micro-enterprises, operating across industries as diverse as education, healthcare, manufacturing and entertainment.
Companies need workers with a rare combination of highly specialised technical skills – including 3D modelling, XR/VR development, programming in Unity (a development platform for VR and other content) and AI integration. These are sought alongside strong soft skills such as project management, collaboration and problem-solving, and AI literacy is now a requirement across most job profiles in the sector.
A skills gap emerges in relation to specialised technical skills, with nearly 60% of surveyed firms using external partners to fill gaps, most commonly in 3D modelling, software development and VR/XR creation.
Despite higher education being the primary route into the industry – cited by 84% of survey respondents – virtual worlds related programmes account for just 1% of all EU master’s courses, concentrated in ICT (30%), Arts and Humanities (18%) and Engineering (15%). Additional practical, hands-on trainings aligned with the industry needs would be beneficial for the growth of the virtual worlds ecosystem.
Related links
Report - Virtual Worlds, Real Impact Mapping: EU Strengths and Global Interdependencies
Report - Observing Virtual Worlds: Structured assessment of virtual worlds applications
Report - Observing Virtual Worlds: Multi-method Analysis of Skills, Challenges and Emerging TrendsNext generation virtual worlds
- Publication date
- 22 April 2026
- Author
- Joint Research Centre
- JRC portfolios 2025-27
