User generated content (UGC) is no longer a niche, it’s transforming the way people play, connect, and interact online. In 2024, the global games market hit an estimated 219 billion dollars, with growth led by platform-style titles that thrive on creators, social features, and direct distribution. That shift is already underway.
The creator economy inside these platforms is maturing fast. Epic has formalised engagement-based payouts for Fortnite creators. Roblox paid its community 923 million dollars in 2024 while daily active users reached 82.9 million. The signal is clear: when players get to create, platforms thrive.
This goes beyond games. Brands are embracing UGC because audiences trust it more than traditional advertising. The UGC platform market in total is forecast to grow from 4.4 billion dollars in 2022 to 32.6 billion dollars by 2030. Trust follows authenticity—86 percent of consumers are more likely to trust a brand that publishes UGC, and 82 percent say they are more inclined to buy if brands use it.
The opportunity is enormous. The challenge is making sure creativity can scale safely and consistently across interconnected worlds.
Asset size and optimisation
Big ideas need efficient execution. In interoperable worlds, oversized assets can turn into long downloads, frame drops, or even crashes. VRChat shows how platforms can keep creativity flowing without breaking performance by setting clear guardrails:
- Performance ranks and blocking. Avatars are analysed and ranked from Excellent to Very Poor. Low-scoring avatars can be hidden or blocked, keeping worlds smooth.
- Oversize asset controls. Configurable maximum avatar download sizes stop huge files from auto-loading.
- Optimisation guidance. Creator docs explain best practices for polygon counts, textures, and mobile performance.
UGC shines brightest when the right optimisation is baked in, ensuring it works seamlessly across devices and environments.
Governance and moderation
With scale comes responsibility. UGC opens the door to incredible creativity, but it also raises tough questions about governance and safety. Research shows people trust moderation systems more when automation is combined with human oversight. Real-time filters can protect communities in the moment, while human reviewers step in to handle appeals and edge cases.
Just as important is consistency. Platforms that publish clear rules, maintain logs of actions, and support appeals build stronger trust and legitimacy with their users.
Governance structures across communities
Studies show that online communities with clear, consistently applied rules tend to feel fairer and more stable. In interoperable networks, this gets more complex: policies, offence categories, and escalation paths need to align across worlds so that trust can carry over as users move between them.
Legal clarity on rights
UGC thrives on participation, but that makes ownership and rights complex. Analysts highlight unresolved questions around joint authorship, licensing scope, and monetisation rights. Platforms that provide clarity through terms of service and payout structures set stronger expectations and reduce risk for both creators and operators.
Why brands care as much as games
Authenticity is the new currency. Surveys show UGC is almost ten times more impactful than influencer-generated content and 2.5 times more authentic than branded material. For brands building digital experiences, that authenticity translates directly into trust and sales.
Atlas by MSquared: moderation built for interoperable UGC
These challenges aren’t abstract, they’re the real barriers holding UGC back from fulfilling its promise. Atlas is MSquared’s answer.
Atlas provides:
- Real-time screening for chat, images, and 3D assets with configurable policies
- Automated asset checks at upload so oversized or unsafe files never disrupt performance
- Hybrid workflows that blend AI detection with human review for balance and accuracy
- Shared policy libraries to keep governance aligned across multiple worlds
Atlas is built on the Somnia blockchain, which secures moderation metadata and asset provenance. Policies, classification decisions, and creator attributions are recorded immutably, ensuring content rules and asset histories travel consistently across environments. That means platforms can validate authenticity, and creators keep credit wherever their assets appear.
Atlas helps platforms and brands unlock the full potential of UGC- keeping creativity open while ensuring safety, trust, and performance.
Find out more or get in touch with our team to explore how Atlas can support your brand or platform.
