2023 Render Network Metrics Recap + Q4 [BTN: Feb 1, 2024]
Looking back at 2023 Render Network Metrics with Q4 Data
After a milestone year for the Render Network in 2023, it’s time to take a look back at the network growth data across the year, with a focus on Q4.
As described in the Fall 2023 metrics update, 2023 saw a number of technical and infrastructure advancements that were reflected in the data during the fall, and carried over to the end of 2023. Specifically, the Render Network carried out the first rendering jobs for the Las Vegas Sphere and the Apple Vision Pro at the end of Q3 and throughout Q4.
As a result, in the last quarter of 2023 there was a spike in activity in nearly all categories — rounding out a year where the network showed significant quarter-over-quarter, year-over-year, and full-year growth. The growth was led by increases in average compute work per-job, led by a small cluster of VIP next generation rendering jobs for the MSG Sphere and Vision Pro.
So let’s look back at Q4 2023 and the full year network activity for 2023:
Quarter-over-Quarter Growth
Q4 saw a total of 3,026,317 frames rendered, compared to 2,345,479 frames rendered in the previous quarter. Not only were almost 700k more frames rendered across Q4 compared to Q3, compared to all quarters of 2023, Q4’s rendered frames were a 29% increase compared to the previous quarter.
This growth in frames rendered was also reflected in the RNDR used in Q4 compared to Q3. 549,750 RNDR was used in Q3 compared to 1,074,045 RNDR used in Q4 — a 95% increase with 524,295 more RNDR was used.
In all, across each quarter an average of 675,345.25 RNDR were used, with the breakdown being:
Q1–509,469 RNDR Used
Q2–568,117 RNDR Used
Q3–549,750 RNDR Used
Q4–1,074,045 RNDR Used
*this accounts for RNDR [ETH] used and captures 2023 BME work
The significantly accelerated growth of RNDR used compared to the growth rate in number of frames rendered reflects the rise of larger and more complex rendering work being uploaded to the network — led by projection mapping for the Las Vegas Sphere and immersive rendering projects for spatial computing devices like the Vision Pro.
While these VIP jobs are not expected to be common in the early stages of the development of the new mediums, they point to the potential increases in demand for intensive rendering later in 2024 and into 2025 as the platforms become more ubiquitous and commercially viable.
Frames rendered and RNDR used significantly grew despite jobs between Q3 and Q4 2023 seeing a slight 1% decrease, dropping from 42,739 jobs created in Q3 compared to 42,394 jobs created in Q4 2023. The divergence between the number of jobs was driven by the transition from smaller rendering jobs to larger, more complex work on the network. Removing one specific basket of small 1-frame rendering jobs from the quarterly totals, the number of jobs for all other forms of visual effects and 3D rendering work increased between Q3 and Q4.
YoY Growth in Key Metrics
Year-over-Year growth between Q4 2023 v. Q4 2022 grew significantly in line with the network’s quarterly increases, reflecting the accelerations seen in Q4 overlaid on top of the consistent year-over-year growth in 2023. Frames rendered grew by 943,036 in Q4 2023 than Q4 2022 versus the same period a year earlier, with 3,026,317 frames rendered in Q4 2023 vs 2,083,781 in Q4 2022. In total, 2023 saw 9,972,981 frames rendered vs. 8,778,780 frames rendered in 2022 for an increase of 1,194,201 frames (see graph below).
Meanwhile, RNDR [ETH] used grew by 575,312 RNDR used Q4 2023 when compared to Q4 2022, with 1,074,045 RNDR used in Q4 compared to 498,733 RNDR used in the same period in 2022. In total, 2023 saw 2,701,381 RNDR used compared to 2022’s 1,850,887 RNDR used, leading to an increase of 850,494 RNDR used.
While Jobs Created saw small statistical decreases, with 2,333 fewer jobs created in in Q4 2023 than 2022 [42,394 jobs created Q4 2023 v. 44,727 jobs created Q4 2022], these again can be attributed to more intensive forms of work being submitted to the network, and would be positive removing idiosyncratic single frame rendering jobs.
The overall trend for both Q4 and 2023 as a whole is the increasing prominence of higher frame, higher complexity jobs compared to prior years and quarters. These were largely driven by a subset of Vegas Sphere and Vision Pro rendering work. These immersive rendering applications are still very early in their development, representing an idiosyncratic forms of work when compared to visual effects and motion graphics. However, they do show the potential of the network to service large-scale next generation jobs as these platforms develop later in 2024 and in 2025
Full Year Growth Metrics
Across full year comparisons, 2023 saw increases in all Network statistical categories compared to the previous year, which can be seen below:
Frames rendered increased by ~12%, which was in line with the same amount of statistical growth seen in Jobs created (~11%). This was a slight increase compared to the growth in Scenes uploaded, which sat around 9%. The largest increases came in RNDR [ETH] used in the last year.
The last year saw the growth of more intensive rendering work — driven by next generation projection mapping and immersive rendering projects — driving the largest volumes of work since the Render Network’s launch, resulting in a 31% increase in RNDR [ETH] used from 2022 to 2023.
Despite a slightly smaller volume of jobs at the end of Q4, across the board the Render Network experienced overall growth in the number of jobs and scenes uploaded in 2023 vs. 2022 — creating yearly growth in all categories.
Social Growth Across Platforms
As the Render Network grew on a usage basis, so did the community across all social platforms. The Render Network also saw community engagement and community growth dramatically increase, both from quarter to quarter in Q3 to Q4 2023, and across 2023 year as a whole!
Let’s look into the data from the Render Network’s main content platforms:
Twitter:
The Render Network’s Twitter following nearly doubled in 2023. In December 2022, the follower count stood at 64,628 by December 2023 it climbed to 122,511. This notable increase highlights the network’s expanding influence and reach.
Over the past five months, the Render Network’s average Twitter engagement rate has been 2.2%, outpacing the technology industry benchmark of 1.29%.
Instagram:
Instagram followers increased from 2,211 in early March 2023 to almost 4,000 by January 2024. This growth represents an almost doubling of the follower base for the Render Network in less than a year, highlighting a rise in engagement and interest in content.
Medium Quarterly Growth Accelerates
In long form messaging, where the Render Network publishes its most detailed content, growth was the highest, showing increasing engagement and reach for active users.
In October 2023, Render Network’s Medium content received 3.4K views and 1.7K reads, which is a 30.77% increase for both metrics compared to October 2022. The upticks in engagement peaks throughout October 2023 highlight increased reader interest. This consistent growth rate in both views and reads displays solid year-over-year improvement in engagement.
In November 2023, the Render Network’s content on Medium saw a 212.12% increase of 10.3K views up from November 2022’s 3.3K views. There was a 300% increase from 5.6K reads in November 2023 (including more spiked peaks in engagement throughout the month) and November 2022’s 1.4K reads.
Over the three-month period from October to December 2023, Render Network’s Medium content showed consistent growth in reader engagement, wrapping up the year with a large increase in December with a 356.52% rise in views and an even higher boost of 436.36% in reads compared to December 2022. These engagement figures demonstrate a significant upward trend in audience interest for the network’s content.
The Render Network could not have achieved any of this growth without the support of the Render Network community members.
The Render Network Foundation would like to thank the community for all it has done to make 2023 such a huge year. Upcoming BTNs will highlight major milestones in 2023 and look forward to 2024 roadmap priorities.
Join us in the Rendering Revolution at:
Website: https://render.x.io
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rendernetwork
Knowledge Base: https://know.rendernetwork.com/
Discord: https://discord.gg/rendernetwork
Telegram: https://t.me/rendernetwork
Render Network Foundation: https://renderfoundation.com/
