Now: The metaverse has graduated from tech to (lucrative) toy on its path to enterprise toolĬonsider the metaverse use case that has defined the market up to now: gaming.

Investing in technologies such as edge computing and AR/VR devices may become table stakes, so intentional, strategic adoption will be crucial.

Over the next couple of years, virtual interfaces will likely continue to graduate from tech to toy to tool as companies build business models around the capabilities afforded by an “ unlimited reality.” 3 Innovative companies are likely to reduce costs, increase customer engagement, and pioneer entirely new offerings for a piece of the budding market. In other words, the metaverse is best thought of as a more immersive incarnation of the internet itself: “internet plus” as opposed to “reality minus.” 2 Despite the hyperbole around the metaverse, leaders should consider it not as a diminished proxy for in-person experiences but instead as an enriched alternative to email, text chat, and heads in square boxes. 1īusinesses have also doubled down on virtual worlds, with tens of billions in venture capital investment in the past year, and analysts estimating a US$800 billion market by 2024.

In addition, architectural challenges that slowed previous incarnations of immersive spaces, such as Second Life, have since been partially mitigated by the elasticity of cloud computing. The proliferation of affordable augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) technology and the cultural shift brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have catalyzed the acceptance and importance of digital worlds as viable places for human connection. While the term metaverse was coined in 1992, and virtual worlds have been popular in online games over the past two decades, a marked shift has occurred in recent years.

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