The Metaverse: Ecosystem, Technologies, Business Opportunities, and Challenges

The metaverse, also called the multiverse, is a recent Internet revolution envisioned as virtual worlds where people are capable of interacting with each other while having an immersive 3-D experience. The metaverse is recognized as one of the most important innovations in the Internet’s evolution and is receiving growing attention across industries. The metaverse brings about ample opportunity for growth and profits, with blue ocean markets for many enterprises. This article introduces the metaverse ecosystem, presents technologies essential for the development of metaverse applications and services, and discusses business opportunities. Managerial and technical challenges are also discussed.