As we know, the term metaverse was derived from the 1992 novel, Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. In 1991, Tim Berners — Lee Invented HTML or Hyper Text Mark-Up Language which laid the foundation of the World Wide Web. In this novel, Stephenson imagined a world with MNCs and AR which he called the metaverse. This concept of metaverse has been adopted by the tech community. In fact, the metaverse will consist of multiple metaverses or spaces, seamlessly blending the physical reality into augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). It could be seen as an extension of the social media. It will attract huge investment for its development and marketing.

The hardware that will be used in meta will be VR helmets, and platforms like Horizons. Microsoft is developing software, avatars and productivity tools. Roblox, a gaming platform, is developing meta-gaming tools. Tinder may introduce meta-sexuality nuances. Electronic Arts may create metaverses centred on its games. Each organisation will contribute to the development of metaverses in its own way. It is difficult to figure industry standard at this stage.

What for these platforms be used? What is going to be the revenue model? These are issues difficult to answer now. Of course, gaming is one of the possibilities. There could be enhanced entertainment options. There could be simulations of real environment, providing touch-and-feel experience. After a technology develops, there could be unimaginable ways of using it.