I just watched folding ideas video essay about the metaverse (focused on one company, but I think many of the points would hold up for any metaverse thing)... And I think there's an important point - the metaverse is (so far) ill defined, but the "prototypes" I've seen are basically 3d chat rooms (that existed in the 90s) and sort of Second Life style services. Which, just... only appeal to a very small group of people apparently. VR tech still isn't there, and I'm starting to think it might be awhile (we must be on v3 of a big launch by now, right?).