The metaverse is quite simply THE spatial successor to the internet, but more specifically the World Wide Web.
Because of protocols like HTTP, TCP/IP, and HTML, you can read and view text + photos + videos on webpages because of agreed upon standards.
The metaverse will most certainly utilize old standards, but it will also need entirely new ones built from the ground up. The way users currently navigate the web via hyperlinks will be mirrored in the metaverse, but instead of shareable URL's we will have portals instead, so as to not break immersion and to deliver a sense of seamless teleportation from one immersive destination to another.
We'll also need a universal SDK and API that every world can hook into in order to tie all of this together, so as to share data back and forth and to allow for true interchange of virtual goods. Blockchain will provide the base layer to enable this.
WebGPU will allow us to render using modern hardware, as the browser equivalent of Vulkan, Metal, and DirectX 12.
WebAssembly will allow for programs to be compiled to a universal bytecode.
WebXR brings all of this together, enabling a true sense of presence inside a webpage.
As more headsets by Meta, Valve (and Apple!) are sold and they become a part of our daily lives, it will become apparent that we need a way to link worlds together that are hardware and platform-agnostic. The web seems like the most straightforward, obvious solution to this problem.
Also, now that Facebook has soured the term "metaverse", a term originally termed in Snow Crash and now has connotations with a social media company... may I propose a new one? How about The Immersive Web?
My startup Wonder Interactive is working on building the immersive web, and our current focus is on bridging the gap between native game engines and the web. We're have UE4 support up and running, with WebGPU actively being worked on as well as WebXR. Our 2D web as we know it today has to evolve to become 3D-first and immersive. If you're interested in trying out our platform, you can register your intent here via our website or join our Discord below:
Website: https://www.theimmersiveweb.com/
Discord: https://discord.gg/zUSZ3T8