The technology as it stands was too late to the party. Had someone come along with a convincing VR space together with a, say $200 piece of hardware to experience it at the start of 2020 then it would have taken off. Instead private spaces like Animal Crossing and shared spaces like Fortnite filled the void.

Apathy and malaise towards a VR metaverse is largely based on the pandemic recovery of showing us the value of IRL connections over VR ones. Most people would rather go to an actual bar with their friends than a virtual one.

I believe the future still lies in social VR but using it to amplify rather than replace IRL connections. Using outward cameras to scan a room as the play space a partially generative piece of software could allow (via headsets) a couple to share a cruise down the Nile with the boat as the navigable room space. A parent might play with an older child at defending their own play-space generated base against waves of advancing aliens, calling out tactics on the fly.