Antecedents of User Experience in the Immersive Metaverse Ecosystem: Insights from Mining User Reviews

Metaverse, a digitally simulated immersive technology, has potential business value in enabling its users to execute their professional and recreational activities. It engages the users and helps them to serve their purposes. Few studies exist discussing metaverse as an immersive technology though there is a dearth of studies that empirically examine the factors associated with the corresponding user experience. We analysed over 400 thousand user reviews on 14 metaverse applications from Google Play Store to identify those factors associated with the corresponding user experience. We uncovered the pertinent factors with the help of a topic modelling technique and explained their associations with the help of Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) and Cognitive Absorption Theory (CAT) crafting a unified framework. Multiple regression models help us to validate the proposed framework. We find that sociability, density, telepresence, temporal dissociation, focused immersion, heightened enjoyment, curiosity, and playfulness positively influence the user experience of the virtual immersive space of the Metaverse. These insights can help policymakers and academicians take apt measures to make the Metaverse space more immersive and engrossing.