Remote Work in the Metaverse: How Software Development Teams Experience Gather.Town

The remote work model is becoming increasingly established in software companies, driven by the demand for flexibility and the advancement of communication technologies. Despite its benefits, this shift brings challenges, such as asynchronous communication, reduced opportunities for spontaneous interactions, and social isolation. To overcome these obstacles, some development teams are adopting metaverse environments, such as Gather.Town. In this context, this research investigates the impact of using metaverse environments on the experience of members of remote software development teams, as well as the factors that influence their adoption and abandonment. We conducted surveys and interviews with 13 practitioners from five software development companies who have used or are currently using Gather.Town. The study addressed aspects such as ease of use, communication, collaboration, sense of presence, social interaction, and flow experience, as well as adoption challenges and reasons for abandonment. Our results indicate that metaverse environments can facilitate collaboration in remote software development teams by promoting social interaction, enhancing the sense of presence, and enabling more efficient communication. This helps mitigate some of the limitations of traditional remote work, such as social isolation. However, participants also reported challenges, including distractions caused by playful elements and difficulties with privacy during sensitive interactions. Organizational restrictions were also identified as a barrier that limited the adoption of the platform. This research demonstrates that the use of metaverse environments can enhance communication and collaboration in remote teams. When properly aligned with the team's needs and workflows, these environments offer a more integrated and engaging work experience.