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Real-time multisensory social interactions (RMSIs) between people are at the center of the metaverse, a new computer-mediated environment consisting of virtual “worlds” in which people act and communicate with each other in real-time via avatars. This research investigates whether RMSIs in the metaverse, when accessed through virtual-reality headsets, can generate more value for interactants in terms of interaction outcomes (interaction performance, evaluation, and emotional responses) than those on the two-dimensional (2D) internet (e.g., Zoom meetings). We combine theoretical logic with extensive field-experimental probes (which support the value-creation potential of the virtual-reality metaverse, but contradict its general superiority) to develop and refine a framework of how RMSIs in the metaverse versus on the 2D internet affect interaction outcomes through interactants’ intermediate conditions. The …