I think that Neuromancer was about as early as it went, fiction-wise. But VR was about from the 70s (NASA's JPL had one), and the metaverse is basically VR + c

I think that Neuromancer was about as early as it went, fiction-wise. But VR was about from the 70s (NASA's JPL had one), and the metaverse is basically VR + chatroom. Popularisation certainly happened by the early 80s, which is presumably where Neuromancer got it from.