The pandemic has shifted multiple industries in unique directions, although some likely didn't expect a virtual shift when it came to real estate.

CNBC reports that real estate in virtual universes is thriving, with investors spending millions on patches of land in the metaverse.

The metaverse is what tech experts refer to as virtual worlds, with the term gaining momentum after Facebook rebranded itself as Meta. Since then, the cost of online land has surged approximately 500% in the last couple of months.

Noteworthy companies have recently invested in virtual land in the past few months. PwC has acquired real estate in the virtual gaming world The Sandbox, for an undisclosed amount of money, though and there has gone for fees starting at $10,000. Business Insider reports that Virtual land developer Metaverse Group is putting around $1 million into SuperWorld, where consumers can exchange digital interpretations of international landmarks, such as the Great Wall of China.

Rapper Snoop Dogg is also reportedly establishing his own metaverse, and an NFT (non-fungible token) collector who is known as P-Ape spent nearly half a million dollars to be his neighbor.

"The metaverse is the next iteration of social media," CEO of Tokens.com Andrew Kiguel said. "You can go to a carnival, you can go to a music concert, you can go to a museum."