The sixth generation (6G) of wireless technology is seen as one of the enablers of real-time fusion of the physical and digital realms, as in the Metaverse, extended reality (XR), or Digital Twin (DT). This would allow people to interact, work, and entertain themselves in immersive online 3D virtual environments. From the viewpoint of communication and networking, this will represent an evolution of the game networking technology, designed to interconnect massive users in real-time online gaming environments. This article presents the basic principles of game networking and discusses their evolution towards meeting the requirements of the Metaverse and similar applications. Several open research challenges are provided, along with possible solutions.

翻译：第六代（6G）无线技术被视为实现物理与数字世界实时融合的关键使能技术之一，其应用场景涵盖元宇宙、扩展现实（XR）及数字孪生（DT）。该技术将支持人们在沉浸式三维在线虚拟环境中进行互动、工作与娱乐。从通信与网络视角看，这标志着游戏网络技术的演进——该技术最初旨在连接大规模用户实现实时在线游戏环境。本文阐述了游戏网络的基本原理，并探讨其向满足元宇宙及类似应用需求方向的发展路径。文章还提出了若干开放性研究挑战及其潜在解决方案。