You must have come across the term metaverse a lot lately. Maybe more when Facebook announced its name change to Meta in October 2021. But what’s this hype of metaverse, and what is it exactly?
Put in straightforward words, the metaverse is the next level of social interaction. To start easy, think of how you virtually interact with the world – using apps like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Tinder, etc. You can send texts, videos, voice notes, do audio/video calls here. With metaverse, you will be able to enter the virtual world through avatars and experience interactions in real-time. Avatar is an on-screen representation of yourself that can be customized to look exactly like you or anything you’d like.
In the metaverse, you will be doing the same thing you’re doing now: talking to people or playing games with your friends. But instead of tapping away on your phone, you will experience it through your avatars. Pretty crazy, right?!
Metaverse Projects
Though there is still some time (a couple of years) for the metaverse to become mainstream, various metaverse projects have already kicked off and have created a stir in the market. These big projects might give us a clue where we’re headed with the metaverse.
1.) Decentraland
Decentraland is an open-source 3D platform that allows users to buy lands and other digital assets using crypto. These assets, then, can also be sold as NFTs (non-fungible tokens). The platform consists of over 90,000 pieces of land, and it was one of the early platforms to kickstart digital real estate. The platform is built on the Ethereum blockchain.
London-based auction house Sotheby’s has its virtual headquarters in Decentraland. Along with Republic Realm, a real-estate company, buying land here in millions of dollars speaks volumes for where the platform will take off in the upcoming years as the technology progresses.
2.) The Sandbox
Another project in the limelight is The Sandbox, based on a mobile game of the same name. The Sandbox metaverse is a 3D world that reminds one of the game Minecraft, but a better and polished version. In this virtual world, users can explore the land, buy it, develop on the land, and even trade.
The founders of The Sandbox insist that the platform is a truly decentralized metaverse. They also showed concern that the Tech Giants might take over the Metaverse and Web3. However, they believe they want to prioritize the users first, and everything comes second. Since this technology has yet to see significant advancements, we can not predict the platform’s future.
3.) Sin City
Sin City is another metaverse project with various features to keep users engaged. Some users also refer to it as the ‘Grand Theft Auto’ of the Metaverse. Sin City is a metaverse project that allows users to build an empire of bought land and also give a chance to earn cryptocurrency. Sin City’s land sale went live on 27th December 2021 and understandably gained a lot of traction.
This virtual world will have two zones in the metaverse – low-security and high-security. Factions and gangs in the game will own the low-security zones. However, the high-security zones are much safer to travel and explore around, but users will earn fewer rewards. As per the project’s whitepaper, the game’s beta version is supposed to be released in the first quarter of 2022.
4.) Illuvium
Another metaverse project in the limelight is Illuvium. Illuvium is an open-world role-playing game that is based on the Ethereum blockchain. In this virtual world, the user will be able to earn Ethereum by taking part in various quests set up in the vast virtual space. Along with that, the user also has to capture god-like creatures referred to as Illuvials.
Illuvium also offers the possibility to purchase land in the virtual space to own as NFTs. As of now, around 100k plots are available in this metaverse. Backed up by heavy knowledge and research, the creator believes that the users will be able to understand the tumultuous state of the world.
5.) Meta (Facebook)
Inevitably you must have seen the buzz quadruple around the term Metaverse when Facebook announced its company name change to Meta back in October 2021. This was done to edge close to Mark Zuckerberg’s vision for the brand and aimed to revolutionize the internet experience for all.
Meta is at the last testing stage of avatars, a massive breakthrough for social media platforms. From how you interact with friends, visit places or concerts, all will likely change with the direction we’re headed at. However, according to the industry leaders, the full-fledged version of this technology for a user to experience will take another 7-10 years.
It’s not wrong to say that this is just the tip of the iceberg, and there’s a lot that only time will unveil. Until we cannot fully immerse ourselves in it, why not learn all about the metaverse with ProApp? The time is right; act now!