A few years ago, we used to think that there is just one Universe, but it seems like it is not enough for human beings' needs, because now we have the possibility to inhabit the Metaverse -not just one but a lot of them. What is that? How did it happen? I don’t know; all I know is these virtual worlds are revolutionizing the planet.

A Metaverse is a virtual world that offers users to create their lives within it. Using technologies such as virtual reality and augmented reality, people can have an avatar -In 2D or 3D-, building a house, have a farm, and, socialize. 

They say that the term appeared for the first time in a novel called “Snow Crash,” by Neal Stephenson, in 1992. Although some of them already existed few years ago, the term blew up when Facebook announced the change of name to Meta and the proposal to build a Metaverse. 

But what supposes to happen when you live in a metaverse? is it similar to the real life? Actually, the concept is not new; for long time, we have been hearing about virtual world games like Second life, Fornite or Roblox. The difference with the Play-to-earn games is that they work with Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), which means that basically everthing you get into the metaverse can become an asset. You will spend money, yes, but the NFT ownership allows earning income by selling it, exchanging, or even staking.

Could you imagine that you can live wherever you want, and own things like avatars, land, clothes, food, and other items and exchange them across platforms via your crypto wallet? That is the idea. It seems like there are endless possibilities within a metaverse.

From the end of 2021 until now, many Metaverses have come up, and it can be hard to choose one to invest. The criteria depend on different factors such as graphics, visual identity of the projects, the minimum amount to invest, or the blockchain. However, people join these games even before seeing the result because most of them are in development status. They use to have a roadmap to show the stage they are. 

But some Metaverses are already popular, most of them built on the Ethereum blockchain.

In their words

The Sandbox 

The Sandbox is a decentralized, community-driven gaming ecosystem where creators can share and monetize voxel assets and gaming experiences on the Ethereum blockchain.

Using The Sandbox's free software, such as VoxEdit and the Game Maker, players, artists, and game designers can create ASSETs and experiences, such as games, dioramas, and art galleries, for themselves and to share with others. These can be monetized to earn the creator passive income.

Decentraland 

Decentraland is a decentralized virtual reality platform powered by the Ethereum blockchain. Within the Decentraland platform, users can create, experience, and monetize their content and applications. Land is divided into parcels that are identified by cartesian coordinates (x,y). These parcels are permanently owned by members of the community and are purchased using MANA, Decentraland’s cryptocurrency token. This gives users full control over the environments and applications that they create, which can range from anything like static 3D scenes to more interactive applications or games.

Axie Infinity

Axie Infinity is a game universe filled with fascinating creatures, Axies, that players can collect as pets. Players aim to battle, breed, collect, raise, and build kingdoms for their Axies. The universe has a player-owned economy where players can truly own, buy, sell, and trade resources they earn in the game through skilled-gameplay and contributions to the ecosystem on the Ethereum blockchain.

My Neighbor Alice 

My Neighbor Alice is a social online game with focus on resource gathering, crafting, and creative expression. Players build their own virtual lands, interact with neighbors, perform exciting daily activities and earn rewards along the way. My Neighbor Alice is a social multiplayer builder game built on the Chromia blockchain, where anyone can buy and own virtual islands, collect and build exciting items and meet new friends.

The reason why these Metaverses became famous is that big brands or celebrities have supported them. Such as Samsung, who opened virtual space in Decentraland; Addidas did it within Sandbox; likewise Snoop Dogg and The walking dead are into it. Furthermore, JP Morgan announced the launch of a virtual bank within Decentraland; also they published in February the report “Opportunities in the Metaverse,” in which they call the metaverse a $1 trillion market opportunity.

In conclusion, all these spaces offer the same things: build a house, plant vegetables, fishing, enjoy art, etcetera…the things we do in real life. Then, why the explosion of the Metaverse? I think that it hides the need to create our own worlds, unique places to inhabit. It will be because we have lived under many rules, unable to question the, and unable to break them. 

But within the Metaverse, you should follow some rules too; so maybe it’s just the sensation of living in a different world. Anyway, there are many things to learn about it as we are figuring it out.