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For the past several weeks, the Insider reporters Kari McMahon and Lisa Kailai Han have been attending concerts with some of the hottest stars in the music industry, visiting stunning temples, skateboarding on the streets of California, and fighting undead villagers in Dracula's castle.This is all happening in the <keyword id="11121339" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="metaverse" source="Orion">metaverse</keyword>, of course.The "metaverse," a term coined by Neal Stephenson in his 1992 science-fiction dystopian novel "Snow Crash," is defined today as a 3D virtual-reality world that's supposed to be the next, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-the-metaverse-crypto-blockchain-gaming-vr-real-estate-2022-2">more physical evolution of the internet</a>.Last year, the concept shot into the global spotlight when Facebook <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-meta-rebrand-damaged-reputation-study-finds-2021-11">rebranded to Meta</a>, kicking off a Gold Rush-esque sprint into the space by companies far and wide.Following in Meta's footsteps, tech titans like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-did-microsoft-buy-activision-2022-1">Microsoft</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-google-labs-ar-vr-iris-blockchain-crypto-metaverse-web3-2022-2">Google</a> announced their intentions to pioneer the new frontier, investors poured <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/metaverse-virtual-land-sales-record-last-week-sandbox-decentraland-2021-12">$106 million</a> into virtual real estate in a single week last November, and brands including Gucci, JPMorgan, and <a href="https://medium.com/sandbox-game/the-sandbox-launches-nft-collection-to-celebrate-care-bears-40th-anniversary-450fba279619">the Care Bears</a> swooped in to launch virtual <a href="https://www.pcgamer.com/someone-spent-over-dollar4000-on-this-gucci-bag-in-roblox/">clothing lines</a>, <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/jpmorgan-decentraland-onyx-lounge-metaverse-virtual-real-estate-crypto-dao-2022-2">corporate lounges</a>, and games.With all that hype, it's easy to think that the metaverse has arrived.But has it?Having never set foot inside the metaverse before, we explored seven of the hottest virtual worlds to find out what the metaverse is really all about, whether it's ready for mainstream adoption, and what's still holding it back.We also went behind the scenes to interview the founders and creators of the worlds we explored to get their perspective on what the future holds for the metaverse.Insider hopes to serve as your guide to the metaverse, providing unbiased and frank opinions on the good, the bad, and the ugly of these virtual worlds from the ground up. The metaverse promises a lot, and in this series we wanted to find out whether it's living up to its potential.Click on any of the virtual worlds below to find out more, or, if you've still got any lingering questions about the metaverse, check out our original <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-the-metaverse-crypto-blockchain-gaming-vr-real-estate-2022-2">guide to the metaverse</a>.<h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/axie-infinity-review-walkthrough-metaverse-how-to-play-earn-strategy-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><div type="image" title="Illustration of the Axis Infinity metaverse" height="1800" width="2400" msid="91076190" hostid="261"></div></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/axie-infinity-review-walkthrough-metaverse-how-to-play-earn-strategy-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Axie Infinity</a> </h2>In a throwback to the early aughts, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/axie-infinity-review-walkthrough-metaverse-how-to-play-earn-strategy-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2D game Axie Infinity</a> consists of cute creatures battling against one another in a turn-based card game — think Pokémon crossed with Neopets. What makes Axie Infinity stand out is the fact that players can earn real money by playing the game. During the pandemic, the platform became hugely popular in the Philippines when some players earned more from the game than in some minimum-wage jobs there. While Axie today is more of a gaming platform than a complete virtual world, the developers' ultimate goal is to build Axie into a wider universe of games.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/axie-infinity-review-walkthrough-metaverse-how-to-play-earn-strategy-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to read the full story.</a><h2 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cryptovoxels-review-walkthrough-token-crypto-real-estate-nft-metaverse-opensea-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cryptovoxels</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cryptovoxels-review-walkthrough-token-crypto-real-estate-nft-metaverse-opensea-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><div type="image" title="Illustration of the cryptovoxels metaverse" height="1800" width="2400" msid="91076193" hostid="261"></div></a></h2>The online world <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cryptovoxels-review-walkthrough-token-crypto-real-estate-nft-metaverse-opensea-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cryptovoxels</a> is one of the smaller, lower-key metaverses on this list, since its creators haven't really focused on big brand partnerships thus far — though that may change this year. Rather than aimed toward gaming or questing, the platform is used primarily for social events like digital concerts and fashion shows. The mostly older user base includes a huge community of artists and creators, with a large emphasis on NFT wearables modeling. The world itself has a pixelated feel and is crammed with eclectic, user-built structures, spanning from bizarre Doge temples to funky jungle gyms that are a ton of fun to explore.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cryptovoxels-review-walkthrough-token-crypto-real-estate-nft-metaverse-opensea-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to read the full story.</a><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/decentraland-review-walkthrough-coin-mana-price-crypto-metaverse-real-estate-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><div type="image" title="Illustration of the decentraland metaverse" height="1000" width="1333" msid="91076196" hostid="261"></div></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/decentraland-review-walkthrough-coin-mana-price-crypto-metaverse-real-estate-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Decentraland</a> </h2>The 3D virtual world <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/decentraland-review-walkthrough-coin-mana-price-crypto-metaverse-real-estate-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Decentraland</a>, one of the more predominant metaverses to make headlines in recent months, recently hosted a digitized Australian Open and has also worked with other prominent companies like Sotheby's and Samsung to build virtual replicas of their real-life headquarters and stores on the platform. The open world, which features neon, cartoon-like graphics, is divided into more than 90,000 parcels of land for users to buy and build on. While some smaller minigames and quests exist, they're often glitchy, and the major draw of Decentraland seems to be the platform it provides for its community to attend virtual events together.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/decentraland-review-walkthrough-coin-mana-price-crypto-metaverse-real-estate-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to read the full story.</a><h2 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/roblox-review-walkthrough-metaverse-games-stock-creators-marketplace-nft-crypto-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Roblox</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/roblox-review-walkthrough-metaverse-games-stock-creators-marketplace-nft-crypto-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><div type="image" title="Illustration of the Roblox metaverse" height="1800" width="2400" msid="91076198" hostid="261"></div></a></h2>Founded in 2006, the seasoned gaming platform <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/roblox-review-walkthrough-metaverse-games-stock-creators-marketplace-nft-crypto-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Roblox</a> enables people to interact, build, and play together. The company, which went public last year, is much more commercial than the other virtual worlds and is also the only one not built on blockchain technology. While the platform originally catered to a younger audience, Roblox is now actively trying to target an older demographic. The user experience, which was more advanced than some of the other worlds we visited, is a testament to Roblox's existing immense popularity. Famous DJs have played sets on the platform, and key brands like Nike and Vans are also prominently featured, with each having its own themed game. At the same time, the central ownership and commercialization has led to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/games/2022/jan/09/the-trouble-with-roblox-the-video-game-empire-built-on-child-labour" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the exploitation of creators, many of whom are startlingly young</a>.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/roblox-review-walkthrough-metaverse-games-stock-creators-marketplace-nft-crypto-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to read the full story.</a><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-sandbox-review-walkthrough-alpha-metaverse-crypto-game-make-money-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><div type="image" title="Illustration of the sandbox metaverse" height="1000" width="1333" msid="91076200" hostid="261"></div></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-sandbox-review-walkthrough-alpha-metaverse-crypto-game-make-money-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Sandbox</a> </h2>The voxel-style gaming world <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-sandbox-review-walkthrough-alpha-metaverse-crypto-game-make-money-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Sandbox</a> has jumped to public attention for its large number of expensive real-estate sales, particularly after the clamor over the re-creation of Snoop Dogg's mansion. The platform, which is still in the alpha testing stage and hasn't been widely released yet, also counts brands like the Smurfs, the Care Bears, "The Walking Dead," and Adidas in its wheelhouse of partnerships. Compared with the other featured platforms, The Sandbox stands out because it emphasizes a mix of quest-style gameplay and events like clubbing. The platform is also unique because it actively seeks outside game developers to create diverse quests in return for funding, marketing, and guidance.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-sandbox-review-walkthrough-alpha-metaverse-crypto-game-make-money-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to read the full story.</a><h2 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/somnium-space-review-walkthrough-metaverse-crypto-token-review-vr-nft-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Somnium Space</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/somnium-space-review-walkthrough-metaverse-crypto-token-review-vr-nft-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><div type="image" title="Illustration of the Somnium Space metaverse" height="1000" width="1333" msid="91076202" hostid="261"></div></a></h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/somnium-space-review-walkthrough-metaverse-crypto-token-review-vr-nft-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Somnium Space</a> is one of the few virtual worlds that primarily focus on the virtual-reality component of the metaverse, with the company developing its own proprietary headsets and haptic Teslasuits for complete sensory immersion. While Somnium Space has been under development for years, the platform has managed to stay relatively under the radar — with its founders seeming to prefer it that way. Somnium Space focuses on highlighting art, housing both the Beeple and Dogecoin museums, and on providing its users with a social experience, hosting daily events for new members to meet up. While the virtual-reality visuals look fantastic in the tutorials, this platform also has the highest barrier to entry.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/somnium-space-review-walkthrough-metaverse-crypto-token-review-vr-nft-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to read the full story.</a><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/star-atlas-review-walkthrough-crypto-solana-game-token-metaverse-nft-marketplace-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><div type="image" title="Illustration of the Star Atlas metaverse" height="1800" width="2400" msid="91076203" hostid="261"></div></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/star-atlas-review-walkthrough-crypto-solana-game-token-metaverse-nft-marketplace-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Star Atlas</a> </h2>As the name implies, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/star-atlas-review-walkthrough-crypto-solana-game-token-metaverse-nft-marketplace-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Star Atlas</a> is a space-focused game offered in an immersive virtual world with sophisticated graphics. Because of its proposed visual and gameplay complexities, Star Atlas targets more-experienced gamers than the other metaverses. Users are able to earn income from the game, though we've found that it involves quite an outlay on the player's side to get involved. This virtual world is still in the early innings, with development starting in 2020, but it's already gained a lot of attention as one of the biggest games on the solana blockchain.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/star-atlas-review-walkthrough-crypto-solana-game-token-metaverse-nft-marketplace-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to read the full story.</a>

Insider's Guide to the Metaverse: How to play, make money, and party in 7 of the most popular virtual worlds right now

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Sales of virtual land have boomed in the last week, bringing in $105.87 million for just four <keyword id="11121339" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="metaverse" source="Orion">metaverse</keyword> projects, DappRadar said. </li><li>Gaming platform Sandbox dominated with $86.56 million in NFT sales, with Decentraland in second place. </li><li>The surge in metaverse-related activity has followed Facebook's name change to Meta, the report said.</li></ul>The metaverse is thriving right now, as individuals and companies pile in. A total of $106 million was spent on virtual property in the last week, with purchases of digital land, luxury yachts and other assets, according to data from <a href="https://dappradar.com/blog/over-100-million-in-metaverse-land-sales-last-week">DappRadar</a>.The Sandbox, an online gaming world that allows users to own plots of land, has dominated activity. Between November 22 to 28, the platform attracted $86.56 million in unique non-fungible token land sales that are tied to the blockchain, DappRadar said.In second place was Decentraland, another virtual platform that brought in $15.53 million in sales of digital plots of land. Smaller competitor CryptoVoxels sold digital land for a total of $2.68 million, while Somnium Space, a metaverse platform, sold $1.10 million worth of real estate. <div type="image" title="Virtual worlds land NFTs trading volume in 7 days" height="768" width="1541" msid="88053125" hostid="261"></div>Last week, buyers spent record amounts of money on virtual plots of land in the metaverse, where users can play games, trade digital assets and buy and sell anything from digital sneakers to digital dresses using <keyword id="11892695" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="cryptocurrency" source="Orion">cryptocurrency</keyword> tokens.Metaverse Group, a subsidiary of Tokens.com, <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/metaverse-property-decentraland-sale-price-mana-coin-cryptocurrency-2021-11?utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets">bought</a> digital land for $2.43 million last Tuesday, a record for property sales on Decentraland. Another <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/metaverse-crypto-digital-land-sold-axie-infinity-nft-decentraland-2021-11?utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets">plot</a> was purchased for $2.3 million on Axie Infinity, a play-to-earn gaming platform, in the same week. "Undoubtedly, metaverse land is the next big hit in the NFT space. Outputting record sales numbers and constantly increasing NFT prices, virtual worlds are the new top commodity in the <keyword id="11893898" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="crypto" source="Orion">crypto</keyword> space," DappRadar said. Last week, the four leading virtual worlds had attracted over 6,000 traders. Over the previous week, Sandbox boasted the second most traded NFT collection, while Decentraland came in 8th place. The report said the surge in metaverse-related activity started with Facebook's decision in late October to rebrand itself as "Meta", in a nod to its commitment to building out its own digital world for its users."Metaverse events are becoming an industry-standard in the crypto space. Allowing brands, artists, and creators to showcase their work and product to millions of people worldwide, virtual events in the metaverse will only become more popular," the report said. Crypto asset manager Grayscale has said the metaverse is a $1 trillion <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/metaverse-1-trillion-opportunity-grayscale-virual-land-sales-decentraland-2021-11">opportunity.</a> This week, Sandbox saw the sale of the most expensive piece of <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/metaverse-property-sandbox-virtual-real-estate-deal-record-4-million-2021-11">virtual land</a> ever, after Republic Realm spent $4.3 million on a plot.Decentraland is gearing up to host a 2022 edition of this October's <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/metaverse-decentraland-festival-happening-again-next-year-nft-sandbox-2021-11">virtual festival</a> that drew in 50,000 attendees who claimed a total of 11,204 NFTs. Sports clubs are diving in too. English soccer club Manchester City has teamed up with Sony to build its own virtual world, according to a <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/metaverse-investing-crypto-sport-manchester-city-sony-nft-sandbox-decentraland-2021-12">statement </a>Tuesday. And German sportswear maker Adidas said recently it had teamed up with crypto exchange Coinbase after announcing it would expand its activities in the metaverse.Gemini exchange founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss said they had purchased a plot of virtual land and <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/gemini-crypto-millions-funding-metaverse-winklevoss-meta-zuckerberg-2021-11">raised</a> $400 million in a funding round recently which they will use to help build their own metaverse.

Just 4 metaverse projects sold $106 million in virtual land last week, with The Sandbox taking a massive lead: DappRadar

<ul class="summary-list"><li>NFTs, or nonfungible tokens, are the key to the <keyword id="11121339" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="metaverse" source="Orion">metaverse</keyword>, experts say.</li><li>With the digital tokens, people are becoming owners on the internet, instead of simply renters.</li></ul>And just like that, the term "metaverse" has gone mainstream. Last week, social media giant <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/fb-stock">Facebook</a> announced it would change its name to "<keyword id="12416504" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="meta" source="Orion">Meta</keyword>" in an effort to move into the future of the internet, called <keyword id="12461337" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="web3" source="Orion">Web3</keyword> or the metaverse.Now, headlines about the metaverse, blockchain, and NFTs are dominating the news, and you might be wondering how they're all connected. But let's start with the basics. What even is the metaverse?Think of your physical world, the things around you, what and who you interact with. Now think of that physical world being digital. That's it. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-metaverse-facebook-mark-zuckerberg-roblox-animal-crossing-2021-8">That's the metaverse</a>.Cathy Hackl, who has earned the title of godmother of the metaverse, put it like this to <a href="https://www.voguebusiness.com/technology/the-fashion-execs-guide-to-the-metaverse">Vogue</a> in an interview in September: "It's about the internet breaking free from the rectangles in our hands, desks and walls and being all around us."It's like that Sims game so many grew up with, but better. Platforms like Decentraland and <keyword id="11893898" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="crypto" source="Orion">Crypto</keyword>voxels are already the social media of the metaverse in a way, said Andrew Steinwold, who hosts the crypto podcast Zima Red.There, "you can build a gallery; you can put photos of yourself, just like regular social media. You can get creative, scratch that itch. You can be social. You can go talk to your neighbors, go attend events."But what do NFTs and crypto have to do with all this?Everything!<keyword id="11919795" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nft" source="Orion">NFT</keyword>s are the digital key to unlocking the metaverse, Shreyansh Singh, the head of Polygon's NFT and gaming arm, wrote in a <a href="https://decrypt.co/82992/nfts-key-accessing-metaverse-beyond">Decrypt article</a>. An NFT, or a nonfungible token, is a unique digital asset stored on a blockchain, the same technology that underpins cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. The tokens give users ownership in the digital world."That was kind of the missing piece of the puzzle," said Steinwold, who's also a managing partner of <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/crypto-podcaster-andrew-steinwold-nft-fund-andreessen-horowitz-winklevoss-twins-2021-11">NFT-focused firm Sfermion</a>. "Now that that's enabled, the metaverse is actually coming to fruition."Wait ... what?Let's say you have a Fortnite skin, Steinwold said, referring to a digital outfit for your video game character. You don't actually own it, even if you spent countless hours getting it. Epic Games, which makes Fortnite, owns it. "It's kind of up to Epic Games' total purview whatever they want to do with it," Steinwold said. "If they want to delete my account, then they can do that ... They can just say, 'You know what, Andrew tweeted "screw Epic Games" this morning, we're going to delete all this stuff.'"It's a communist system in the sense that users add value to the system but get nothing in return, Steinwold said. With NFTs, the internet is becoming more capitalistic, "where your time-money effort is actually rewarded through ownership.""It's like if I use <keyword id="11892960" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="facebook" source="Orion">Facebook</keyword>, and they somehow gave me some portion of stock from commenting, from liking, from uploading photos, because I'm adding value to that platform," he said, adding that people on the internet are becoming owners, instead of renters. Will Facebook - I mean Meta - be part of the metaverse?Some, <a href="https://fortune.com/2021/10/29/john-carmack-facebook-oculus-metaverse-mark-zuckerberg/">including a key architect</a> of Facebook's metaverse, have been skeptical of the company's plan.As Steinwold put it, "If Facebook turned into a decentralized organization where it was user owned and governed, that would be a true part of the metaverse."So what's next?We haven't seen anything yet. You may remember, perhaps, the early days of "dial-up" internet in the 1990s when aol.com was the main platform. That's where we are with the metaverse and NFTs, Steinwold said. "It's almost like if you asked me about Google or Airbnb or Uber back in the 1990s. I couldn't even explain to you what those are," he said. "We are not even in the first inning, like the game hasn't started. We're still warming up."

Why NFTs and the metaverse will make you an owner - not just a renter - on the internet

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Insider's Guide to the Metaverse: How to play, make money, and party in 7 of the most popular virtual worlds right now

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Just 4 metaverse projects sold $106 million in virtual land last week, with The Sandbox taking a massive lead: DappRadar

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Why NFTs and the metaverse will make you an owner - not just a renter - on the internet

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