Last year, Facebook rebranded to Meta and announced that they are ‘developing exciting new technologies to help people connect and explore in the metaverse.’
Ever since metaverses have been making mainstream headlines. If you’ve been watching from the sidelines, you’d be forgiven for thinking that you’re late to the party, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
It’s still very early days for this groundbreaking reimagining of our digital lives. If you’re looking for an easily-digestible introduction to 2022’s top metaverses, we’ve got you covered. In no particular order, here is a top five.
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In this guide:
Ertha – explore & expand
Whilst Decentraland currently reigns supreme as the industry’s biggest metaverse, Ertha could be next in line to the throne. After generating a lot of buzz with its token released earlier this year it has quickly gained traction to become one of the most-anticipated metaverse games.
Ertha is a play-to-earn game in which mankind finds itself on the brink of extinction. Players must right the wrongs of the past by building a new world, from the ground up. Traverse the globe, develop revenue-generating land plots, and rebuild entire continents from the comfort of your home. The game delivers a unique experience in which players can turn their in-game earnings into real-world income.
Taking inspiration from classic MMO and strategy games, Ertha offers players a complex and intricately designed playspace perfect for the creation of governments, economies, and shaky alliances between its player base. Every player has the opportunity to leave a lasting impression within this ever-evolving metaverse.
You will need to act quickly if you want to own your own piece of Ertha. The land is being snapped up quickly, so head over to their globe to avoid missing out!
Wizardia – turn-based battler
In Wizardia players collect NFTs in a truly magical play-to-earn role-playing game. Level up your character and upgrade your gear on your quest to become the ultimate Wizard. The game’s gorgeous visual style ensures that it stands out from the other projects on this list, but don’t let that deceive you!
Wizardia tasks players with competing in intense PvP and PvE turn-based battles. You’ll need to think strategically as you fight for survival and uncover the magic behind this brand-new metaverse. Players who wish to invest in Wizardia can do so through its dual-NFT ecosystem which ensures there are plenty of ways to engage with the play-to-earn mechanics.
Earn rewards and tokens for winning battles, renting out Wizard NFTs, and selling NFTs. Passive income can be generated through holding ‘Genesis’ NFTs.
There are two types of Wizardia NFTs. The Wizard NFTs are in-game characters with distinctive art and abilities. A player will need at least three Wizards to fight in the Arena. Wizards can be upgraded, traded, rented, and summoned to create new ones. A Wizard’s worth is determined by its rarity, attributes, and abilities.
The Arena Genesis NFT is the second. This NFT represents a portion of The Arena’s ownership that is shared by a number of players and investors. The NFT entitles the owners to a percentage of the transaction fees processed in the Arena.
Wizardia is expected to launch in Q4 2022.
Illuvium – open-world adventure
A lot of hype has already been generated by Illuvium. The game reached 100,000 Discord subscribers in just six months. Between July and October 2021, the ILV token, the in-game cryptocurrency, went from $30 to $700. This highly-anticipated RPG has been billed as the first triple-A Blockchain game and its mix of open-world gameplay and Pokemon-style capture mechanics give it huge mainstream appeal.
The term AAA Game is used in the gaming industry to refer to high-budget, high-profile games that are typically produced and distributed by large, well-known publishers. Many are part of successful franchises, with new installments building on previous games’ success.
Kieran, Aaron, and Grant Warwick, colloquially known as the Warwick brothers, created the game. The Warwick brothers are a group of five Australian entrepreneurs and executives who have become billionaires. They are the younger brothers of Kain Warwick, the creator of the Synthetix Protocol, a synthetic asset DeFi platform.
Players journey through an alien landscape on the hunt for creatures known as Illuvials. There are over 100 unique creatures to capture, each with unique classes and abilities. Build your dream team and think strategically to outsmart and outmaneuver your opponents in intense auto-battles.
Star Atlas – sci-fi epic
Set in the distant future, Star Atlas is a massive multiplayer metaverse where players must side with one of three unique factions and compete for control of resources and territory. In this vast sci-fi world, players embark on an epic journey where they will have the opportunity to influence the outcome of battles and earn real-life rewards for their contributions.
It aims to achieve this by combining the blockchain with traditional game mechanics like combat, crafting, and guild wars. Players are given further incentive to explore the world through the prospect of valuable in-game resources which can be converted into real-world value.
Players can explore the virtual world for valuable resources and engage in player-versus-player and player-versus-environment battles to acquire in-game assets that can be sold for a profit on the decentralized marketplace. These assets double as NFTs.
Star Atlas is powered by Unreal Engine 5 and is hosted on the Solana blockchain. The Pre-Alpha demo client, which is available for download, combines UE5’s Nanite, Lumen, and other cutting-edge graphics technology to deliver cinematic quality video game visuals.
Moon Metaverse – space-age simulation
An extremely exciting project is Moon, and you can be one of the first to get involved. Inspired by traditional strategy games like Civilization and Age of Empires, this space-age play-to-earn metaverse promises in-depth economic, political, and social gameplay.
Players are tasked with building the first lunar colony by taking control of revenue-generating NFT land plots. Available from Moon’s brand new marketplace, each plot of lunar land grants access to a unique in-game economy in which players can start businesses, develop real estate, and create thriving communities. If developed and managed efficiently, lunar land has the potential to generate significant real-world income in the form of the game’s token.
However, such significant achievements in mankind’s history bring periods of extreme volatility. Don’t expect everyone to be on your side. There will be plenty of power-hungry players to contend with and conflict is never far away!
Moon Metaverse’s lunar land already looks like a fantastic investment for those looking to profit from the rise of play-to-earn gaming. Start your adventure among the stars by buying your own piece of the Moon today!
An untapped market
At this point, the rise of the metaverse is inevitable and the games pioneering this groundbreaking technology are set to become some of the most valuable entertainment properties in the world. Whilst this is far from an exhaustive list of metaverse games, these are the five that we’ll be keeping an eye on, and we suggest you do too!
Metaverse gaming represents a largely untapped market for the gaming industry. Whether you are an investor, a creator, or just the run-of-the-mill gamer, you will want to look into this field. At the very least, being the first to explore uncharted waters gives you bragging rights; at the most, being a trailblazer makes you an authority.
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