The excitement about web3 games continues to surge, potentially becoming as integral to our lives as the internet. Metaverse games are a part of this technological revolution, from play-to-earn (P2E) games rewarding in-game activities to captivating virtual worlds, marking a potential paradigm shift in the video game industry. If you’re keen to explore these innovations, check out our list of the top metaverse games to try out in 2024.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
► Metaverse games like Axie Infinity, The Sandbox, and Decentraland are leading the way in combining play-to-earn (P2E) mechanics with NFTs and virtual real estate.
► The metaverse is expanding beyond gaming into broader digital environments, with platforms like Facebook’s Meta aiming to reshape social networking and interactions.
► Blockchain technology and crypto play an important role in metaverse games, offering users rewards through tokens and NFTs, which can be traded or invested.
► The metaverse is still in its early stages, but it could become a major player in the digital entertainment industry.
What are the top metaverse games?
Our curated selection highlights some of the top metaverse games chosen for their popularity and potential. While not comprehensive, this list offers a snapshot of the exciting developments in this emerging and flourishing industry.
1. Axie Infinity
Starting the list is what could be arguably called the most popular metaverse game around today. Launched in 2018, Axie Infinity is also kind of a staple in the increasingly crowded NFT gaming arena.
The gameplay in this P2E game is somewhat similar to that of Pokémon and requires players to collect, breed, raise, battle, and trade “Axies.” The Axies are adorable little creatures that also double up as NFTs. This means each Axie is indivisible and unique. Because of their unique characteristics, each Axie can potentially grow to have a high value and become a successful long-term investment.
Players earn rewards in the form of NFTs within metaverse games. Alternatively, you could also be rewarded in Axie Infinity Shards (AXS) and Smooth Love Potion (SLP), the two native tokens on the platform. You could trade these assets on a crypto exchange for fiat currencies.
Axie Infinity players, known as trainers, can earn Smooth Love Potion (SLP) by achieving victories in the game’s Ranked Arena mode. Additionally, trainers can still obtain a smaller amount of SLP as a consolation prize for losing Arena matches, as long as they meet certain conditions.
2. The Sandbox
The Sandbox, originally a mobile game from the early 2000s, launched in 2010, allowing players to create worlds and populate them with characters and objects.
In 2018, Animoca Brands acquired the game and transformed it into a blockchain-based play-to-earn platform. This transition attracted investments from prominent figures and entities like Snoop Dogg, Republic Realm, HSBC, and Gucci.
Players buy and sell virtual real estate in The Sandbox, organize events, and trade NFTs and in-game items. The platform features the Sandbox Game Maker, enabling users to design their games. Additionally, it offers VoxEdit a tool for creating NFTs and 3D models, allowing users to generate and monetize their content in an open marketplace.
What is SAND?
The SAND token is the core currency of The Sandbox. As an ERC-20 token, SAND is integral for various in-game activities such as buying virtual land (LAND), trading user-created NFTs (ASSETS), playing games, and customizing avatars. LAND tokens represent ownership of virtual plots, while ASSETS are NFTs created within the platform.
SAND also serves a dual purpose, acting as a utility and a governance token. SAND holders can participate in decision-making processes for the platform’s development through a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). They can propose and vote on changes to The Sandbox ecosystem.
Moreover, SAND can be staked, allowing holders to earn a share of the platform’s advertising and transaction fee revenue.
3. Decentraland
Decentraland is somewhat similar to The Sandbox in that both these play-to-earn metaverse games involve a virtual world where you can buy and sell virtual land plots and other items.
In Decentraland you can purchase various in-game items, including virtual land parcels known as “LAND.” Acquiring a plot of LAND in the game grants you an ERC-721 token, a non-fungible token (NFT). This NFT signifies unique LAND ownership, making it impossible for anyone, including the game creators, to replicate your parcel.
The game offers multiple ways to engage and earn. For instance, you can buy space and rent it out for advertising or develop it into venues like stadiums for concerts and events. Holding LAND can also be a long-term investment strategy, as the virtual spaces in Decentraland offer diverse opportunities.
Decentraland’s ecosystem is limited to 90,601 LAND parcels, which form Genesis City. When you buy LAND, an equivalent amount of MANA, equal to the LAND’s value, is burned. This burning mechanism renders MANA a deflationary asset, meaning its total supply decreases over time with these transactions.
MANA has two main roles in the Decentraland metaverse, including:
- You can use MANA to buy LAND and other in-game items
- MANA holders can participate in the platform’s governance decisions through a DAO
4. Illuvium
Illuvium, a groundbreaking game in the “triple-A, 3D blockchain” genre, is creating a stir among gamers. Players in this alien-themed game track down and capture mystical creatures called illuvials by trapping them with shards or healing them.
These illuvials, which range in over a hundred varieties, serve as allies in battles against other players and monsters. As tradable NFTs, the value of illuvials escalates with their rarity and level of strength.
Players can also enhance the value of these creatures by merging three identical illuvials, each at its peak level, to create a new, more powerful entity. The game also allows players to find their gear, like armor and weapons, within its immersive world.
Success in quests and tournaments rewards players with the game’s cryptocurrency, ILV, which can be traded on the IlluviDEX, the in-game exchange platform.
5. My Neighbor Alice
My Neighbor Alice stands out as it welcomes players without prior experience in crypto, blockchain, or NFTs, making it accessible and easy for all gamers to engage with.
Set in the Lummelunda archipelago, a fantastical island inhabited by humans and animals, the game offers a peaceful environment for community interaction and virtual land ownership. Players contribute to this community through fishing, beekeeping, and bug-catching.
The game’s main character, Alice, lives on the island with her friends, including Beekeeper Bob, Björn the Bear, Shipwright José, and Ivan the Merchant.
Players assist Alice in her daily tasks, interacting with these characters and earning rewards for their activities and time spent in the game. They can also use in-game NFTs to design, decorate, and personalize their properties with buildings, animals, vegetation, etc.
The native cryptocurrency of My Neighbor Alice is the ALICE token, an ERC-20 token used for purchasing in-game items, earning staking rewards, and participating in the game’s governance system.
6. Alien Worlds
Alien Worlds is a free-to-play, P2E metaverse game with a decent fan following. While it’s free-to-play, you would have to make small purchases of the game’s native cryptocurrency, the Trillium token (TLM), to be able to complete missions and acquire NFTs.
The gameplay revolves around traveling to distant alien worlds and mining TLM or NFTs you find along the way. As you progress through the game and your inventory continues growing, you will have more resources to discover NFTs faster.
There are more than 300 different NFTs for you to collect, each unique in terms of value and rarity. Your objective in the gameplay is:
- To mine or acquire more than 300 NFTs
- Participate in nebula events
- Lease spacecraft to travel to distant planets
- Compete against other players and win
- Contribute to the governance system of Alien Worlds
7. Blocktopia
Bloktopia continues to be a prominent decentralized metaverse, offering an immersive VR experience. It’s built on the Polygon network and utilizes Unity, a cross-platform game engine.
Bloktopia serves is an educational and entertainment hub, catering to all levels of crypto experience. It integrates various aspects of blockchain technology, VR, augmented reality (AR), and social networking.
The platform provides multiple interactive spaces, including gaming rooms, meeting rooms, and areas for major brands to establish their virtual presence. Users can engage in activities like learning about cryptocurrencies, playing games, socializing, and even participating in Play-to-Earn (P2E) games.
The native token of Bloktopia, $BLOK, is an ERC-20 token crucial for in-game transactions, such as purchasing NFTs, accessing exclusive events, and interacting within the metaverse.
This token is also used for buying and customizing virtual real estate, known as REBLOK, and acquiring advertising rights, ADBLOK. These features offer various user revenue streams, including passive income through staking, real estate ownership, and advertising revenue sharing.
This innovative platform is designed as a decentralized VR skyscraper with 21 floors, each symbolizing the total supply of 21 million BTC.
Metaverse games compared
Many metaverse games have similar game mechanics and token economies. Here is quick comparison of how they differ from one another.
| Game | Tokens | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Axie Infinity | AXS and SLP | Players must gather, breed, raise, fight, and trade “Axies” in this P2E game, which has gameplay elements similar to Pokémon. |
| The Sandbox | SAND, LAND, and ASSETS | Users can plan events, trade NFTs and in-game goods, and purchase and sell virtual real estate. |
| Decentraland | MANA and LAND | A virtual world where you can buy and sell items and virtual land plots for various purposes like advertising. |
| Illuvium | ILV | An alien-themed game where you track down and capture creatures called illuvials by trapping them with shards. |
| My Neighbor Alice | ALICE | Players follow Alice on her journey through a fantasy island where she completes activities for her friends daily. |
| Alien Worlds | TLM | Travel through distant alien worlds where you mine resources in the form of tokens and NFTs. |
| Blocktopia | BLOK | An educational and entertainment hub that provides interactive spaces, gaming rooms, and meeting rooms. |
What is the metaverse?
Metaverse is an umbrella term for any cyberspace created by the convergence of enhanced physical reality and virtual reality where people can interact in real-time in a digital environment.
The metaverse primarily comprises games, but it promises to expand beyond gaming. For instance, Facebook’s Meta aims to transform social networking through AI and VR, envisioning a platform for socializing, learning, and playing.
The excitement, anticipation, and confusion surrounding the metaverse mirror the early days of the internet, which revolutionized information exchange and communication. Neal Stephenson first coined “metaverse” in his 1992 sci-fi novel “Snow Crash,” envisioning it as a comprehensive virtual world parallel to reality.
The metaverse is a virtual world offering simulated, shared experiences. It represents existing and future digital platforms that leverage virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) for immersive and interactive digital experiences.
The metaverse: The next frontier in crypto gaming
The metaverse has already begun its impressive journey, driven by technological advancements and innovative concepts. Major global companies are actively developing this space, promising a future with more immersive games and expansive virtual interactions.
In the next decade, the metaverse is poised to become a major player in the digital entertainment sector, potentially reshaping how we interact with technology and each other in virtual spaces. The aforementioned games are some of the first leading the charge.
Frequently asked questions
What is a metaverse platform?
What is the most popular metaverse game?
What is the best metaverse to play?
What can you do in the Metaverse?
Disclaimer
In line with the Trust Project guidelines, the educational content on this website is offered in good faith and for general information purposes only. BeInCrypto prioritizes providing high-quality information, taking the time to research and create informative content for readers. While partners may reward the company with commissions for placements in articles, these commissions do not influence the unbiased, honest, and helpful content creation process. Any action taken by the reader based on this information is strictly at their own risk. Please note that our Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, and Disclaimers have been updated.
