Features Of A Sustainable Metaverse

The word metaverse entered our lives on October 28, 2021, when Facebook changed its name to Meta. Within a month of this announcement, all crypto assets related to the metaverse reached record prices. Nowadays, prices have returned to the levels before the Facebook announcement. Was the metaverse just hype? Does it make sense to invest in metaverse-related NFTs and coins?

Definition and Connotations Of Metaverse

Metaverse can be defined as three-dimensional digital environments where people come together. To cover future situations, we must include humans, bots, and IA-powered autonomous agents.

Does the Metaverse experience have to be accompanied by AR or VR devices? I don't think it's necessary. To some extent, we can capture a sense of three-dimensionality on the two-dimensional screen.

Metaverse reminds people of my generation, primarily the Second Life game. About 15 years ago, one of the Turkish banks opened a branch in Second Life. Nowadays, many important companies have bought land on Sandbox. However, we can not suggest that a large number of people visited these metaverses. Sandbox plots are five times cheaper than last year.

The word metaverse also conjures up computer games such as World of Worldcraft, Minecraft, and Doom. Competing with the game industry on the technical and aesthetic dimensions of metaverses is difficult because this industry has decades of experience creating 3D environments and making them attractive.

Are Blockchains Essential For Metaverses?

Skeptics of cryptocurrencies and NFTs question whether blockchain infrastructure is necessary for the metaverse. After all, in examples such as Second Life, World of Worldcraft, and Minecraft, communities were created, and in-game economies were activated without using blockchain. NFTs were not in question in Steven Spielberg's 2018 movie Ready Player One.

In his novel Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson first used the word 'metaverse.' At that time, there was no reference to blockchains in the novel since even Bitcoin was not there yet. We have no clue that the metaverse that Facebook is trying to build is developed with a decentralized understanding.

On the other hand, we know that infrastructures belonging to the crypto world will help make the metaverse concept real. NFTs create scarcity in the digital world, making long-term investment possible. Decentralization protects digital property from arbitrary dispositions by central authorities. Crypto ecosystems are also bringing their experience in governance, community building, and tokenization to the metaverses.

Metaverses and Play-to-Earn Games

Metaverses and play-to-earn games are very similar. Land NFTs, which we can count among the features of metaverses, events such as concerts, exhibitions, and congresses can also be mentioned for games. Games like Splinterlands, Psyberx, and Illuvium also have plot NFTs. Sandbox, Axie Infinity, and Decentraland, the three metaverses with the most significant market value, are also categorized as games.

Over time, this situation may change when the business world starts to use metaverses more effectively. Training halls with augmented reality, shopping in a three-dimensional environment, and social media that communicate through avatars can be considered separately from games. On the other hand, people will not object that all this takes place in the Harry Potter or Dune universe.

Features Of A Sustainable Metaverse

The secret to the success of Web 2.0 technology companies was their user engagement. Users create the content of social media platforms entirely. We know that the missing item here is digital ownership. Social media companies take the lion's share of the advertising revenue. Thanks to the Web 3.0 play-to-earn and metaverse projects, users have started to own a part of the digital world.

The collective ownership requirement of metaverses can explain the failure of pre-crypto metaverse projects. The token economy made possible by crypto technologies paved the way for the formation of joint ownership. However, this economy must be carefully designed to create a sustainable structure. One crucial point is developing robust use cases for valid currencies in the metaverse. One of the prerequisites for establishing a sustainable design is that the project creators and those who participate in it share the created value fairly. In addition, a balance must be struck between early-stage investors and those who join later. On the other hand, NFTs and coins must be positioned to support each other's value.

Crypto ecosystems need large communities with a relatively equal stake for sustainability. Because when whales believe they have a better opportunity, they can dump their coins and NFTs. Community support is also required for testing and using the utility built in the metaverse.

The persistence of metaverses depends on attracting users even when financial incentives weaken. Aesthetics images and game mechanics stand out as essential elements in this context. In addition, the fact that the luck factor is involved is one factor that encourages participation. In this context, I consider it essential that the plot NFTs include the luck factor. Plot NFTs in Illuvium and NFT Worlds are examples in this context.

Finally, I want to mention innovation and strong communication skills, which are indispensable for any successful business. Innovations that will be made by keeping the pulse of the users will not only keep the interest alive but also create extra economic value.

Conclusion

The unit costs of information technologies are decreasing exponentially. This fact shows that large masses will one day use metaverses, similar to today's social media. Research firm Gartner estimates that by 2026, 25% of people will spend at least one hour a day in the metaverses.

If this prediction turns out to be correct, Splinterlands, one of today's most successful metaverses, could be serving tens of millions of users. I wonder how things will unfold.

Thank you for reading.

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