It’s no more news that the metaverse attracted a lot of attention during the last quarter of 2021. Social media company Facebook changing its name to “Meta” was no doubt among the key sponsors of the whole metaverse craze. More so, as the public continues to yearn for total decentralization, the existence of a metaverse is all but inevitable.
Before Meta (formerly Facebook) brought the concept of the metaverse to the mainstream, there were already existing metaverse games and projects, but most were underrated. When the company did, these existing metaverse games and projects finally started to get the traction they deserved. And as more projects sprung up, the existence of a metaverse became a matter of time rather than a matter of possibility.
2022 is being tipped to be the breakout year for the metaverses and play-to-earn gaming platforms. The issue now is; with so many metaverse games and projects out there today, how do you know the ones with better potentials so you can profit from it?
List of Metaverse Games and Projects to Watch
To avoid you using a scattergun approach and overpopulating your watch list, we have made a list of the top 10 metaverse project monitor for investment opportunities in 2022.
GALA GAMES: MIRANDUS
First on the list is Mirandus a gaming metaverse developed by GALA games. If you’re familiar with blockchain gaming, GALA games shouldn’t be a new name.
Mirandus is a fantasy role-player game set in a world ruled by five monarchs who of course, are players of the game. The game is designed to give players the freedom of choice to explore the world of Mirandus. Players can join with one of the monarchs and serve as a knight in their court, or build their home in one of the five cities of the realm.
It is essentially a metaverse with a medieval theme. It operates as a player-driven economy where players in the metaverse will be able to own lands and structures on it. All contents in the game will be NFTs built by the players. Although, the project is still very early in its development, and the release may not happen in a couple of years. However, we can expect some sort of alpha access to the early stages of this game this year.
THE SANDBOX
The sandbox is a virtual metaverse where players can play, build, and monetize their virtual experiences. The appearance is quite similar to the Minecraft game with its blocky texture. Players can participate in mini-games, adventures, quests, events and lots more.
The sandbox has been in the works for years, developing different experiences and games on the plots of land available in the sandbox metaverse. In November 2021, public alpha access was put out to enable players to get access and test some of the experiences set to be in the game when it’s launched.
This project has seen massive partnerships and over 12,000 landowners within the sandbox metaverse. This bodes well for the project because having enough investors is key to any project developing and coming to fruition in this space.
AXIE INFINITY
Arguably the best play-to-earn game on this list; Axie Infinity is a metaverse gaming project developed by Sky Mavis. According to the plot, Axie Infinity is a universe populated by creatures known as Axies, and these Axies will be owned by players. The goal is for players to battle, breed, and build kingdoms for their Axies.
There are a lot of experiences in the works that players will be able to participate in, however, the most notable one to mention is the card game. The card is a means for players to battle their Axies and rank the leader board where then they can complete a storyline and earn a token called XLP. In 2021, it’s ranked as the most successful play to earn game that has ever existed. 2022 is more likely to be the same considering the fact that Axie Infinity is set to have land gameplay where players will be able to use tokenised plots of land as a base for their Axies.
DECENTRALAND
Decentraland is a decentralised virtual reality platform powered by the Ethereum blockchain. This by most metaverse enthusiasts is the closest to what the metaverse will look like in the future.
Decentraland has been in the works for a couple of years now, players have been able to access most of the experiences it’ll offer upon complete launch. Experiences like games, events and shops have been highly rated among alpha access players.
Similar to The Sandbox, the land within the metaverse (Decentraland) will serve as a crucial component as all will be owned by its players, giving a much more player-influenced space. Of course, there are a couple of play-to-earn mechanics in the game such as; Landowners charging fees for players to access their land and experiences in it, and players being rewarded in tokens and NFTs for completing different quests in the Land.
ILLUVIUM
Illuvium is an open-world RPG game built on the Ethereum Blockchain. It make its way to fifth on this list being the first AAA game built on Ethereum. Players can go on quests, purchase land, NFTs, and battle within the game. The game is populated by characters known as “Illuvials”, the goal is for players to search and capture them, then fuse them for rear ones.
The in-game reward is a token known as Illuvium (ILV), given to players for their achievements. The token also entitles players to their share of the Illuvium Vault and is used to participate in the governance of the game through the Illuvium decentralized autonomous organization (DAO).
A huge plus of this game project is that players don’t have to pay NFT GAS fees, meaning that peer-to-peer trading and instant transactions can be handled with ease.
STAR ATLAS
Star Atlas is an online multiplayer game happening in a virtual gaming metaverse. Being built on Unreal Engine 5 is perhaps one of its special qualities that makes it appear on the list. The game is expected to have a cinematic quality, and real-time environment, giving that realistic feel we want from a metaverse.
The plot says Star Atlas takes place in 2620, an age with different civilizations competing for resources and control. Also, similar to Decentraland, NFTs can be created for and traded within the game. The game was first announced in January 2021 and is currently being built on the Solana blockchain.
VULCAN FORGED (PYR)
Vulcan Forged is a blockchain game studio and marketplace for NFTs. It is a community–based project for the promotion and development of blockchain game developers. They created what is known as the Vulcan Verse; a Greek-Roman fantasy metaverse made up of 10000 plots of land.
The Vulcan Forged Platforms and games include the Vulcan Verse, Anvil, Vulcan Market, Berserk, and Frenzy. With all these things ongoing, it’s hard for this not to be a hit in 2022. Vulcan Forged itself has a token known as PYR, which is what you should be much interested in.
YIELD GUILD GAMES
Yield Guild Games is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) investing in NFTs. The goal is to develop the largest virtual economy in the world, optimize assets, maximize utility, and share revenues with stakeholders.
The platform has a community of players and investors who earn by investing in NFTs, used in metaverses and blockchain-based games.
The easiest way to understand it is to describe the project as a community that trades NFTs within Metaverses directly, or indirectly use their NFT assets as a rental scheme, then get paid in-game rewards. What should be focused on is their token YGG, because the more people participate in play-to-earn games, the more they’re likely to earn.
CRUCIBLE NETWORK
Crucible Network appears to be an NFT metaverse gaming project currently in the works. There’s not much known about this project, and it currently doesn’t have a token. However, upon its launch in 2022, it’s a project worth taking note of beforehand.
GameSwap (GSWAP)
Just like the name suggests; GameSwap is a virtual game where players can trade items. The platform uses the token GSWAP as currency in its exchange.
This is a relatively new project making rounds in the metaverse, cryptocurrency, and NFT space. And for the right reasons, it is expected to incorporate other Meta games like Axie Infinity very soon.
Final Takeout
It’s no longer a question of whether the metaverse will be a thing in the future, rather, it’s a question of which metaverse will be the leading one and which will bring the most in terms of investment opportunities.
Disclaimer
The contents written in this article is for entertainment and educational purposes only, and not financial advice. Please do your due diligence before putting your hard-earned money in the financial market.
