Hardly a day passes when we do not hear the word Metaverse these days. The word Metaverse is a portmanteau of the Greek word “Meta”, meaning after or beyond, and the word “Universe”. Now a significant segment of online games has taken up the metaverse games, there are a lot of metaverse games out there in the market and a ton of them are under development.
But, why in the first place are we talking about metaverse games? What are these, how do they work, what made them so famous, and what are the top metaverse games to try? We will try to answer all of these questions in this article today.
What are Metaverse Games?
Well, it isn’t that easy to explain what metaverse Games are, but, as simply as we can explain, the video games that you can play inside the metaverse are metaverse games. Now, the big question arises, what is Metaverse? Well, this is the tricky part. Think of it this way, before the Internet people used to play football, baseball, and all sorts of sports only on real fields and grounds, and then all of these games were playable on the Internet.
How would you describe to a person of the 1980s that he could now play football on a computer using the internet? Isn’t that going to be hard and tricky? The same thing applies here as well when we try to explain the term metaverse Games.
The metaverse is a digital world, which is persistent, just like the real world. It is a 3-D universe where people can meet, socialize, game, and do everything that they do in the real world. Currently, Metaverse is a concept and is under development, but there are certain games that provide us with an idea of what Metaverse could be like. These games are the Metaverse Games. Right now, what you can do in the metaverse is limited, since it is still being developed and tested out. According to the tech CEOs Mark Zuckerberg and Satya Nadella, Metaverse is the future.
List of top Metaverse games
1) Axie Infinity
- Developers – Sky Mavis
- Release Date – March 2018
- Platforms – PC and Mobile Devices
Axie Infinity is an NFT-based online video game developed by a Vietnamese studio Sky Mavis, the game runs on the cryptocurrency Ethereum. The primary objective of the game is to collect, breed, raise, battle, and trade the Axies, the digital pets. The game is inspired by Pokémon, the Axies have special powers and are customizable.
To start playing the game you first need to buy 3 Axies with Ethereum. After buying 3 Axies, players can breed, raise and battle the axies. The developers have developed their own cryptocurrency wallet, Ronin, which is used to make all the in-game transactions.
There are two types of assets in the game, the first is the SLP (Smooth Love Potion), required to breed the axies, which can be earned by completing the daily quests or by playing arena games or adventure matches and the other asset is Axie Infinity Shard/Token, which is the official currency of the game.
2) My neighbor Alice
- Developers – Antler Interactive
- Release Date – Not Known
- Platforms – PC
This metaverse game is an online multiplayer builder game that primarily focuses on building and creating islands. You can also buy and sell islands. The other main features of the game include interacting with neighbors and performing daily activities like farming, fishing, beekeeping, and bug-catching.
In the game, players can trade their island and also other items like houses, animals, plants, etc. Players can modify their avatar by installing different assets to it. Each piece of land in the game is represented as an NFT token and it is in scarce supply. The official or main currency of the game is Alice Token which is used to perform all the in-game transactions.
3) The Sandbox
- Developers – PIXOWL INC.
- Release Date – May 15, 2012
- Platforms – PC and Mobile Devices
The Sandbox Metaverse is the third largest metaverse by market cap. Developed by Pixowl Inc., this open-world video game is somewhat similar to My Neighbor Alice. In this free-to-play game, you can build, share and monetize your assets. The Sandbox is built on Ethereum Blockchain.
Some in-game features of the game are given below-
- GameMaker – A visual scripting toolbox using which players can build 3-D games for free and can even monetize them.
- VoxEdit – It is software that players can use to create Voxel assets (NFTs), which then can be traded in the marketplace
- Marketplace – Where all the transactions take place
The SAND token is used for all the transactions that take place inside the gaming ecosystem. For example, you need SAND tokens if you want to play a mini-game made by some other person playing the game. Similarly, you can also charge other players these SAND tokens for allowing them to experience something that you built.
4) Fortnite
- Developers – Epic Games
- Release Date – July 21, 2017
- Platforms – PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, GeForce Now, PC & Mobile Devices
One of the most popular games in the gaming market right now, it has so many gaming modes available inside it, that any player can play it. Whether you like Battle Royale, you like shooting monsters, or you like building stuff using your imagination, Fortnite offers you so many things.
One thing that separates Fortnite from others in this listicle is not only the numerous gaming modes that it has but also the crossplay feature that it supports. Fortnite can be played on the most devices than any other game on this list, this takes the total number of average monthly active Fortnite players to around 80 million.
5) Roblox
- Developers – Roblox Corporation
- Release Date – September 1, 2006
- Platforms – Xbox Series X|S, PC, Fire OS & Mobile Devices
Technically Roblox shouldn’t have been on this list, since it’s not a game, it is a platform where you can build your own game and then you can monetize it to earn Robux, the in-game currency of Roblox, selling 100,000 Robux to Roblox can fetch you $350.
You can also play thousands of games that have been created by other community members. You can compare Roblox to YouTube, but here instead of watching or making videos, you play or create games.
Several companies like Nike and Gucci even use it for their marketing purposes. It is one of the oldest metaverse platforms which has been growing steadily since its inception.
6) Sorare
- Developers – Sorare
- Release Date – 2019
- Platforms – Browser-Based & Mobile Devices
This blockchain fantasy soccer game is one of a kind. The mechanism of the game is simple, there are digital trading cards of real-life players in the form of NFTs that you can buy using the game’s in-game digital currency SOR Tokens. After forming your soccer team, you can then compete in various fantasy leagues. The performance of your fantasy soccer team will depend on the real-life performance of the players.
The cards for the players that are made each season are limited and have a rarity level associated with them. There are 4 levels of rarity –
- Limited (Yellow Card) – a maximum of 1000 are produced each season for a player
- Rare (Red Card) – a maximum of 100 are produced each season for a player
- Super Rare (Blue Card) – a maximum of 10 are produced each season for a player
- Unique (Black/ Brown Card) – only one card is produced each season for a player
It is worth mentioning that, even if a season expires the card of a particular player for the previous season does not expire and can still be traded or played in the new season.
7) Minecraft
- Developers – Mojang Studios, Xbox Game Studios, Telltale Games, and Others
- Release Date – Nov 18, 2011
- Platforms – PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Switch, PC & Mobile Devices
Minecraft is one of the most popular and best examples of a metaverse game. There are two main modes in the game – Survival mode and Creative mode.
In survival mode, you need to build houses, structures, and tools and protect yourself from the mobs who will try to disrupt your peace and can even show hostile behavior towards you. This mode of the game tests your survivability skills.
In creative mode, you are there in an open field with all the resources from the get-go. It is a giant sandbox in which there is no pre-set objective and you do what you want to do. Just like other games, Minecraft also allows you to build stuff and monetize them to earn some bucks. You can also experience the other stuff that the other community members have made for free or by spending Minecoins, the official in-game currency of Minecraft. You can purchase 1500 Minecoins for roughly $10.
8) Horizon Worlds
- Developers – Meta Platforms
- Release Date – Dec 9, 2021
- Platforms – Oculus Quest & MS Windows (currently under development)
Earlier known as Facebook Horizons, this metaverse game is played using a Virtual Reality (VR) headset Oculus Quest, but its web-based version and mobile phone versions are also under development. Horizon Worlds is described by Meta as a “VR Social Experience”. You can think of it as a digital replica of the real world. Just like in the real world, you have numerous activities to perform, Horizon Worlds also allows you to perform those activities.
You can go roam around the Plaza (the Horizon Worlds Hub), play games, visit other worlds (created by other community members/players), attend events, make new friends, and a lot more within the confines of your physical floor space.
9) Decentraland
- Developers – Decentraland Foundation
- Release Date – Feb 2020
- Platforms – Browser-based
Decentraland is another blockchain-based metaverse game built on the Ethereum blockchain. You can create virtual land and digital real estate and can sell them to other players for MANA, the in-game currency of Decentraland. Decentraland is one fine shining example of the metaverse world.
Decentraland is a tough competitor of Horizon Worlds. Here, after buying a piece of land (an NFT) you can create whatever stuff you want to and can monetize it to earn some money. The game has become so popular among crypto-investors and play-to-earn gamers since its release. If you want to start experiencing the Metaverse, Decentraland might just be the right place for you.
10) Illuvium
- Developers – Illuvium
- Release Date – Currently in Beta Testing
- Platforms – PC
Illuvium is an upcoming AAA (high-budget) NFT-based video game built on the Ethereum blockchain that could be released at the end of 2022. It is an open-world fantasy RPG game that will allow players to explore space, collect the illuvials and build their small army. Illuvials are the in-game fictional creatures that could be collected. Illuvials are NFTs that could be traded at NFT marketplaces like OpenSea.
Illuvials are inspired by Pokemon and all of them have a certain set of skills that they possess which can be used in battles with other players’ illuivials to earn rewards. Illuvium (ILV) is the official in-game that is used for in-game purchases.
Illuvium is being developed to attract mainstream gamers, it is all set to become the first AAA NFT-based video game. You can watch the gameplay trailer of the game here –
Frequently Asked Questions
Which metaverse is best?
Decentraland is one of the best virtual platforms in the Metaverse.
What is the best metaverse Crypto?
Axie Infinity (AXS) is undoubtedly one of the best metaverse Crypto.
What was the first metaverse game?
2003 release Second Life was the first metaverse game to be out.
Conclusion
You have reached the end of our article on Best Metaverse Games. We hope you are going to enjoy our most recommended Metaverse games. Don’t forget to comment down your favorite one on our list. We will be back with more exciting and trending Game Lists very soon. Till then, Happy Gaming!