RANKING-VIRTUAL-WORLDS

How do we evaluate the best NFT virtual worlds?

As we have previously said, there are quite a few NFT metaverses/virtual world projects that have been released. We had to filter out the best ones as that’s what we do on this website. However, in order to create a proper listing, we had had to come up with some kind of criteria.

• Impact – How active is this project on social media and news publications? Did it help the NFT world to grow bigger or just the owners? We always prefer projects that will help the whole NFT community to grow stronger. Also, if they manage to get a partnership with a big company like Decentraland and The Sandbox did, that’s a bonus as well.
• Art – What’s the virtual world like? Can you walk around in a 3D space together with other players? Perhaps it’s a 2D world like Treeverse from our list. We don’t favour 3D over 2D or vice-versa, as long as the virtual world has developed a specific style, we rate it.
• Multiplayer – Virtuals worlds can be both multi and singleplayer. Some virtual worlds like the Cryptovoxels from our list are both. Obviously, we prefer multiplayer virtual worlds as they are connecting players from all over the world together.
• Marketplace – What marketplaces is the project available on? In ideal scenario, the project will be available on both their website and secondary marketplace. Bonus points go to those NFT virtual world projects who have both, however, if it’s just one, we prefer if it was on a big marketplace.
• Platform – What platform can you enter the virtual world in? The more platforms there are, the better.
• Token – What token does the virtual world use? We prefer those with their own token as it will mostly save the users from high transaction fees.

What is a Virtual World NFT?

You may have seen this term virtual world, but what’s it about? Virtual worlds are digital environments where people can hang together, while NFTs add a way to verify ownership of in-game items.

Basically, virtual worlds are mostly 3D multiplayer games where people can interact with each other. NFTs serve as a way to purchase something in-game, mostly that’s virtual land, buildings, or decorative items.

Virtual worlds can also be in 2D. However, that takes away the “VR” experience. As if virtual worlds were not cool enough, we can also use virtual reality headsets with some of the virtual worlds.

Virtual reality headsets allow the users to feel like they are really inside of that virtual world. This is a great opportunity for various companies and individuals to advertise their brands.

Imagine if you had a virtual plot in one of these virtual worlds. Players could put on their virtual reality headsets and literally see the walls you have decorated with brand ads or merch. Now, where does NFT come in this?

As we already know from our NFT University article “What is NFT?“, NFTs are nonfungible digital assets. They serve as a way to confirm who is the real owner of the digital item.

That digital item can be anything in the virtual world, from virtual land to cosmetic items like jackets or t-shirts. Basically, NFTs will serve as proof that you own something in-game.

Other than promoting your brand, there are many other opportunities. Atari’s has built a casino in Decentraland virtual world. Players can spend tokens that they buy for real money to play in that casino.

Basically, that means you can earn money while you play. Choose a virtual world based on what you want to do.

What types of NFT virtual worlds are there?

There are many different types of virtual worlds, both in the NFT and in general. We have decided to focus on the three most common ones. These virtual world types are:

• Non-immersive – This is the most commonly used virtual world. Most of the users in it are fully aware it’s a virtual world. Non-immersive virtual worlds can exists thanks to computers, game consoles, input devices such as keyboard and mouse, etc. Basically, this is a type of virtual world where the user is fully aware of his physical surrounding and knows that he is in a virtual world. Ideal example of this are video games, and one NFT example from our list would be Upland.
• Semi-immersive – In this type of virtual world, the user will still be aware of the physical surroundings. However, if he focuses on the digital image he’ll slowly get absorbed to another reality. Such virtual worlds are possible thanks to 3D graphics and feeling of real depth in-game. Decentraland is one example of such a virtual world. Basically, when a virtual world is semi-immersive, people will feel like they are in another dimension, but they’ll be aware that it’s not “real”.
• Fully-immersive – If you want to experience fully-immersive virtual world experience, you’ll need adequate hardware equipment. Some examples of such equipment are virtual reallity headsets or head-mounted display (HMD). Once you put these glasses on, you’ll feel like you are really in another world. Fully-immersive virtual worlds combine visual and audio elements to make it feel as real as possible. One example of such virtual world is Cryptovoxels which you can see in our list. Users that enter virtual worlds with virtual headsets often mix reality with the virtual reality.

How to buy something in NFT virtual world?

Virtual worlds often have a wide variety of items that can be purchased. It ranges from virtual land to wearable items. So, how to buy something in the virtual world?

Most of the online virtual worlds have their own NFT marketplaces. Inside of those marketplaces, you’ll be able to search items by their categorization.

In case the virtual world you have joined doesn’t have a marketplace, most likely, you’ll be able to purchase items on a secondary NFT marketplace like OpenSea.

You might be wondering, well how does this item get in-game? When you purchase an NFT item, virtual worlds can automatically recognize it thanks to blockchain technology. Every NFT transaction is public and NFTs are non-fungible, so virtual worlds only have to check the blockchain for ownership.

Once they confirm the wallet address of the new owner, it’s easy to assign that item to someone in the game.

Most of the virtual worlds from our list can be found on major marketplaces like the OpenSea. Mostly, the virtual world NFTs you can purchase from secondary marketplaces are plots, while other items are sold through their in-game marketplace.

You might be wondering what tokens you can use. That solely depends on the virtual world itself. Most virtual worlds like Decentraland and The Sandbox have their own tokens.

The reason why some projects don’t use Ethereum is because of high transaction fees. Virtual worlds have battled this with their own tokens so the players can trade for cheap.

If you want to purchase anything, you’ll need a digital wallet. For those of you that don’t have one yet, check our best NFT wallets ranking.

Make money with NFT virtual worlds

Yes, you read that one well. You can make money with NFT virtual worlds. How does it work?

All of those virtual world projects have some sort of assets such as plots or buildings. If you want to make money, you can do a lot of different things, however, the most common thing people do is flipping.

You can purchase the land for cheap and then hold on to it for a while. Chances are, the land price will increase as time goes on. That is of course if the project is serious and has good marketing.

You need to beware of scam projects that will never deliver the game. However, that’s why we are here. You can rely on our rankings because our team of experts does deep research on each project before it’s added to the list.

That being said, if you find a good project at right time, you can make serious money. For example, Decentraland went from 24$ per land plot to a record-breaking $900,000 deal.

Imagine if you were amongst the first people to invest in Decentraland. You could have purchased something for ultra-cheap and sold it for 10x price just a couple of years later.

However, it’s the same as with Bitcoin, just because you missed the first one, doesn’t mean you can’t still participate.

Most people are flipping real estate in NFT virtual worlds today as well. You just need to recognize a good deal, and of course, have money for it.

Creating in-game items

Another way to make money is by creating in-game items if there is such a feature in the virtual world. Some of the virtual worlds in our ranking list have so-called “workshops” where artists can create stuff they can later sell to other players.

You might be a beginner artist but make a lot from selling your art as an NFT. Why? Because the NFT industry is very young and the competition is not strong enough.

On top of that, virtual worlds are even younger than NFT collections and there is an opportunity for all kinds of artists. Of course, the type of art you would create depends on the virtual world itself.

If it’s a 3D virtual world, you can create wearable in-game items. These can be as simple as clothing items, or the base character design, depending on the world possibilities.

Rent virtual space

You don’t need to literally rent it. Instead, you can create art galleries and promote other projects’ art. The amount of money you can generate by doing such a thing depends on the location of your virtual land.

If you are amongst early supporters, you might grab an awesome location with many visitors, and increase your prices based on that.

Another way you could earn from virtual spaces is by selling tickets. Even though F1 Delta Time is not an NFT Virtual World, it’s a great way to show how you can earn money by selling tickets.

One user bought a racing track in the game called “Grand Prix de Monaco”. If other players want to play on that track, they pay an entry fee. Each time someone pays, the owner of the track gets a %.

A similar thing can be done with the virtual worlds as well. You can charge a ticket entry fee for an event you hold. Be creative, provide something unique and let that “passive income” come in.

Create your own virtual world

This solution is probably not suitable for most of you, but some may like the idea. The competition in this space is strong. There are great projects such as Decentraland and The Sandbox, however, there is still enough space for you.

Blockchain and NFTs are still in their early stages. Many different NFT use cases are yet to be found. If you are creative enough, you can use it to your advantage.

Of course, the costs of creating such a project are huge. However, the rewards are huge as well. NFTs are the future, and you should combine them with your own virtual world.

The money-making possibilities are crazy:

• Selling virtual land – As seen with the above examples, you can sell virtual plots. People love these, especially if there are “hot” plots that are on a good location. Prices of these virtual plots can reach upwards $100 thousand once the project takes off. Brands like Atari have bought land in virtual worlds as well.
• In-game items – You can sell various cosmetic, consumable and utility items. There are no limits, only your imagination. What’s even more cool is that you can charge a % royalty fee on each transaction between players. Also, you can create a workshop where players can create their own items and then also charge a % on those items as well.
• Hosting private events – Even if your virtual world is free-to-play, you can still host private events. Users will have to pay a entry/ticket fee to participate in those events. Believe it or not, but Snoop Dogg is building his mansion inside of The Sandbox.

These are just some of the most common ways to earn money in virtual worlds. The possibilities are endless. When you create your own virtual world, you create the rules.

Why people buy virtual land?

This question might puzzle you, so let us answer it for you. People buy virtual land either because they see it as an investment, or because they love it.

As we have already explained, there are plenty of ways you can make money in a virtual world. That’s why most users see it as an investment where they can make a lot of money easily,

This includes already mentioned land flipping, selling workshop items, etc. However, not everyone is in it for money-making. Some people simply love the idea of virtual worlds.

Virtual worlds provide an escape from the real world. Even if you can’t use a VR headset, you can still feel like you are a part of it. The technology behind these headsets is still in its early phases, and we cannot wait to see how virtual worlds will look in the future.

It’s only a matter of time before the developers are able to achieve a super-realistic VR experience. Imagine using a VR headset to visit the Bahamas island during the winter months.

The same goes with NFT virtual worlds. It’s still early, but the experience is already awesome. You can become someone else, and that’s what attracts people.

When you purchase land in the virtual world, you can do anything you want with it. If you have an ideal house sketched in your mind, you can bring it to the “reality”. As time goes on, virtual land will become more expensive.

That being said, there will always be new projects. If you are early enough, you can get virtual land for cheap. Also, we constantly update the best NFT virtual world projects rankings, so you can always come to our website and read about them.

How to add custom items in NFT virtual world?

If you are an artist who wonders how to get featured in a virtual world, keep reading. We’ll explain the usual process you’ll have to follow in order to import your own assets into a virtual world.

The process differs from virtual world to virtual world. However, in most cases, it will start with you creating the assets. Let us guide you through the process in some of the most popular NFT virtual worlds.

The Sandbox

The first virtual world we’ll cover in our list is The Sandbox. They have a tool called “VoxEdit”. You can use this tool to create different assets that can be used inside of the game.

Since all of the creations in The Sandbox are box-like, you’ll have to adapt your style to that. That being said, you can change how big the “boxes” are, so you can even create something that looks round.

The Sandbox has published numerous tutorials on its website and on its YouTube channel. You can learn how to use the VoxEdit tool by looking at those videos. We love it because a well-documented project increases its value a lot.

Once you have prepared all of the assets, you can start exporting them. All of the assets you have created can be exported to The Sandbox marketplace where it’s converted to an NFT. If you want to, you can sell it on the marketplace as well.

When you have successfully published the asset, they’ll be published on your profile. Once published, you can use the assets in The Sandbox metaverse.

Decentraland

The biggest virtual world, Decentraland, also allows users to create their own assets. You can combine already existing ones, or create your own.

One of the assets you can create is the so-called “Scene” which can be published in-game.

To do that, you’ll need to use their “Builder” tool. Builder tool works in your browser, no downloads are required. When in the tool, you’ll be asked to choose the size of your “Scene”.

Scenes are small plots that can be later imported onto the land you or someone else owns. You can choose the size of your scene. There are different sizes, where “Mini” is 16×16 meters with 20 items per scene limit. The largest one you can do is up to 32 parcels.

Once you define the scene size, you can start designing. You can use the already available assets that are visible on the right side. Other than that, you can also import your own assets that are 3D and must be in .glTF or .glb format.

Use the available tools such as scaling to design the scene how you want. Once you are done with it, you can publish the scene in the “Scene pool” where other users can publish it in their land. You can also add it to your own land if you own some.

Other than scenes, you can also create wearable items. However, in order to publish such items in-game, you’ll have to get approval from the Curation Committee.

If your wearable items are approved, they can be minted. There are certain publication fees you need to pay before publishing your items. This fee was created to stop creators from spamming low-quality wearables in-game.

Cryptovoxels

Similar to the two examples before, Cryptovoxels is also a virtual world with virtual land, wearables, and more. Users can create, publish and trade the assets they have created.

All of the wearables are located inside of collections. In order to have a collection, you need to have an owned parcel. There is a maximum of one collection per parcel owned.

In case you don’t own a parcel, there are two options you can do:

• Ask someone who owns a parcel to create a collection for you
• Submit to a public collection

Creating an asset for Cryptovoxel virtual world is done through a tool called MagicaVoxel. Similar to The Sandbox, you can only use box-like objects.

Once you create an item, you need to choose which collection it belongs to. In case you have a parcel, you can create your own. Once you create the collection, Cryptovoxels will review it and if it’s not breaking any rules, you’ll get on the whitelist.

Pros of owning your own collection are the possibilities to choose the blockchain you’ll sell on. Public collections already have a defined blockchain, so you’ll have to adapt to their choice.

The cons of using public collections are that you won’t get any royalties. All royalties from public collection items go to the collection owners. Your creations (assets) will be listed for a sale on the OpenSea marketplace.

You can read more details about their process here.

Hopefully, you got a better understanding of the process behind adding your custom assets to a virtual world. It’s important to understand that each virtual world got its own rules. We suggest you always read their documentation to find out how to add your own assets.

What blockchain are NFT virtual worlds on?

You may be wondering what’s the most popular blockchain for virtual worlds? Most NFT virtual worlds are on the Ethereum blockchain right now. However, most virtual worlds have their own tokens instead of using ETH.

The major reason why virtual worlds such as Decentraland and The Sandbox have created their own tokens is because of transaction fees. Ethereum blockchain was the first one to accept NFTs in 2015.

Ever since then, millions of different NFT projects joined the ETH blockchain. That has resulted in high gas fees (transaction fees).

CryptoKitties NFT project has solely impacted the gas prices a lot, let alone other projects. To battle this, projects on the Ethereum blockchain have created their own tokens. Such examples are The Sandbox with SAND token and Decentraland with MANA.

Custom tokens help with the gas prices, however, fees are still higher when compared to other blockchains. For example, an average transaction fee on the Solana network is 0.00025$ per transaction while the ETH average is about 25$.

NFT virtual worlds also use other blockchains such as Polygon and EOS. As time goes on, we expect more projects on other blockchains until Ethereum can solve the scalability issues which result in high transactional fees.

Can you enter virtual worlds for free?

Yes, you can play most of the virtual worlds for free. However, in-game items will probably cost you money. Some of those you may play for free are:

• Decentraland
• The Sandbox (Requires Pre-registration)
• Cryptovoxels
• Somnium Space VR
• Ember Sword

Most of these virtual worlds rely on selling in-game stuff, however, they are usually free to play. You will probably be limited with the stuff you can do until you purchase something, but at least you can see the game first.

As for the platforms, virtual worlds are available on most major platforms such as PC, Mac, Mobile devices, etc. The best thing is that you can play most virtual worlds directly through a browser without downloading anything.

Cryptovoxels even has a way to let you build for free. You’ll be able to create a free space if you don’t want to pay for a parcel. However, these spaces are single-player only, you can’t hang with your friends in it.

That being said, you can always share the URL to your space and have other people join it to see what you have made. People who own parcels can add a teleport link to your space as well.

List your NFT virtual world

Are you an owner of an NFT virtual world? Would you like to attract more people to your project? We can help.

Our team of experts is in the NFT business since the first projects on Ethereum blockchain. We have noticed there isn’t a reliable website that does NFT project reviews, so we built BestNFTs.

We are an independent authority on NFTs. All of the projects you can find in our rankings are deeply researched and approved by us. We would never add a project that doesn’t hold any value.

Our website is a credible, unbiased source of NFT information. That’s why when your project is in one of our rankings, your brand grows. Other than that, you’ll attract a lot of visitors who can easily convert into buyers.

We provide several different ways to advertise on our website and each has its price. Firstly, you’ll go through a review process, and if your project is good, we’ll gladly add you to our rankings.

If you are looking for free promotion, we got something for you too. You can add your project to our directory for free. However, projects that pay us for the sponsorship will also get featured in the “Recently Listed” part on the homepage.

There is an old saying “Spend money to make money”, and that’s especially true in the NFT business. Marketing is the most important aspect of each successful project.

You have probably seen many NFT projects with low-quality art, yet they sold out. How is that possible? Because they have invested time and money into proper marketing.

The key to success in NFT business is community. However, to build a community you need to get exposure first. That’s where we can help.

Why advertise with us?

We are experts in the NFT field. Our team members are in the NFT and crypto space from the beginning. We are following all the latest NFT trends, from art to marketing.

Our website visitors are strictly from the NFT niche. This means if you advertise with us, 99% of people who’ll see your AD come from NFT space. Sure, there are people like you who just want to promote their projects, but the number of buyers is greater.

You should advertise on all social media channels such as Twitter and Youtube. However, when you spend money on their ads, a lot of money goes to waste. Each person that sees your AD will cost you, and not every person will be interested in NFT.

At least when you advertise with us, you know that only potential buyers will see it. Our website is still new, so the prices are pretty low for such a service. As the website grows, we’ll increase the prices as well, so get it while you can.

Other than potential buyers, you’ll also get a backlink to your project. That means your project website will get more recognition on Google and other search engines.

Overall, advertising on BestNFTs can make your project look more serious. We also have different social media campaigns that can help you reach more audiences. It all depends on what you are trying to achieve.

There are several different advertising spots on our website. You can decide which one you’ll get based on your budget and desires. What are you waiting for?

Get started today.