The revived clarion call of Web3 enthusiasts has been that the much-heralded death of the metaverse is largely overstated.
As the bull market picks up pace, not only is the metaverse very much alive but it has been driven by the users themselves — the self-same users that the mainstream media triumphantly compared to rats fleeing sinking ships.
What the media didn’t know was that users were not fleeing but building as hard and fast as they could to create working worlds within worlds; worlds that were not only entertaining and emotionally satisfying but also economically rewarding.
Take The Sandbox, for example; a poster child for metaverses from the origin three years ago.
The platform successfully collected a number of partnerships and big brands to build experiences on their lands. From the beginning, co-founder and chief operating officer Sebastien Borget had promised progressive decentralization and now in 2024, he sees it beginning to come to fruition.
Since its inception, The Sandbox has championed user-generated content as the core of its ecosystem. Borget emphasized that the platform’s success is intrinsically linked to the creativity and dedication of its community.
In 2024, The Sandbox reached a milestone of 5.8 million users with wallets on the platform, and over 1,000 unique experiences created by the community, from brand activations and NFT collections to the first Irish Pub in the sandbox launched two years ago, are now live.
“There are now more than 330,000 unique creators actively using The Sandbox’s Game Maker tools, the platform has become a fertile ground for innovation. These creators are not just participants but are pivotal in defining the metaverse’s landscape. By providing intuitive, no-code tools, The Sandbox enables anyone — from novice to experienced developers — to craft and share their own games and experiences,” says Borget.
User-generated content is not merely a feature but the foundation of The Sandbox’s philosophy. Borget explained that UGC transforms games into dynamic platforms, fostering continuous engagement and evolution. This approach democratizes content creation, allowing users to monetize their creativity and build sustainable careers within the metaverse.
“We also host a wide array of user-generated projects that reflect the diversity and richness of our community. From the Pickaxe Master game to cultural hubs like the Irish Pub, users are creating content that spans gaming, art, fashion, sports and entertainment. These projects often blend virtual and physical elements, opening new avenues for monetization and transmedia storytelling,” he says.
UGC allows platforms to offer diverse, entertaining content
Examples of successful UGC ventures within The Sandbox are plentiful. Projects like Meta Futures have launched collections of virtual items and experiences, while individual creators host regular competitions, distributing rewards to their community, in a transparent way. These initiatives not only enrich the metaverse but also provide creators with tangible economic benefits, some even earning six-figure revenues in SAND tokens.
Upland is another example of a metaverse offering lots of UGC
Upland is another metaverse with a beating heart. The project has allowed later entrants to still buy properties at a cheaper price, and has been very focused on communities within Upland to help players learn to collaborate and work together.
This month has seen the introduction of UGC royalties going live, allowing its UGC community to earn UPX, the project’s native token, for their creations.
Danny Wolf Brown, chief of staff at Upland explains: “Players have just received their first royalties, retroactively applied to all secondary sales. Each UGC item can be utilized by third-party developers through our community dev tools, helping both creators and the broader community.”
The mechanics work as follows: Every transaction in a Metaventure (an in-game business) or showroom comes with a 5% transaction fee. This fee sends UPX to the community pool, which funds in-game activities or funds treasure hunts. Now, the UGC royalties will reallocate 50% of this 5% transaction directly to the UGC creator.
The royalties program includes UGC structure ornaments, outdoor décor, and racing Karts sold on the secondary market. In the future, as player-manufactured items are released, they will also be included directly.
Creators can earn serious money
Brown Wolf sees the future of the metaverse residing in the hands of the players, some of which already earn sizable monthly incomes from their activities.
“Our vision for Upland is directly tied into our users and their activities and we want to reward the players, making it profitable for them to engage in economic activities in-game,” she says.
Another niche player spanning AAA gaming and Web3 is Mixmob. MixMob is a game universe centered on one premise: What would you do if an AI deleted our culture? MixMob mashes music, fashion, art, and movies into a repository of culture that cannot be lost. The MixMob premise is that it is saving culture online, ensuring it cannot be eradicated by bad actors or rogue AI.
The first game, MixMob: Racer 1, was the world’s first card strategy racing game. It blends Mario Kart with Hearthstone and crypto. It offers a quick, competitive experience that’s easy to play but hard to master.
The team behind MixMob are a crew of gaming and crypto veterans, including people from EA, PokerStars and Microsoft.
The 200,000 players now average 33 minutes each over the last 30 days. This shows that players are actively engaging with the game, having multiple races, climbing the leaderboard, and completing their daily missions.
CEO Simon Vieira says that from their very first drop, one key requirement for accessing the allowlist (a permissioned white list for creators) was to create homemade masks to protect everyone from the AI.
“To our surprise, over 4,000 participants crafted masks using household items like plates, garbage bags, toilet paper, and razors. This kickstarted what we believe is one of the most creative communities in crypto,” he says.
Now, the MixMob players create a wide range of content, including text, images and video, from memes that promote MixMob culture to tutorials for other players and streaming the game. They also create fan art and illustrations of our characters.
Players, to contribute, do not have to be developers, says Vieira.
“Our community provides all sorts of content, from fan art and illustrations to streams and suggestions about new characters and lore. Some users have even developed tools to manage our in-game robots, MixBots, with different stats and filters.”
“For MixMob, the primary incentive is cultural resonance. Our community loves our project and wants to express their creativity. Additionally, we have a reward system where we pay users for structured streams and polished tutorials. Our Ambassador Program allows players to apply, participate, and get paid for their contributions,” says Vieira.
UGC is crucial for MixMob.
“It’s central to the future of crypto games. Currently, we’re focused on establishing our world, IP, and lore. Moving forward, we envision a platform where players can build and sell their own maps and items, retaining ownership through blockchain technology. This way, the original creators can earn royalties, fostering a sustainable creative ecosystem,” adds Vieira.
And there are also p
lans for a DAO.
“We believe players will be more interested in governing an esports league, defining rewards, tournament rules, and teams than in governing game development. This approach brings transparency to the league, ensuring it aligns with the community’s interests – which is one of the biggest challenges in traditional sports leagues,” he says.
Looking ahead, Borget also believes that UGC will become an essential component of all major gaming platforms, driving engagement and longevity. The rise of no-code creation tools, like those offered by The Sandbox, will democratize game development, enabling more people to become creators and potentially turning their passion into full-time careers.
“We are also exploring the integration of AI and blockchain technologies to enhance UGC. AI can provide more sophisticated tools for content creation, while blockchain ensures data provenance and authenticity. These advancements promise to elevate the quality and security of user-generated content, further enriching the metaverse,” says Borget.
