6 Best Metaverse Platforms in 2024

The metaverse is an ever-expanding digital universe where users can create, explore, and invest in virtual real estate. As virtual real estate gains popularity, several platforms provide the tools to purchase land parcels and dive into augmented reality experiences.

This article highlights the best metaverse platforms in 2024 and what they offer in terms of immersive digital worlds.

What is a Metaverse Platform?

A metaverse platform is a virtual environment where users can interact, create, and engage in various activities through digital avatars. These platforms use blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies to facilitate transactions and ownership of virtual assets, such as land parcels, digital art, and in-game items.

Metaverse platforms offer immersive experiences, combining elements of augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and social networking, enabling users to explore, socialize, and build within a digital universe.

Most of the popular metaverse platforms provide tools and features that allow users to customise their virtual spaces, participate in events, and monetise their creations, creating a dynamic and evolving virtual economy.

6 Best Metaverse Platforms in 2024

In 2024, top metaverse platforms include Decentraland, Somnium Space, Cryptovoxels, The Sandbox, Roblox, and Horizon Worlds. These platforms offer immersive virtual worlds where users can trade, purchase items, and customize avatars and environments. User-generated marketplaces enhance community interactions, making these platforms perfect for exploring and enjoying the digital realm.

1. Decentraland

Decentraland is a pioneering virtual reality platform built on the Ethereum blockchain, launched in 2015 by Ari Meilich and Esteban Ordano. It operates under the MMORPG (Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) model and has established itself as one of the oldest and most significant metaverses, collaborating with major companies like Samsung and hosting events such as the Australian Open.

In Decentraland, users can buy, build on, and sell parcels of land. Additionally, the platform supports trading assets like avatars, wearables, and names on its marketplace. Decentraland distinguishes itself by being a decentralized metaverse, owned and governed by its users rather than the company that developed it. This community-driven approach aims to build a global network in a shared virtual space.

Decentraland utilises two types of tokens:

1. LAND: An NFT representing a parcel of property in the metaverse.

2. MANA: The native token used to purchase LAND and acquire virtual goods and services within Decentraland.

As Decentraland continues to evolve, it remains a leading platform for users seeking to engage in and develop within a vibrant, user-owned virtual world.

2. The Sandbox

The Sandbox is a dynamic platform that utilises smart contract to allow developers to monetise experiences within their digital plots. This platform supports the creation of digital galleries and other assets that can generate passive income for users. Often visually compared to the Minecraft game, The Sandbox offers a unique, user-driven experience in the metaverse.

In The Sandbox, digital plots are referred to as LAND, similar to Decentraland. The platform operates with two native tokens:

1. SAND: The primary currency of The Sandbox ecosystem, built on the Ethereum blockchain. It is used for buying and selling NFTs, lands, and objects, and also allows participation in the governance of the metaverse.

2. ASSET: These are entities designed to provide content for various experiences, such as games and objects used to populate LAND. ASSETs can be collected, monetized, and traded within the platform.

The Sandbox continues to innovate, offering a robust marketplace for users to trade and interact with digital assets, making it a leading platform in the evolving landscape of the metaverse.

3. Somnium Space

Somnium Space was created in 2017 by Artur Sychov and released to the public in 2018. Built on the Ethereum blockchain, it is an open-source platform designed to work with virtual reality devices. Somnium Space aims to fully immerse users in a virtual world where they can engage in various activities such as going to the movies, dining in restaurants, exhibiting art, attending university, and more. The platform is intended to be unlimited and entirely user-created.

The Somnium Space economy comprises three different types of token assets:

1. CUBE: The native utility token used for transactions within Somnium Space.
2. SPECIAL LAND PLOTS: Users wishing to build an independent world within Somnium Space must obtain one of these plots from the OpenSea marketplace.
3. SOMNIUM AVATARS: Introduced in November 2020, this feature allows players to tokenize their avatars. Using CUBE, users can create complete bodies compatible with other virtual worlds.

Somnium Space continues to innovate and expand its virtual universe, offering a rich, immersive experience for its users.

4. Roblox

Roblox is a leading metaverse platform that fosters a new digital economy. It allows users to create and explore diverse virtual worlds. The platform's goal is to build a human co-experience, where users can share immersive experiences without borders.

Roblox's success is evident with over 9.5 million developers who have created more than 24 million experiences, collectively logging approximately 73.1 billion hours on the platform.

Major brands like Nike and Vans have embraced Roblox's metaverse. In September 2021, Vans launched "Vans World," a 3D universe within Roblox inspired by real-world locations of the brand. Users can visit a virtual store to design their clothes and use them on their avatars. Similarly, Nike introduced Nikeland, a space where users can engage in various sports activities through mini-games and earn rewards.

Roblox continues to expand its virtual universe, offering rich, interactive experiences and opportunities for creativity and collaboration.

5. Cryptovoxels

Cryptovoxels is a metaverse platform designed with creators in mind, emphasizing social interaction. Users can live, socialize, and generate assets within the platform using its native token, CVPA (Cryptovoxel Parcel).

Cryptovoxels is structured to foster social connectivity, positioning it as a potential future metaverse social network. The platform is rich with artistic content, allowing users to showcase NFTs and participate in community events like exhibitions, openings, and parties.

Its creator-friendly environment has attracted a variety of artists who develop exclusive digital art for this virtual world. The continuous evolution and user-driven content make Cryptovoxels a vibrant and dynamic space in the metaverse.

6. Horizon Worlds

Horizon Worlds is Meta's (formerly Facebook) first virtual reality metaverse. Currently available in the United States and Canada, it requires Meta’s Oculus Quest VR headset, which costs between 350 and 450 euros. In Horizon Worlds, users can explore with their avatars, interact with others, and create their own virtual worlds and games.

Unlike many other metaverse platforms, Horizon Worlds does not currently incorporate blockchain or cryptocurrency elements. Users can travel between user-created worlds, offering a dynamic and interactive virtual experience.

Horizon Worlds reflects Meta’s vision for the future of the metaverse, emphasizing virtual reality immersion. While still in the testing phase, its development indicates Meta’s strategy to potentially dominate the metaverse space. The platform's exclusive requirement for Oculus Quest headsets hints at Meta’s ambition to set a standard for VR interaction within the metaverse.

As the metaverse continues to expand, the possibilities for creating and exploring virtual worlds are becoming increasingly limitless. Whether you're a gamer, an artist, a social butterfly, or a digital entrepreneur, there are now a plethora of metaverse platforms available that offer unique and immersive experiences.