The Metaverse has been the talk of the town for a couple of months now. Every week, a new slew of articles appear, ranging from recent developments to who's entering the space, and more.

With the opportunities that the Metaverse presents, it is no wonder why more and more companies and distinguished personalities are entering the space.

Unfortunately, however, the Metaverse is currently siloed into different platforms. While in the future, this should come together into one, singular Metaverse, mirroring the level of interconnectivity that the Internet has, this is not our current reality. So, for brands looking to build and launch in the Metaverse, this means that you have to choose a platform to build on.

Let’s look into some of the biggest metaverse platforms and different metrics to help you compare and choose the right one for you.

Decentraland

Great for medium and large business owners, small to large corporations, and creators.

Currently ranking as the biggest and the top choice for many businesses, Decentraland is a decentralized virtual reality platform powered by the Ethereum blockchain. At the time of this writing, you can buy a parcel of LAND for as low as 1.75 ETH ($2,290) in OpenSea. However, you can also buy LAND directly on the Decentraland Marketplace.

Here are some of the well-known brands who have entered Decentraland:

• Samsung
• Nike
• Coca-Cola
• Atari
• Adidas
• Louis Vuitton

Once you’ve acquired land, you can start building any kind of structure. Building in Decentraland can be quite easy, although it’s important to note that the easy options are more limited. For instance, with no-code, you can build simple structures using the Drag and Drop Builder. On the other hand, if you have some coding knowledge, using Typescript or other similar coding languages, you can use Decentraland’s Software Development Kit (SDK) for more advanced applications, designs, animations, etc.

Maybe you’d like a virtual headquarters or a virtual store showcasing your products and services, including an NFT art collection if you have one? You can do this in Decentraland. Likewise, you can place ads, banners, and your company’s social media handles on your parcel of land for publicity. You can also hold private and public events in your space and invite the online community to join.

As a creator, you can create and sell wearables, as well as build games and monetize from them.

Pros

• Leading choice for businesses
• Easy to build on

Cons

• Expensive
• Low monthly active users
  

Roblox

Great for creators and any business which targets tweens.

Five years before the first bitcoin was released in 2009, Roblox was born. Created in 2004 and released in 2006, you can say that Roblox is way ahead of the other metaverses on this list. With a massive following of almost 60 million daily active users, Roblox is a virtual world that allows users to connect and share positive experiences. Roblox users can play games together, hang out with their friends, or go to digital events, like concerts. This is just a drop in the bucket of what you can do in Roblox, though.

While Roblox doesn’t run on blockchain technology, the game, which targets tweens, is seen as the next big platform to drive consumer interaction with brands and retailers. Unlike Decentraland where you need to purchase LAND before you can build, building in the Roblox Studio is free and you can monetize by creating mini-games. To build in Roblox Studio, you need some degree of knowledge of either or both C++ and Lua.

Here are some of the brands that are in Roblox:

• Nike
• Chipotle
• Van’s
• Gucci
• Ralph Lauren
• Kellogg’s

Pros

• Free to build
• Popular among target audience

Cons

• Requires some coding knowledge
  

The Sandbox

Great for medium and large business owners, small to large corporations, and creators.

The Sandbox is much like Decentraland. Also running on the Ethereum blockchain, it’s a decentralized, community-driven gaming ecosystem, where creators can share and monetize digital assets and gaming experiences.

Building in The Sandbox is quite easy using their free software (e.g. VoxEdit, Game Maker). Similar to Decentraland, you will need to own land before you can build. Currently, you can purchase a regular parcel of land in The Sandbox for 1.45 ETH ($1,870) on OpenSea or The Sandbox Marketplace.

An interesting note in The Sandbox whitepaper indicates that players will be able to earn SAND (the game’s native token) while playing different games in The Sandbox ecosystem. Likewise, players who stream their games can accept SAND tips from their audience.

Creators, on the other hand, can create and sell ASSETs, which can either be an entity, equipment, wearable, or art.

For skill-based challenges, players need to pay an entry fee to join. In these challenges, the winner takes all of the prize pool, while the experience creator can take a percentage of the total pool for creating and hosting the experience.

Here are some of the brands that are currently in The Sandbox:

• Ubisoft
• PwC
• Atari
• Gucci
• Adidas
• Samsung

Pros

• Leader among crypto users
• Easy to build on

Cons

• Expensive
  

Somnium Space

Great for events coordinators, sports companies, music artists, and creators.

Somnium Space is currently running on the Ethereum blockchain, with plans to integrate a Layer 2 hybrid solution with Polygon soon. Building on Somnium Space is relatively easy using the Drag and Drop option. You do not need to have any coding skills to build. However, similar to Decentraland and The Sandbox, you need to purchase land before you can build. At the moment, a small parcel of land (200m2) in Somnium Space goes for 1.15 ETH ($1,500) on OpenSea and its in-house Marketplace.

If you are looking for sleeker, sexier graphics, with a more realistic feel, then Somnium Space is the metaverse to build on. Somnium Space takes pride in the advanced VR experience it offers its users, making it a perfect venue for events, from concerts to tournaments and festivals. According to its economy paper, you can create NFT tickets in Somnium Space, which you can use as access passes to certain land parcels.

Creators, on the other hand, will be happy to know that in this metaverse, your creations and other digital assets are considered unique tokens with which you can personally own and sell within its own marketplace or in its partner marketplace – OpenSea.

However, in terms of monthly active users, Somnium Spaces ranks the lowest amongst the different metaverses explored in this article. This is something you need to consider. After all, what is the use of a great platform when your customers are not there?

Pros

• Advanced VR
• Easy to build

Cons

• Extremely low monthly active users
  

Voxels (Formerly Cryptovoxels)

Great for small to medium retail business owners, art galleries, and creators.

If you like Minecraft, then you will probably like Voxels, too. Powered by the Ethereum blockchain, Voxels is a decentralized virtual world where users can buy Cryptovoxel Parcel (the name of its land in the Voxel ecosystem) and build on it.

When you compare Voxels to other metaverses, the world of Voxels is quite small. However, it is the only metaverse that is continually expanding. Currently, there is no set limit as to how big it could grow. So, its potential remains huge. A plot of land in Voxels currently costs 0.52 ETH ($680) in OpenSea.

Some of the things you can do in Voxels include creating avatars, building virtual stores, creating art galleries, interacting with other players, and playing games developed for the Voxel ecosystem. Out of the metaverses explored in this article, Voxels is reportedly the easiest platform to build on.

Unfortunately, upon further inspection, Voxels does not have a whitepaper. So, it is unsure where the project is really heading.

Pros

• Cheap
• Easiest to build on

Cons

• Unclear roadmap
• Low monthly active users

So, which metaverse should you choose to build on?

The answer to that question varies. It depends on your needs, your budget and resources, and your risk tolerance. You should also examine your target audience and how it fits with your chosen metaverse.

Remember that the Metaverse is still largely in its infancy. Except for Roblox, all metaverses mentioned here could seem quite risky to enter, especially when you look at the monthly active users of these platforms. However, you should also take note that at the time of this writing, we are experiencing a bear market in the crypto world, which might have significantly affected the number of monthly active users. Nevertheless, this is also the perfect time for first-movers who want to shape the landscape and future development of the Metaverse, and carve out their niche before the space is fully settled.

All said and done, the opportunities are massive if you decide to build on the right metaverse platform. So, which platform are you going to build on?

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