How to Make Money in the Metaverse

The metaverse is set to revolutionize so much of modern life, affecting work, education, socialization, and more. It will bring us all exciting new opportunities to make money, from taking on a virtual job to selling digital assets.

In this guide to making money in the metaverse, we’ll cover some of the top opportunities available.

The Metaverse Explained

What is the metaverse? It’s a network of 3D digital worlds designed to provide a remarkably immersive experience, enabling users to socially interact in various ways. Players can socialize as their custom avatars — whether that means playing a game, working, or attending gigs.

Essentially, the metaverse is a virtual universe that runs parallel to our own but with far fewer limitations. The following technologies are essential to the metaverse’s existence:

• Web 3.0 and digital assets
• 3D reconstruction
• Internet of Things (IoT)
• Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR)
• Artificial intelligence (AI)

While some elements of the metaverse remain abstract, more straightforward components will take on a powerful role in the metaverse’s infrastructure and economy. These include non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrencies.

How to Earn in the Metaverse

As metaverses continue to take shape, digital cities, economies, and new work opportunities will transform how we make money. These digital worlds may still be in their infancy or awaiting release to the public, but there are earning opportunities in the metaverse already.

Buying Metaverse Tokens

One of the easiest ways to start generating income in the metaverse is to take part in an economy project, typically powered by digital assets and cryptocurrencies.

With Facebook’s 2021 rebranding into Meta, the prospect of inhabiting virtual worlds became more mainstream and practical. And the majority of metaverse cryptos (including MANA and SAND) saw significant value growth as a result.

If you feel sure that a metaverse economy project has a good chance of taking off, and you perform due diligence, it may be a good idea to buy tokens. Particularly if you’re interested in taking part in the virtual space.

Still, while you wait for token values to appreciate, you may want to stake them to generate passive yields. Certain projects (e.g. Axie Infinity and The Sandbox) launched their own native staking facilities. If not, though, you could stake the majority of metaverse coins on decentralized exchanges, including Uniswap and SushiSwap.

Metaverse Real Estate

Digital real estate is undergoing a boost in prices and demand as huge brands, businesses, and investors set out to own a piece of the metaverse. Users could claim a small plot of land in Decentraland and The Sandbox for less than $1,000 at the start of 2021. But those same plots were being sold on secondary marketplaces for more than ten times their initial cost by the end of that same year.

In metaverses, plots of land are NFTs kept on the blockchain, so each one is unique. Other users can’t duplicate land parcels, and they remain owned only by the user that has the private keys to the wallet address containing the NFT.

As in the real world, it’s vital that you think about investments carefully. Look into any metaverse project that catches your eye, consider where land parcels are based, and assess scarcity before you invest.

How Can Virtual Real Estate Generate Income

Here are seven ideas for making money with digital real estate in the metaverse of your choice:

• Flipping Plots: Buy virtual land in metaverses such as Decentraland or The Sandbox, then sell them to other users at a higher cost. This is the simplest way to earn.
• Renting Land: You can rent metaverse plots to developers or creators, giving them space to run their company. This will bring you a passive yield on your plots each month.
• Staking: DecentWorld gives an opportunity to create collections of digital real estate and stake them in order to generate yield
• Establishing Commercial Plots: Make, manage, and rent out your own commercial plots for profit. Possibilities include hotels, malls, and casinos. You will be able to sell or lease offices, shops, and other smaller units to companies, too.
• Promotions: The metaverse gives advertisers and companies a new platform for reaching their target customers. Massive signs on virtual properties, for example, will catch players’ attention while they explore worlds. Owning land gives you a chance to earn from public advertising.
• Being a Land Broker: You could become a solo land broker or work for digital real estate companies in the metaverse. Both options could lead to big commissions if you successfully connect sellers and buyers.
• Managing Real Estate: Start managing properties owned by other players. You could embark on a career helping landowners to run their venues or overseeing virtual art shows, gigs, and other events.
• Designing Real Estate: Design and make 3D worlds on virtual plots. Fortune found that Voxel Architects, a firm specializing in digital architecture, earns as much as $300,000 per project when creating virtual real estate.

Play-to-Earn Games

Blockchain-based games that use a play-to-earn model introduce digital economies which reward players for investing their time and skill. These rewards include in-game assets and cryptocurrencies that can be traded. Such games include Aavegotchi and Axie Infinity.

But the majority of play-to-earn games demand a fairly large initial investment (typically an NFT) before you can start playing. Users often need to reinvest to access upgrades or in-game assets to boost their potential to earn, too.

In metaverses, blockchain-based games may be included as mini play-to-earn games, and gaming would likely be the primary activity initially.

User-Generated Games

Game-maker tools are available for developers using metaverses or users learning the craft. These tools are intended to help users make custom games without needing any coding knowhow.

When you build a game, you can start making money off it by deploying it on a parcel of land (more on this later). Receiving player fees or selling your game to someone else can bring you revenue.

What are the Biggest Metaverse Projects Occurring Today?

An expanding group of technology and gaming brands are constructing their own takes on the metaverse. As of September 2022, the list includes:

• DecentWorld
• The Sandbox
• Facebook
• Decentraland
• Somnium Space
• Bloktopia
• Upland

As the metaverse grows, it’s likely that we’ll see these unique digital worlds connected via cross-metaverse bridges as part of a vast interoperable project. Users will be able to access them on a range of platforms, including smartphones, VR headsets, PCs, and more.

What Work Opportunities are Available in the Metaverse?

A huge number of skilled virtual workers will be essential for building a metaverse and keeping it running. Potential jobs available in the metaverse include:

• Game designers
• 3D designers and artists
• Digital asset makers
• Web 3.0 developers
• Community managers
• NFT brokers
• Scientists researching VR and AR

Conclusion

Users have a wide range of earning opportunities in the metaverse, from making digital assets to taking on jobs. However, you’re not guaranteed to make money, just as with any opportunity or investment. In realistic terms, it would be possible to earn between $100 and $20,000 monthly, though it all depends on your level of creativity and expertise.

Sadly, though, scammers still operate in the digital and crypto spaces. It’s crucial that you stay vigilant, do due diligence on any offers sent your way, and generally make sure you know what you’re getting into before you invest in anything.