Sublime

Philip Rosedale supposedly had the vision of Second Life while at the Burning Man festival and one of the first events they had in the game was a Burning Man recreation in 2003, and that helped set the pace and tone of what the community would be like. There was a heavy emphasis on serendipity and free-form engagement in the world. That might sound... See more

Some rare companies innovate on all three sides of the creator triad, crossing creation tools, distribution and monetization: Roblox, for example, provides accessible tools in Roblox Studio; allows developers to have their experiences discovered by the community; and shares earnings with developers via the virtual currency Robux, which underpins a ... See more

Au: Two big things. First, if you give a user community powerful enough creator tools, what they create in these worlds will be far more interesting than anything a major company can officially create. In terms of the culture of a metaverse environment and the community’s experiences in a place like Second Life, that’s remained true since 2003.

Virtual property can make real money. Projects like Decentral Games prove that money can be made in the "metaverse." The startup runs popular casinos within Decentraland. That's attracted serious developers, putting millions to work.

We are just beginning. Though projects like Decentraland have achieved lofty valuations, it feels as if we are in the very opening stages of a long-term shift toward more expressive digital experiences. Creating a world with deep, enduring appeal will take time.