10 Best Metaverse Games to Play in 2024

Michael Graw

Last updated: May 2, 2024 10:13 EDT | 17 min read

The metaverse has been hailed as the future of gaming – and it’s here today. There are now dozens of metaverse games where players can explore, battle, quest, and even earn money.

In this guide, we’ll highlight the 10 best metaverse games. We’ll also explain how metaverse games work and how to leverage in-game earning opportunities.  Here’s what new players need to know about playing the top metaverse games.

The Best Metaverse Crypto Games Reviewed

Metaverse titles dominate the top web3 game charts by users and by token market capitalization. Below, we review the best metaverse games now available.

1. Decentraland – Meet, Play, Host Events, and Earn

The Decentraland metaverse game owes its name to its decentralized structure. Decentraland was among the first games to put players in control through a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization). MANA, Decentraland’s in-game cryptocurrency, allows players to vote on changes to the gaming platform, such as land allotments or other DAO proposals. It’s democracy in action. LAND tokens and Estate tokens also qualify for voting rights.

Gameplay on Decentraland enables a free economy in which players can interact with others, buy land (ERC-721 LAND tokens), build, and even perform in-game services to earn MANA. Host an event, launch, a game of your own within the game. The only limit is your imagination.

Decentraland supports the Ethereum blockchain as well as Polygon, giving players a low-cost way to play using Polygon’s faster and cheaper transactions. 

2. The Sandbox – Roblox-Like Gameplay With Crypto Earnings

The Sandbox will feel familiar if you’re used to playing Roblox or Minecraft. Similar block-graphic characters and landscapes make the game nostalgic while bringing a modern crypto twist. Players can earn rewards for playing or create their own game that they can monetize. 

Participate in events to earn SAND, the in-game token. This allows you to get started in the game without making an investment. You can also create assets for use within the game, using or selling what you build. Occasional contests center on creating assets using building tools within the game. Be sure to follow the Sandbox’s Twitter profile for other contests and giveaways.

The Sandbox offers more ways to earn, including passive income from staking SAND or LAND to earn more SAND tokens. APRs can be impressive, reaching more than 60% at times for LAND, with lower APRs for SAND due to higher supply, although SAND token supply is fixed at three billion.

3. Alien Worlds – Mine For Trillium Tokens on Distant Planets

Alien Worlds brings GameFi to the cosmos and beyond. In Alien Worlds, players earn Trilium tokens through mining on land plots (NFTs), holding land for passive income while someone else mines it, or through staking. Sounds simple, but strategy plays a big role in which tools you choose to maximize your earnings. 

Part card-based and part metaverse exploration, Alien Worlds uses NFTs to represent land and in-game assets. Like Decentraland, Alien Worlds uses a DAO structure but breaks it up into six syndicates, one for each of the planets in the game. Players control the syndicates, which determine how the game evolves over time.

Alien Worlds runs on the WAX network, making in-game transactions affordable. Each player starts with a free shovel, making it possible to build your assets through sweat equity rather than paying to get started.

4. Illuvium – Four-Part Blockchain Game Series With Stunning Graphics

Illuvium is a series of interrelated games, beginning with Illuvium Beyond, a collectible card game, and scaling up to Overworld, a full metaverse with out-of-this-world graphics. The first of these games lets you build your own Illuvitars, collectible creatures that you can evolve by fusing cards, similar to Pokemon. Your creations can then compete in Illuvium Arena, a battle game with stunning graphics that rewards strategy.

 Like other metaverse games, Illuvium uses NFTs to represent in-game assets like land, gear, and avatars. The first two games, Beyond and Arena, are playable now, whereas Zero, the third game in the series, is available for land owners. Overworld, the full metaverse game, is still in private access.

Illuvium offers several ways to make money with the game, with the simplest being hunting for Illuvials, which you can then sell as NFTs.

6. Wilder World – Community Governered Four-Phase Metaverse Game

Explore, battle, and earn in Wilder World, a community-owned and governed metaverse game with shockingly realistic graphics. With a planned four-phase 2024 release, players can expect racing in the first rollout phase, with customizable rides and effects so realistic you can almost feel the g-forces. Phase one is available as early access.

Later releases will include quests in an exploration mode, hand-to-hand combat, and finally, a grand strategy phase in which players build their own digital empire in a big-city metaverse called Wiami. 

Wilder is an Ethereum-based game that uses the WILD token as its in-game currency. Players can use WILD to buy game NFTs or earn WILD by completing quests or leveling up in the game. The WILD token also serves as a governance token, allowing players to vote on proposals for Wilder World.

7. Delysium – Play Alongside AI or Run an AI Node to Earn

AI meets immersive gameplay in this unique take on gaming. Players can create virtual AI beings that evolve over time in Delysium. AI-powered MetaBeings take the roles of non-player characters (NPCs) but can do anything human players can do, including earning income, trading, and playing in various game modes alongside their human counterparts. 

At its core, Delysium is a first-person shooter with more depth than you’ll find with other games in the genre, and the addition of AI brings more excitement to the various game modes. Compete in PVP mode or battle royale with a team of three players pitted against five other teams.

Delysium also offers an opportunity to earn crypto passive income by running a master node to support blockchain functions, with reported earnings of up to $100 per day.

8. My Neighbor, Alice – Cultivate Your Island And Meet New Friends

If you’ve ever dreamed of owning your own island, My Neighbor Alice makes it possible. Alice is the guardian of the metaverse world, working with players to care for and develop the collective land in the game into a personalized paradise. 

This game centers on farming, raising animals, and interacting with other players (and talking animals) but also allows players to design their own dream world. In-game assets, including player-created items, are NFTs, which allow players to trade and earn. 

My Neighbor, Alice takes a decidedly kind-hearted approach to gaming when you need a break from battle royale games and would rather enjoy nature and touch grass, albeit virtual. Compete in quests and tasks to win NFT in-game assets or participate in special events.

9. Revomon – Pokemon-Style Creatures With Tradable NFTs

Pokemon fans will probably feel right at home playing Revomon, a mobile-based web3 metaverse where players capture creatures, battle, and trade. A virtual reality version of the game lets players use their Meta Quest headset to play, while the mobile version offers gameplay on the go. 

Revomon begins with three starter creatures, much like Pokemon, The game brings a few new features, however, including the ability to own land and interact with other players. Players can also play to earn and the community governs the game rather than a giant corporation. 

Similar to Pokemon, Revomon creatures in the game can evolve. However, these Revomon are NFTs players can trade or buy with REVO, the in-game currency.

10. Bloktopia – Own Your Piece of The Hottest Crypto Metaverse

The Blocktopia metaverse merges the feel of Vegas and Bladerunner in a futuristic neon world filled with players you can interact with to meet new friends. Level One features famous brands and well-known characters from the crypto world. 

Buy NFTs in the stores or spin the wheel in the lobby to win BLOK tokens, the in-game currency. The game even gave away a Lamborghini for the Wen Lambo crowd. You can also buy real estate within the game, providing an opportunity to earn revenue from advertising.

A teleporter transports you from floor to floor or to a different location on the same floor. Game features include news feeds, conferences, gambling and games, virtual parties, and shopping. Bloktopia caters to a crypto-savvy crowd but is a real estate game at its core.

Methodology – How We Ranked The Best Metaverse Games

We considered several factors when ranking the best metaverse games, including play-to-earn features, game quality, and whether game devs are still actively improving the game.

Play-to-Earn Potential – 25%

While not all metaverse games run on the blockchain, play-to-earn is an expected feature in web3 gaming. We looked for web3 games that offered one or more ways to earn while playing, with a focus on those that offered multiple play-to-earn opportunities.

Game Quality – 25%

We considered games that were both fun to play and well-designed. While graphics quality varies considerably — ranging from photorealistic to block figures — a clean look and smooth play remained important factors.

Level of Online Coverage – 25%

Metaverse games with in-game economies tend to be more complex. We looked for games that offered help pages or documentation explaining in-game assets and basic gameplay as well as strategies.

Developer Activity – 15%

We looked for games that are still being updated. Metaverse games often involve GameFi, meaning a blockchain-based financial component. Updated games help protect the investment made by players as well as player earnings.  

Player Interaction – 10%

Meeting and interacting with other players is a key part of metaverse gaming. We weighed the level of interaction with other players and the way in which players interact.

How Do Metaverse Crypto Games Work?

Metaverse crypto games can range from battle games to galaxy-wide exploration, but they have a few commonalities, centering on virtual worlds and avatars to represent players. These games also integrate cryptocurrencies and NFTs, allowing players to earn tokens within the game and enabling true ownership of in-game assets. All actions in blockchain games are recorded as transactions on the blockchain, making them transparent and immutable.

1) Virtual World or Environment

Graphics quality can range from the deep detail of games like Star Atlas to cartoonish like My Neighbor, Alice to the simple block landscapes of games like The Sandbox. In all cases, though, metaverse games provide a virtual world or environment to explore. Typically, others share the same space, allowing players from around the world to interact within the game.

2) Avatar Creation

Metaverse games use avatars to represent players within the game. Typically, you can customize your avatar, accessorizing or changing the appearance of your avatar to reflect your in-game persona. Maybe your avatar is an alien wearing a Bob Marley shirt. Metaverse games often let you be whoever you want to be — or really are. Avatars may be represented by NFTs.

3) Game Mechanics

Gameplay often involves exploring, completing quests, or competing in battles, not unlike some popular traditional games. However, blockchain-based metaverse games provide new opportunities for players to profit from the game, which is often one of the most compelling reasons to play. 

Game mechanics usually center on an in-game token as well as NFTs to represent in-game assets.

Why Play Metaverse Games?

Why do so many people enjoy playing metaverse games? Metaverse games offer several features that traditional video games can’t match. Here are some of the best reasons to try a metaverse game today:

Immersive Experiences

The best metaverse games offer incredibly immersive experiences that make players feel as if they’re in another world. These games sometimes leverage AI engines that respond dynamically to players’ actions and can generate new edges of the metaverse in real time. Some metaverse games also integrate with VR and AR headsets, allowing players to put themselves directly into the digital world.

Constantly Evolving Play

Many metaverse games use AI to build new experiences around players in real-time. That makes these games more realistic and more dynamic than traditional video games. In addition, several of the most popular metaverse games support development by individual players and developers using decentralized voting. That means that the experiences and mini-games available in a metaverse are constantly changing and growing over time.

Meet Other Players

Metaverse games can serve as a hub for gamers with similar interests. Players can meet in the metaverse’s central square and battle or go on quests together. These games offer many of the same communication tools as traditional video games, as well as avatars that allow players to be easily identified in the metaverse.

Earn Cryptocurrency

Many of the most popular metaverse games are play-to-earn crypto games. When players do battle or complete quests, they can be rewarded with the game’s native cryptocurrency. Players can also collect NFTs like creatures, weapons, and more, and then sell them for a profit in the metaverse’s marketplace.

NFT-based play-to-earn and metaverse games are expected to reach a market size of nearly $9 billion by 2028.

New & Upcoming Metaverse Games

Metaverse gaming has exploded in popularity in the past few years, and advances in VR, AR, and AI technologies promise to make metaverse gaming even more common in the years ahead. A number of new metaverse games have already been announced and are currently in development. 

Here are some upcoming metaverse games that we’re excited about:

• Illuvium Overworld: Illuvium’s four-part gaming series is still being developed, with Overworld’s metaverse promising to be the most exciting yet and combining aspects of the prior three in the series.
• Shrapnel: Built by game-industry veterans from Halo and Call of Duty, Shrapnel promises to be a first-person shooter metaverse worth playing. As a bonus, you own your in-game assets as NFTs.
• Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles: Ubisoft, the publisher of Assissin’s Creed and other top titles, is working on Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles. This new NFT-based game features collectible champions, each with their own skillset. Build a team of three to compete against other players.

Conclusion

The best metaverse games offer immersive experiences for players with opportunities to earn crypto tokens and NFTs. Games like Decentraland provide community governance and countless ways to customize gameplay. Others, like Illuvium, chain several games together to provide more ways to use your in-game assets and keep gameplay engaging.

In-game tokens offer a way to buy NFTs or transact with other players within the game, but these tokens often trade on outside markets as well, such as Coinbase. This gives players a way to buy tokens before playing, top-up balances, or sell tokens for traditional currencies

Visit Coinbase

References

• Web3 Gaming Tokens Surge in Value As Sector Gains Interest, Led by Axie Infinity, ApeCoin and Illuvium (yahoo.com)
• Play-to-Earn NFT Games Market Size 2023, Share | Growing Report [2028] (yahoo.com)

FAQs

What are metaverse games?

Metaverse games are video games that take place in a metaverse. This is a digital universe where players can interact, explore, battle, and more. Metaverse video games have become increasingly popular in recent years.

What is the most popular metaverse game?

The most popular metaverse crypto games include Star Atlas, Delysium, and Illuvium. Some traditional video games that take place in the metaverse include Fortnite and Roblox.

Can you earn real money by playing metaverse games?

Players can earn cryptocurrency through many top metaverse games. Players receive tokens as a reward for completing quests or winning battles. They can also find NFTs in the metaverse that can be sold for cryptocurrency.

Which metaverse is the biggest?

The largest metaverses today include Star Atlas, The Sandbox, and Decentraland. 

About the Author

Michael Graw

Gambling and Finance Writer

Michael Graw is an experienced freelance finance and tech writer, specializing in cryptocurrencies, decentralized finance, and Web 3.0 since 2018. His work has been featured on various financial news sites like Business2Community, InsideBitcoins, LearnBonds, and tech-focused outlets like TechRadar. He has collaborated with fintech and crypto startups on whitepapers and investor resources, and also has expertise in sports betting and crypto gambling. Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University and a PhD in Oceanography from Oregon State University. He now resides in Bellingham, Washington, and writes full-time.

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