Decentraland

Introduction

Decentraland is a browser and desktop metaverse on Ethereum where players explore a user-built virtual world, attend live events, and trade virtual land and items. It is free to enter, with a Unity-based desktop client on the Epic Games Store and an Android app alongside the original web version. The world is owned and governed by its community through a DAO rather than a single operator.

Setting

Decentraland is set in Genesis City, a virtual metropolis of 90,601 individually owned LAND parcels arranged on a coordinate grid, ringed by themed districts and private Worlds hosted outside the main map. There is no scripted storyline. The space is defined by what its users build on it, from art galleries and casinos to conference halls and playable games, with the layout and the events all shaped by the community.

Gameplay

Players create an avatar and move through Genesis City and individual Worlds on foot, by teleporting to coordinates, or through the in-world map. Much of the activity is social, with live concerts, screenings, trivia nights, and meetups running on a shared events calendar. The rest is creation: anyone can build interactive scenes, outfits, and mini-games using the Creator Hub and SDK, then publish them onto their own LAND. The Unity-based desktop client brought smoother performance and better visuals than the older web build.

• Join live events listed on the in-world calendar in real time.
• Build scenes and games directly on owned LAND parcels.
• Roam districts and Worlds using the map or teleport commands.

Economy

The platform runs on one ERC-20 currency, MANA, used to buy LAND, Names, Wearables, and Emotes. LAND parcels are Ethereum NFTs that stand for plots of virtual real estate, while most Wearables and Emotes are minted and traded on Polygon to keep fees low. Creators list items on the decentralized Marketplace and keep 97.5% of a primary sale, with a 2.5% fee and creator royalties applied to resales. Holding MANA and LAND also grants voting power in the DAO that steers platform decisions and its treasury.

• Trade LAND, Names, and items on the decentralized Marketplace.
• Earn from creating and selling items, keeping most of each sale.
• Vote in the DAO on platform policy and treasury spending.