Developers are making the metaverse happen…inside 12-year-old Minecraft, that is. 

Developers are making the metaverse happen…inside 12-year-old Minecraft, that is. As companies and developers race to build out the metaverse (the idea of a massive, centralized virtual community), some Web3 developers have found a shortcut inside Minecraft. The beauty of it being that it already has a “thriving ecosystem” and community of mods, user-generated game modes, cosmetic items, and maps, so developers can skip the difficulties of building an entirely new blockchain-integrated “metaverse.” That doesn’t mean Minecraft equals the metaverse now, either. All it means is that Web3 developers are finding ways to build out Minecraft even more to make everyone’s metaverse and NFT “dreams” a more practical reality. With that, NFT Worlds is a project featuring a NFT collection of 10,000 unique Minecraft worlds that is described as a “fully decentralized, fully customizable, community-driven, play to earn gaming platform.” NFTs contain a world seed, which generates a Minecraft world. Users must purchase NFT Worlds ($27) to participate, and once a NFT is purchased players can create whatever they imagine—a city, an island, etc. NFT Worlds isn’t the only project building worlds in Minecraft: MetaCollar, Neckville, and Creepy Creams DAO have infiltrated the platform. Though the basics of these NFT collections is nothing new (the mechanics have been available to Minecraft users for years), it signals how developers (and potentially companies) will continue tapping video games to reach virtually connected young people—whether those projects are interconnected in the “metaverse” or in games like Minecraft. (VICE)​