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One of the latest exciting development in the blockchain sector has been the emergence of NFT and metaverse projects, attracting substantial backing from large companies and prominent investors.
Since then, several crypto projects have fused playable NFTs with the metaverse using blockchain technology to introduce several mind-blowing use cases to investors. As a result, the most innovative NFT collections are those that offer metaverse experiences.
However, in 2023, evaluating and finding the best NFT metaverse projects can be challenging for any investor. To help, this article reviews five innovative NFT metaverse projects for 2023.
The Sandbox
The Sandbox is among the world’s most popular play-to-earn (P2E) metaverses. It is a user-created-experience platform, and users are given the resources they need to create non-fungible items within the ecosystem. This means the players support the game’s economy, and more cosmetic items will be added over time.
As a result, almost anything is possible – from interactive games to metaverse casinos to events and structural designs and even wearables. This gives The Sandbox enhanced replayability (replay value) and provides more reasons for users to invest in SAND, the Sandbox’s utility token.
To incentivize the platform, creators can sell their creations on the game’s marketplace to earn SAND, which can be exchanged for fiat. Overall, the Sandbox is more than a game, as users can create anything. And with thousands of NFTs in the ecosystem, it is evident that the project is and will remain popular with players.
Looking Glass Labs
Looking Glass Labs (LGL) is a Web3 platform focusing on NFT architecture, immersive metaverse environments, play-to-earn tokenization, and virtual asset royalty streams. The company aims to build the next-generation social metaverse, bringing to life Web3 metaverse experiences.
Its flagship brand, House of Kibaa (HoK), creates and curates a next-generation metaverse for 3D assets, enabling the simultaneous existence of functional art and collectibles across several NFT blockchain platforms.
In May 2021, HoK launched its limited Genesis NFTs (only 809 Genesis NFTs), selling at $500/Genesis NFT. Early adopters were given access to private sales of NFT collectibles created by the project. Within four weeks, HOK’s membership sales totaled $490,000. After the membership launch, HOK made an additional $305,000 in royalties as the memberships were resold to collectors.
Furthermore, GenZeroes, one of the successful digital assets released by HoK, sold out in just 37 minutes for CAD 6.2 million ($4.5 million), plus a perpetual 5% royalty stream on secondary market sales.
In addition, the HOK management team is working to create a cross-chain ecosystem for 3D digital assets that will enable NFTs to retain their functionality and exist simultaneously across various NFT blockchain environments. The HOK utility token will be the exchange medium across LGL platforms, allowing users to earn, trade, swap, and spend within the LGL metaverse.
Socios.com/Chiliz
Socios.com, a blockchain startup, is among the top suppliers of sports fan tokens. Fan tokens, sometimes referred to as fan coins, are digital assets representing a holder’s ownership of a voting right in a particular organization. This grants them access to special incentives and experiences associated with the organization.
The Malta-based firm has partnered with soccer teams such as Juventus, FC Barcelona, Manchester City, and PSG. For example, In June 2020, FC Barcelona issued its first $BAR token and generated $1.3 million from the sale of 600,000 tokens which sold out within two hours.
Also, In 2022, the PSG token reached a sales volume of $15 billion, driven by the club’s real-world success and the acquisition of legendary player Lionel Messi. In addition, Socios.com also partnered with UFC in the 2021 Summer to launch the $UFC fan token. This allowed UFC to join a strong network that already featured several major global sports properties.
The fan tokens are minted on the blockchain platform, Chiliz, Socios.com’s sister organization. This has propelled Chiliz’s native token, CHZ, into the top 100 cryptocurrencies in the world.
Sorare
With 135 fully licensed clubs, including Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, and Paris Saint-Germain, Sorare is a leading NFT platform for soccer. The Paris-based firm has attracted investments from notable personalities, including entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk and football players Gérard Piqué and Antoine Griezmann.
Unlike other soccer NFT platforms, Sorare is a fantasy game. Users, posing as managers, pick virtual teams of five soccer players from blockchain cards. Like other fantasy soccer games, the virtual teams are ranked and awarded points based on the real-world performance of their players.
In addition, some cards (rare, super-rare, and unique) are licensed and tradable digital collectibles that can be sold on the Sorare marketplace. In January 2022, a unique 2021-22 Erling Haaland card was sold for $678,680 on the marketplace, becoming the most expensive card sold on the platform.
Pooky
Polygon-based Pooky is a unique blockchain gaming platform for predicting soccer matches. Pooky’s main goal is to allow users to predict football matches from the world’s top leagues and tournaments.
Traditional Web2 betting platforms always offer high risk, high reward, and no risk, no reward wagers for their free-to-play modes, which often see many users lose significant funds. So stop losing, don’t go broke, predict smarter with Pooky. Pooky is different, introducing a model where players bear no risk of losing and always win something. Everyone wins on Pooky!
Pooky gives players ownership of digital collectibles (3D Pookyballs) that allow them to make predictions, earn rewards, win Experience points (PXP), and battle for top spots on the Pooky Leaderboards. The best part is that predictions don’t need to be 100% correct to win. As players rise through the ranks, they can level up, customize, craft, and increase the value of their Pookyballs to earn additional rewards.
In February 2023, Pooky launched its Genesis Collection Pookyball NFTs to provide users early access to its gamified, risk-free alternative to soccer betting.
Pooky’s risk-free model promotes a healthy alternative to traditional sports betting while enabling global reach. Pooky supports social interaction and entertainment while building communities on and off the platform. The platform aims to return to the fundamentals of sports prediction—challenging friends and showcasing your in-depth knowledge of the world’s most beautiful game.
Wrap Up
In this article, we’ve reviewed five innovative metaverse projects for 2023. Although each project has unique prospects, two stood out in particular.
While Looking Glass Labs (LGL) is an exciting Web3 project that combines NFT ownership and play-to-earn tokenization with metaverse environments, Pooky has the potential to revolutionize the soccer prediction industry with its no-risk model. Both projects also have great teams behind them and a clear roadmap.