Metaverse Review: Upland
In this post, we’ll be reviewing Upland. The platform does not entirely fit the description of a metaverse as it does not support VR, avatars, or immersive, social 3D experiences. However, as one of the top 10 most popular crypto games and a platform that markets itself as a metaverse, we thought it was necessary to review the platform as it does include several unique features and components of a metaverse such as an in-game economy and marketplace.
What is the platform about?
Upland is a play-to-earn metaverse that acts as a digital twin of the real world. It is often described as “Monopoly on the blockchain”. The platform closed an $18M Series A funding round led by Animoca Brands which has also notably invested in Sandbox and Axie Infinity.
In comparison to other metaverse experiences, Upland focuses on managing real estate by allowing users to buy, collect, sell and trade land NFTs. Although built on the EOS.IO blockchain, the virtual property trading game enables users to purchase properties using fiat money.
Upland Statistics
- ~215K MAU, ~42K DAU
- 7.93M Monthly Transactions
Source: DappRadar
Device Compatibility
- Web, Mobile (iOS, Android)
What makes it unique?
Upland hosts several features that adds layers to its advanced game economy. First, they have a fungible in-game currency UPX, similar to Roblox, where you can purchase it for fiat currency. Players can earn UPX through playing the game as properties generate UPX earnings for owners. In addition, through Upland’s NFT-to-USD program, players can sell their property directly for USD instead of UPX. Moreover, Upland is one of the only metaverses actively building towards interoperability. They’ve built an NFT Portal that allows players to import Upland Collectibles from the WAX blockchain into Upland. On top of that, as one of the most popular metaverses, Upland has built a marketplace analytics hub to provide users insight into property value and marketplace activity.
In terms of earning UPX, as long as players own property, they will receive recurring earnings from the platform. They can receive boosted earnings by completing predefined collections of properties within the same area or with similar characteristics. Upon completing a collection, players will also receive a one-time UPX reward on top of boosted recurring earnings.
How do players exchange and receive UPX?
Two liquidity pools: Upland Pool and Community Pool
Upland Pool — 50B UPX has been allocated for selling UPX for fiat. These proceeds are used to fund the operations of Uplandme, Inc. directly. The Upland pool receives a variable amount of UPX per active player via an automated minting system.
Community Pool — 50B UPX has been allocated to sustain the economy. It receives funds via proceeds from the sale of property, marketplace fees, and weekly fixed and variable amounts of UPX via the automated minting system. It funds players for owning properties and other promotional marketing campaigns.
Players cannot directly convert UPX to fiat. Thus, they’ve created the NFT-to-USD program that allows players to list their property directly for fiat to cash out. This regulates liquidity in the system and restricts withdraws to the supply/demand of property purchases.
Why should brands consider it? What makes it relevant? What are the opportunities?
Although primarily a virtual property trading game, Upland presents an opportunity for brands to participate in NFT Collectibles trading. With over 215K monthly active users and approximately 7.9M transactions per month, brands with NFT Collectibles receive high exposure and tradability of their digital assets in one of the most popular crypto games. Unlike other metaverses, this platform puts an emphasis on transactions and swapping NFT assets. Upland has collaborated with the NFLPA to offer Upland Legits, 2000 NFTs representing the identities of football players that can be displayed inside your 3D properties. The platform has also partnered with Spirit Halloween to provide similar NFT offerings to users.
Rating
Engagement
3 —As a virtual property trading game, there are very few player mechanics involved other than purchasing, selling, renting, or building your property. The main goal is to acquire more property, similar to Monopoly.
Immersiveness
1— Given this is a 2D game with no avatars or user controls beyond trading property; this platform provides little stimulation in terms of virtual immersion.
Social Interactivity
3—With mainly property owner profiles and basic chat functions, interactions between players is limited and meant for facilitating transactions.
Centralization
3 — All properties are owned by users through the EOS.IO blockchain. However, the platform is operated by Uplandme, Inc, a Silicon Valley company, and its servers are deployed with centralized cloud providers.
User Generated Content Creation
2 — Users are limited to creating building structures on top of their land NFTs. Currently, the customization of buildings is limited to selecting between 8 pre-defined building structures and changing colors.
Economics
3 — Users can sell their properties on the in-game marketplace, but their NFTs are not available on OpenSea given that the platform isn’t compatible with Ethereum. Upland charges 5% to buyers and 5% to sellers for each marketplace transaction which is higher than Decentraland’s 2.5%, but drastically lower than Roblox’s 30%.
Partnerability
2 — There are currently no partner programs available, but the platform has already made a few notable partnerships with the NFLPA and Spirit Halloween to create NFT Collectibles for the platform.
Want to learn more about other metaverses, find out other reviews in our State of the Metaverse post.
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