The idea of spending millions on non-existent land may sound ludicrous -- but feverish predictions of a virtual reality future are pushing investors to bet big on digital real estate.
This week, New York-based company Republic Realm announced it had spent a record-breaking $4.3 million on digital land through The Sandbox, one of several"virtual world" websites where people can socialise, play games and even attend concerts.
The Facebook rebrand"introduced the term 'metaverse' to millions of people a lot faster than I would have ever imagined," said Cathy Hackl, a tech consultant who advises companies on entering the metaverse. And while it may be some time before these sites operate as true metaverses, transporting us elsewhere with VR goggles, digital land is already functioning as an asset just like real land, said Hackl.- 'Fifth Avenue of the metaverse' -
"That is advertising and event space where people are going to congregate," he explained, pointing to a recent virtual musical festival in Decentraland which attracted 50,000 visitors. While Second Life remains active, proponents of its next-generation rivals point out a key difference.
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