The Metaverse Creator Economy

My favorite part of writing The Metaverse Handbook was researching and finding the dozens of creators who are making money in the metaverse. People like CK and the First Metaverse Nail Salon. We’re so early in the user adoption of the metaverse, but it’s great to see creators have the foresight to lay the groundwork for metaverse businesses now.

Whether that’s designing metaverse wearables or putting on virtual concerts, there’s an emerging Metaverse Creator Economy. And there are dozens of tools and software specifically for enabling metaverse creators.

This is the third installment of my series of notes on Metaverse Builders: The Companies Driving Metaverse Innovation. The previous two notes include:

1. 70 Ways to Experience the Metaverse
2. Metaverse App Stores

Metaverse Creator Tools

Metaverse Creator Tools include everything that helps creators make and monetize things for the metaverse.

3D Graphics, Animation, and Modeling Software:

• Daz3D – 3D software suite for rigging 3D human models
• Gravity Sketch – 3D design and modeling software
• Marvelous Designer – Realistic cloth-making program for 3D artists
• Rokoko – Animation software
• Soul Machines – Digital human generation platform
• The Fabricant – Metaverse fashion design platform
• Unity – 3D game development platform
• Xsens – 3D motion tracking technology

AI Creation Tools:

• Hugging Face – Open-source AI platform
• Midjourney – AI generated art platform
• rct AI – AI generated content platform for game developers
• Stability.ai – Open-source AI platform with a variety of purposes

Monetization Tools:

• Admix – Non-intrusive monetization solution for games and metaverses
• Async – Programmable NFT creation platform
• CryptoVoxels – Blockchain-based virtual world owned by its users
• Decentraland – Blockchain-based virtual world owned by its users
• DMarket – Decentralized marketplace for trading in-game assets
• Genvid – Enabling massively interactive live events for gaming
• Machinations – Game economies and systems designer
• Maddie’s – Merchandising provider for NFT collections
• Overwolf – Guild for creating, sharing, and monetizing in-game apps
• Rec Room – Social sandbox game for building and gaming with friends
• Roblox – Social sandbox game for building and monetizing games
• Shopify – Ecommerce platform
• Somnium Space – Blockchain-based VR world owned by its users
• Superworld – Blockchain-based virtual real estate platform
• The Sandbox – Blockchain-based virtual world owned by its users
• Xsolla – Payment services provider for in-game transactions

Game Engines:

• Beamable – Full-Stack LiveOps platform and SDKs enabling game makers to build and deploy Web3 games more efficiently
• Buildbox – No-code game design software
• Cocos – Open-source game engine
• GameMaker Studio 2 – Free game engine
• Improbable – Metaverse builder and simulation software
• Photon – Multiplayer gaming engine

Miscellaneous:

• Mod.io – Mod support for every gaming platform
• Moralis – Web3 APIs
• Skillz – Mobile eSports competition platform
• Subspace – Dedicated networks for competitive online gaming