What is Somnium Space?
Somnium Space is an open, social, and persistent virtual world built on the Ethereum blockchain. The persistence of Somnium Space is a way of how the world is being generated to users at any given moment in time. Unlike traditional multiplayer VR games where users are separated into sub servers and mirrored-instance rooms, this virtual world exists in one seamless instance and hosts all players in one vast world. This means when users go somewhere in that world, they will experience the same thing as anyone else. Furthermore, users won’t encounter any loading screens while exploring the metaverse.
Users of Somnium Space can buy and sell digital real estate, including land, buildings, homes, and in-game assets. Due to the platform’s native builder and immersive dynamics, users can build anything they want, all the while exploring the creations of other users. From schools and parks to arcades and cinemas, users have the freedom to create, share, and monetise anything on their lands. Thus, the virtual world of Somnium Space will be built and shaped entirely by its users.
Since Somnium Space is intended to be fully interconnected and immersive, users can access the platform from any device. These include 2D mode on desktop and VR mode on mobile or desktop. By far, Somnium Space offers one of the most advanced options for a complete VR experience. Body, finger, eye, and lip tracking are available for deeper immersion.
History of Somnium Space
Somnium Space was founded in 2017 by Artur Sychov. Before becoming the founder and CEO of Somnium Space, Artur has worked as an investment trader for many years. In early 2018, the early access of Somnium Space was published, and users can download them from steam. During its early days, the platform sold over 200,000 USD worth of virtual land within two crowdfunding campaigns for early VR enthusiasts. In 2019, the company received seed funding of 1 million USD.
Since then, Somnium Space has undergone several major updates and received various investments, such as investments from GEMINI. In addition, the platform has partnered with leaders across virtual reality, blockchain, and hardware manufacturing sectors to create a seamless end-to-end ecosystem. Some of their partners include Sony and Matic. The company also works with Admix to help users monetise their virtual real estate.
The team at Somnium Space believes in a metaverse accelerated by interoperable virtual worlds not only on a commercial and technological level but also on a philosophical level as it pertains to the future of humanity. They believe that the metaverse will allow humanity to socialise, communicate, and cooperate in its native manner. Their vision is to develop a place where dreams come true, and the only limit is imagination.
Popular Areas in Somnium Space
With a realistic graphic style and a map that closely resembles the earth, not all areas within Somnium Space are the same. In general, the map of Somnium Space consists of mountains, islands, a lake, and cities. Like in the real world, the most popular areas in Somnium Space are the city centre, waterfront areas, and the islands. Thus, making them more expensive and valuable.
- Islands – Besides incredible graphics and breathtaking views of the water and mountains, lands on an island in Somnium Space are also limited. Therefore, they are incredibly valuable. Additionally, people who visit the virtual world will likely visit the islands, meaning the lands will receive more traffic.
- City Centre – If you enjoy inner-city life and want to get as many visitors to your land as possible, then this is the area you would like to purchase land parcels.
- Waterfront – If you’ve been dreaming of living with a view of a lake, but couldn’t do it in your real life, then taking waterfront land in Somnium Space may help make your dream come true. Besides, people visiting Somnium Space will be drawn to the water and follow the lake’s shoreline. So people are bound to find you if you own a waterfront parcel.
Types of Property in Somnium Space
The types of property available in Somnium Space are as follows:
- Land Parcels – There are 5,026 land parcels within Somnium Space. Each land parcel in the virtual world is a non-fungible token (NFT, ERC-721), meaning it’s unique and cannot be duplicated or forged. Land in Somnium Space comes in three sizes, including small (200 sqm and 10m in height and depth build limit), medium (600 sqm and 25 m), and extra-large (1500 sqm and 50m).
- Wearables – The NFT wearables in Somnium Space are created by users. Therefore they are shaped and moulded to the user’s best ability and taste.
- Vehicles – Cars and other types of vehicles in Somnium Space are NFTs. They can only be operated by their owners only. Avatars usually walk at 4 mph, but cars may travel at 25 mph.
- Teleportation HUBs – These are NFTs owned by users who place them on their land parcels as private or public.
- Tickets – Tickets can be created as NFT, so only NFT holders are granted access to a particular land parcel. Those who don’t own the NFT ticket will not be able to enter. They also won’t see and hear anything happening on the parcel.
Native Tokens Used in Somnium Space
The Somnium Space economy consists of three different types of tokens, including Cube Token (CUBE), Land Parcels (PARCELs), and Avatars (AVATARs).
- Cube Token (CUBE) – This is Somnium Space’s native utility token based on the Ethereum blockchain (ERC20). The CUBE cryptocurrency facilitates in-game transactions between users. It can be used to buy or rent land parcels, as well as in-game purchases such as vehicles and wearables.
- Land Parcels (PARCELs) – PARCELs is a requirement if users want to build an independent Somnium world.
- Avatars (AVATARs) – The Somnium Space team introduced avatar tokenisation in late 2020 to expand the use of CUBE tokens. With avatar tokenisation, players can mint their own full-body avatars using CUBE onto the blockchain.
Top 3 Reasons to Invest in Somnium Space
- VR asset creation and monetisation – The heart of Somnium Space’s value proposition is VR asset creation and monetisation. With SDKs and in-app builder modules, Somnium Space provides users with the needed creative tools to build VR assets.
- Notable partners – Somnium Space has partnered with leaders in the virtual reality, blockchain, and hardware manufacturing sectors. Some of the most notable partners include Sony, Matic, and Admix.
- Available on both desktop and VR headsets – Somnium Space is among the most accessible metaverses available today. The platform is available on desktops and VR headsets. On your desktop, it will appear as a 2D world. In addition, VR technology is one of the most advanced. It supports major headset variants, including Oculus Go, Quest, Rift, Steam, and VIVE.