\u201cIt\u2019s basically one of the most ambitious projects ever attempted in the space\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s basically one of the most ambitious projects ever attempted in the space, and it\u2019s finally starting to take shape,\u201d Yuga Labs chief product officer Michael Figge tells The Verge.<\/p>\n
The short version of the pitch is that Otherside is something like Roblox or Fortnite, but with crypto: you can use NFTs as avatars to explore virtual worlds created by Yuga Labs and by other players. You can log in with a crypto wallet, but you don\u2019t need an NFT to participate or just hang out; you can just join from a browser using more traditional methods like your email.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe think that there should be a very low barrier to entry for somebody to try out Otherside, because once they do try it, it\u2019s a really great way to get exposed to what it\u2019s like to actually own digital assets,\u201d Figge says.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a bunch of crypto stuff everywhere you look. NFT avatars, NFT plots of land, blockchain-based currency. Yuga hopes it can build a creator ecosystem around all of this, giving builders a more compelling deal than competing metaverses because these digital assets exist outside of its world and can be moved elsewhere in the future. You can also mostly ignore all of this and just run around Otherside without diving too far into the crypto of it all, if you want to.<\/p>\n
In addition to the area I explored, The Swamp, there will be a big virtual hub world called the Nexus. Some community-made experiences will also be available to play, too. Those include a shooter game called Bathroom Blitz (\u201caction so explosive, you\u2019ll be clenching cheeks the whole time,\u201d according to a description on the Otherside website) and a zombie game called Otherside Outbreak. In worlds, you can also create \u201cBubbles,\u201d which are basically an Otherside version of a social audio room, like a Clubhouse room or an X Space.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe actually think there\u2019s a really big potential for people that want to make their own experiences on Otherside,\u201d Figge says. \u201cGoing after incumbents in the user-generated experience field, like Roblox and Minecraft, is a huge opportunity for us, because I think a lot of people might be disenchanted with that current way of supporting creators and the economic model behind it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yuga Labs and Amazon are partnering on a \u201cBoximus\u201d avatar<\/p>\n
Otherside\u2019s in-game avatars are 3D representations of NFTs that players own. \u201cAny NFT collection can submit their avatar collection to be reviewed and used in Otherside,\u201d Figge says. There will also be avatars built using a new system Yuga Labs is calling Voyager. There will initially be two avatar partnerships. One is a 300-piece collection from digital artist Daniel Arsham. Another is a co-branded \u201ctokenized asset\u201d in partnership with Amazon called Boximus that Figge describes as \u201cbasically, like, made up of a bunch of Amazon boxes.\u201d Figge says the Amazon avatar will be available directly on Amazon\u2019s website.<\/p>\n
These avatars will cost money. \u201cThink of these voyagers like a \u2018skin\u2019 from the traditional gaming world,\u201d Figge says. \u201cWe aren\u2019t disclosing pricing details just yet, but what we can say is they are meant to be reasonable and affordable.\u201d And because they\u2019re blockchain-based assets, you\u2019ll be able to resell the ones you own, according to Figge, which you can\u2019t do in other metaverse-like games.<\/p>\n
I got to run around The Swamp before writing this article. This world seemed to be a giant, 3D social chatroom \u2014 there wasn\u2019t any sort of game to play besides exploring the space and chatting with fellow visitors over voice or text. And while I don\u2019t want to judge a pre-launch virtual world too harshly before it launches publicly, it reminded me more of the hollow experiences I\u2019ve had wandering around Meta\u2019s Horizon Worlds or a metaverse fashion show<\/a> than something immediately fun and engaging like Fortnite.<\/p>\n In The Swamp, there just wasn\u2019t much to see or do besides wander around the outside of the clubhouse (which I couldn\u2019t go inside of) or explore the swamp to see things like an outhouse (closed) and a platform by a train track (with a sign that says \u201cout of order\u201d). To my surprise, as I was walking away from the platform, a train started rumbling by, but my character ran too slowly to catch it. I found a portal that sent me flying in the direction of the moving train, but I missed landing on it and splashed back into the water.<\/p>\n Even if we assume those sorts of nitpicky problems get fixed and The Swamp or the Nexus or Otherside experiences are filled with players, 3D environments that are primarily for socializing are usually very niche or pretty boring. Hits like VRChat are the exception, not the rule. And part of what makes things like Fortnite and Roblox so popular is that they have games to play while hanging out with your friends. At launch, and with such a focus on crypto, I\u2019m not sure Otherside will have that same pull.<\/p>\n Maybe Otherside will develop into something more interesting; Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft all snowballed their way into becoming huge hits. But I\u2019m skeptical of what I see right now, and you probably won\u2019t see me on the other side.<\/p>\n Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Jay PetersClose Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All by Jay Peters<\/a><\/p>\n CryptoCloseCrypto<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All Crypto<\/a><\/p>\n InterviewCloseInterview<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n See All Interview<\/a><\/p>\n ReportCloseReport<\/p>\n Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.<\/p>\n FollowFollow<\/p>\n![\"Jay](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/JAY_BLURPLE.jpg\"\/)
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