---
title: Nobody’s moving to the metaverse
description: Pretty much no one is buying metaverse real estate, but they do still enjoy a good game.
---

[Hustle News ](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news)

# [Nobody’s moving to the metaverse](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/04102023-metaverse-real-estate)

 Written by [Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/juliet-bennett-rylah) | Apr 10, 2023 5:37:15 AM

Back when everyone was excited about the seemingly endless potential of the metaverse, [metaverse real estate](https://thehustle.co/12072021-vr-real-estate/) was hot.

Now, we must imagine a pixelated tumbleweed rolling through the streets of a digital ghost town as *The Block* [reports](https://www.theblock.co/post/225104/decentraland-metaverse-fashion-week) a significant downturn:

- In late 2021 and early 2022, weekly trading volumes on metaverse platform Decentraland were at $1m+. One plot sold for $2.43m.
- Today, just 20-30 traders trade ~$50k/week.
- Of Decentraland’s 98k land NFTs, it still owns ~68% of them.

Meanwhile, attendance at Decentraland’s Fashion Week dropped from 108k in 2022 to 26k this year, despite showings from well-known brands.

#### **Why?**

*The Block *notes that gaming platforms, like *Fortnite* and *Roblox*, are going strong, while metaverse platforms like Sandbox and Alien Worlds aren’t.

Gaming platforms, however, are fun, and the average user usually knows what they’re supposed to be doing there.

- *The Verge*’s Jay Peters [attended](https://www.theverge.com/23668846/decentraland-metaverse-fashion-week-2023) Decentraland’s Fashion Week and found it hard to navigate, sparse, and glitchy.

That lack of traffic probably isn’t ideal for the brands that showcased there — including Balenciaga, which was misspelled on its own booth and which seems to be doing better with [AI-generated memes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2023/04/05/the-balenciaga-meme-explained/?sh=4cb549c66765) anyway. So, why shell out for virtual real estate no one visits laden with ads no one sees?

There’s also, of course, *the real world*, where inflation has likely left people inclined to spend money on IRL items over virtual ones.

#### **But maybe don’t count it out**

There have been some fun metaverse splashes — Tender Claws’ [VR staging](https://www.filmindependent.org/blog/tender-claws-uses-vr-to-re-imagine-immersive-theater-during-lockdown/) of *The Tempest* comes to mind — and virtual concerts from stars like Ariana Grande have pulled [huge numbers](https://thehustle.co/08012022-vr-concerts/). Plus, *Fortnite *players *do* spend money on skins and digital items.

Maybe the key to metaverse retention isn’t real estate but just… building something social and fun first?

[View full post](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/04102023-metaverse-real-estate)

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