AUSTIN, Texas — The metaverse and virtual reality could become a dominant space for people across Texas. Some gamers are already opting in, hoping to get ahead of the game.
Justin Reed has been picking up the controller for as long as he can remember. Now the gaming world has become his place of residency.
He purchased virtual property through the VR game, Entropia Universe.
“It's been a dream of mine to own a chunk of this game for a very, very long time in my life," said Reed.
After a bonus working at Walmart, that dream became a reality this year — but it cost him $18,000, all of his money he saved for retirement.
“Everything I would’ve retired with is now in the game,” Reed said.
“People are buying virtual land expecting to profit from it,” said Paul Toprac, Associate Director of the Game Development and Design Program at UT Austin. “It’s a distinct possibility that everybody will be plugging into the metaverse in the next 20 years and doing a lot of their work and play there and so then this would be just like buying land in the real world.”
He says while companies like Meta are behind the movement towards VR, buying virtual property is risky business.
While gamers like Reed want a return on investment, that’s not always the case.
“There could be different platforms out there, and you buy the wrong platform. Just like in the real world, location, location, location, right for real estate. You bought the wrong location in the wrong world, nobody goes to it, so you don't get a return on it,” said Toprac.
So far Justin has made $1,500 dollars in four months.
“Last month right here it made $350 itself and I took that out,” said Reed showing his earnings listed for each month in the Entropia Universe game.
He says it will likely take three to five years before he’s see’s it all back, but he’s not stopping there. He’ll keep on playing, like he always has.
“When it pays for itself, I'm hoping to buy another chunk of land and be in this universe as time goes on,” said Reed.