Do you remember when everyone was talking about the metaverse in 2023? It was everywhere after Meta changed course. At the time, there was an explosion of metaverse apps and projects all claiming to be revolutionary.

I looked into what actually existed at that moment. Of course, there were staples like Roblox and Decentraland, which dominated with their millions of users. Roblox was particularly interesting because it wasn't really blockchain-based at first, but that didn't stop people from calling it a major metaverse app. Decentraland, with its MANA token, also exploded, especially with the ability to buy virtual land as NFTs.

Then there was a whole wave of play-to-earn games. Axie Infinity was huge in 2021-2022, with people actually making money by battling with their NFT creatures. Battle Infinity offered a similar thing but on BSC with its own ecosystem. The Sandbox was cool for creators with its voxels and SAND as currency. And then MOBOX, which mixed farming and NFT gaming.

More niche stuff like Mines of Dalarnia, Zepeto, or Bloktopia also had their followers. Zepeto especially, launched by Naver Z, with its customizable 3D avatars. Bloktopia was weird with its concept of a 21-story skyscraper symbolizing Bitcoin's cap.

Looking back, many of these metaverse apps didn't live up to their promises. But it was a crazy time where everything seemed possible in virtual worlds. People were really trying to find the next big thing.