Dear MONA Community,
Since our inception in 2021, our journey together has been nothing short of extraordinary. What began as a web-based, immersive 3D world-building platform has evolved into something much greater, much more dynamic, and much more aligned with our shared vision of the open metaverse.
Today, I am excited to announce some pivotal changes to our platform and products, designed to simplify and enhance your experience while empowering you, our community, even further.
A Brief Look Back
When MONA was first launched, the concept of metaverse land sales dominated the scene. However, I had a different vision—one that placed creators at the forefront and provided them with the tools and opportunities to build, share, and monetize their work in an open and decentralized environment.
Our mission has always been clear: to build tools and protocols that accelerate the growth of the open metaverse. An open metaverse is not the dominion of a single platform; it is a vast, interconnected network of platforms, all built and owned by its users.
The Evolution of MONA
As many of you know, monaverse.com has become a multifaceted home for thousands of 3D creators, developers, collectors, and metaverse explorers. We offer a web-based multiplayer immersive world platform, a marketplace, a developer toolkit, a web-based 3D creation tool, an incubator for various projects, and a hackathon/grant accelerator.
While this diversity of offerings serves to help us achieve our ambitious vision, it has also made our website somewhat confusing for new and returning visitors. To address this, we are making some changes to streamline our offerings and make your journey through the open metaverse more intuitive and enjoyable.
A New Focus: Simplifying the MONA Experience
Moving forward, the main focus of monaverse.com will be the marketplace for 3D digital art. For many years it's been my thesis that 3D digital objects will become one of the most valuable assets over the next decades to come. The market for 3D game objects is substantial and continues to grow rapidly. In 2023, consumers spent roughly $50 billion on in-game cosmetics and 3D assets. For comparison, that's nearly the same size as the global art market, which was valued at approximately $65 billion in 2023. Human engagement in virtual worlds has significantly increased over the past decade as well. In 2024, the average session time for VR users in the U.S. is already substantially higher compared to 2019.
The future of the internet will be built by 3D creators and game developers. Just as we build our most prized possesions today with physical materials, in the future we will come to place even more value on assets built with code. MONA is dedicated to providing the tools these architects need to build a beautiful future for us all.
3D art is a unique medium, and as such, it deserves a special, elevated discovery experience for its users that honors the quality of the art itself. Through this engine, we also aim to elevate the artists behind these incredible 3D works, telling their unique stories. 3D creators can feel at home at monaverse.com.
In a short time span, thousands of 3D assets including immersive worlds, levels, avatars, wearables, props, and vehicles have already been created, uploaded, and tokenized by our community. This library of assets continues to grow.
These assets are not just collectibles; they are functional, usable components that can be integrated into various third-party apps and games through the new MONA SDK. Any standalone app built in any game engine like Unity and Unreal Engine, or even javascript can integrate MONA assets. These could be apps built for mobile, desktop, and also for VR and AR. Some examples include Race Forge, Skyway Sprinter, Everything is Alive, Tea Time Puzzler, the original MONA Spaces experience, and the Spatial Computing powered MONA Spaces app on the Apple Vision Pro. If you’d like to integrate MONA assets into your app or game, head over to our developer portal to get started.
Here’s a breakdown of the new streamlined user journey on monaverse.com:
1. Marketplace
From the home page, you can start browsing and buying 3D assets by clicking on “Marketplace.” Our marketplace will feature a wide array of 3D NFTs created by talented artists and developers within our community. We are also indexing smart contracts across multiple EVM chains. Eventually we plan to have support for other chains like Solana and Tezos as well.
Our marketplace will be the best way to search, discover, and trade any 3D NFT. Each asset you purchase is not just a piece of digital art but a functional item that can be utilized in various applications. As a creator-first platform, MONA's marketplace will always and forever honor creator royalties.
2. Create
If you are a creator looking to contribute to the open metaverse, you can begin by clicking on “Create.” For now, this section redirects to the existing create flow that our users are accustomed to.
Within a few weeks, this will be replaced with our new and improved creation flow, one which gives creators the flexibility of minting on their own smart contracts if they wish. This section will provide you with all the tools and resources you need to design and mint your own 3D assets.
Whether you’re an experienced builder or just starting out, our platform is designed to support you every step of the way.
3. Develop
For those interested in building apps, games, and experiences using assets from MONA, the “Develop” section is your gateway. Here, you’ll find our comprehensive developer toolkit, including the MONA SDK, which is free to use and allows you to integrate and utilize decentralized 3D assets in your projects seamlessly.
For many years we've heard people talk about blockchain enabling users to be able to bring their game assets from one game to another. Now, the MONA SDK makes this possible in a way that is seamless and easy for developers to integrate.
4. Play
The open metaverse will not be one platform, but many interconnected platforms, apps, and experiences. That's why we have created a dedicated "Play" section for you to explore and enjoy the various apps, experiences, and games being built by our community of devs.
Anyone has the freedom to build an app using the MONA SDK. Once built, we will index that app under this section for you to jump in and use any of the interoperable 3D assets your own.
So far, several games and apps have been built, including a couple incubated by our team of rockstar devs. This includes our new Apple Vision Pro Spaces experience, as well as the original MONA Spaces web experience.
What about the current MONA Spaces Experience?
MONA Spaces, the immersive multiplayer web app will continue to exist under the new subdomain, spaces.monaverse.com It is linked under the "Play" tab on our new website, as one of many apps within the open metaverse that leverage the MONA SDK.
If you would like to continue to build spaces using the existing workflow, you will be able to. Soon, we will be introducing documentation for creators demonstrating how to export their Space files into a more interoperable format, in addition to introducing a new Space creation workflow. This new workflow will empower creators to build a fully interoperable environment from square one, able to be used in any third party app or experience.
Empowering the Community
At MONA, we believe that the open metaverse should be built and owned by its users. We are committed to providing you with the tools and opportunities to succeed, whether you’re a creator, developer, player, or collector.
By simplifying our platform and focusing on the marketplace and SDK, we aim to foster a more cohesive and supportive environment for everyone involved. We want to see millions of apps built using interoperable 3D assets. To help with this, MONA will continue our community incentive programs.
To date, MONA has awarded over $500k to creators and developers through various funding vehicles including hackathons, buildathons, and grants. Thanks to amazing partners like Protocol Labs and Filecoin, this incentive pool has grown larger and has already empowered thousands to start building.
We look forward to helping to inspire and support you further for many years ahead.
Looking Ahead
These changes are just the beginning. Our vision for MONA is ever-evolving, driven by our commitment to innovation and our dedication to our community. We are constantly working on new features, tools, and opportunities to help you thrive.
As we embark on this new chapter, I want to express my deepest gratitude to each and every one of you. Your creativity, passion, and support have been instrumental in shaping MONA into what it is today. Together, we are building a brighter, more inclusive future for the open, immersive internet.
Join Us on This Journey
I invite you to explore the new monaverse.com, dive into the marketplace, and take advantage of the opportunities it offers. Whether you’re creating, developing, or simply exploring, there’s a place for you in our community. Let’s continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible and build the open metaverse together.
Thank you for being a part of this incredible journey. Here’s to an exciting future ahead!
With love,
Justin
Founder & CEO, MONA