Somnium Space
The control experiment for the scarcity thesis, and it came back negative. Worth building on for presence quality, not for the land economics.
Scored against the six conditions
Each score has written reasoning, so a disagreement can be with one number rather than with the assessment.
Persistence
On-chain land with persistent builds, and a stronger VR-presence emphasis than its peers.
Enforceable scarcity
Land supply constrained more tightly than The Sandbox — the clearest test in the category of whether scarcity alone supports price.
Footfall
Smaller population than Decentraland. The tightest supply in the category has not produced a stronger land market, which is the most useful negative result available.
A unit that leaves
CUBE is liquid on public markets, so revenue earned in-world can be realised outside it without asking the operator.
Standing that travels
Wallet-portable, and no further. Presence quality is the platform's strength and none of it accrues to an identity that can leave.
Labour that never sleeps
No native agent layer. The VR-first design assumes a human is wearing something, which is the opposite of continuous operation.
Studio assessment, dated 2026-08-28. Rubric and method: the Atlas. Price data where referenced: CoinGecko Research.
Position disclosed: Metaverse Group holds a position in Somnium Space. Land held. The size of the position is not disclosed.
Scoring a world we hold without saying so would be the most damaging thing this studio could publish. The disclosure is generated from one source and appears wherever the world does.
Where it sits
| World | Score | Family |
|---|---|---|
| Decentraland | 13/18 | Open world |
| Somnium Space | 13/18 | Open world |
| The Sandbox | 13/18 | Open world |
| Otherside | 10/18 | Open world |
| Roblox | 9/18 | UGC platform |
| Bitmap | 8/18 | Bitcoin-native |
| Fortnite Creative | 8/18 | UGC platform |
| Minecraft | 8/18 | UGC platform |
| VRChat | 8/18 | UGC platform |
| Apple Vision Pro | 7/18 | Spatial surface |
| Horizon Worlds | 4/18 | Publisher world |
The full league table and rubric: the Atlas.