VRChat
The strongest evidence that presence and commerce are separable — the most inhabited social world has the least developed economy. The constraint here may be cultural rather than technical.
Scored against the six conditions
Each score has written reasoning, so a disagreement can be with one number rather than with the assessment.
Persistence
Worlds and avatars persist, and long-running communities have kept the same spaces alive for years — durable in practice rather than by guarantee.
Enforceable scarcity
None. Instances are spun up on demand, so there is no such thing as a location that can only hold one venue.
Footfall
Smaller than Roblox or Fortnite but with among the longest session times in the category — people stay for hours.
A unit that leaves
Creator monetisation exists and is limited.
Standing that travels
Avatar identity carries real social weight inside the platform and almost none outside it.
Labour that never sleeps
No governed agent model. The platform's culture is built on people actually being present, which makes continuous unattended operation a poor fit rather than merely unsupported.
Studio assessment, dated 2026-08-28. Rubric and method: the Atlas. Price data where referenced: CoinGecko Research.
Position disclosed: Metaverse Group holds no position in VRChat.
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.