Land speculation
Buy parcels, wait for the category to grow, sell to the next buyer. Down 72–95% depending on the world.
Never a business. A position.
Answer · Business models
How do metaverse companies make money?
Five models that survived the crash and three that did not — with the condition each one depends on.
As at 2026-08-28The answer
Five models have survived: platform take rates on user-generated content, rent and leasing on virtual property, entry and event revenue from venues, sales of virtual goods and wearables, and services — design, build and operation — sold to brands entering a world. Models that did not survive were the ones dependent on asset appreciation: land speculation, token treasuries, and businesses whose revenue was denominated in a currency that could not leave the world.
§ 01
What survived
| Model | How it earns | Depends on |
|---|---|---|
| Platform take rate | A percentage of everything creators sell inside the world. | Footfall |
| Rent and leasing | Periodic payments from tenants occupying property. The model our own estate runs. | Footfall · tenure |
| Venue revenue | Entry, events, sponsorship and bar-equivalent spend from people present in a space. | Footfall · labour |
| Virtual goods | Wearables, items and upgrades sold to people who are already spending time there. | Footfall · scarcity |
| Services | Design, build and operation sold to brands entering a world. Project revenue, but real. | Client budgets |
§ 02
What did not
All three failures share one property: revenue arrived when an asset was sold rather than when a service was delivered.
01
02
Token treasuries
Fund operations by selling a token whose value depends on the operations being funded.
Circular, and it unwinds in one direction.03
Closed-loop revenue
Earn in a currency that cannot leave the world, so every participant depends on the next entrant to realise anything.
A scoreboard, not an economy.Drawdown figures for the failed models: CoinGecko Research, metaverse land prices. Tenancy evidence for the surviving venue and leasing models: Dezeen on Metaverse Fashion Week.
The single test
Does revenue arrive when someone is present, or when someone sells? Every surviving model is on the first side of that line and every failed one is on the second. It is a more reliable filter than any market forecast, and it can be applied to a pitch in about thirty seconds.