Virtual world
A virtual world is a simulated space that multiple people occupy simultaneously and that continues to exist between their visits. The defining property is shared persistence: the world is somewhere you go rather than something you run, and it is in the same state for everyone who arrives.
Worlds versus sessions
A multiplayer match is a session — it ends, and nothing built in it survives. A world does not end. This is why worlds can host property and businesses and sessions cannot: an asset needs somewhere to still be tomorrow.
Open and publisher worlds
Worlds divide by who enforces the rules. In open worlds the land and items are tokens the chain enforces and the operator cannot revoke; in publisher worlds everything is licensed under terms of service and can be withdrawn. The trade is consistent and unresolved: open worlds give real ownership and little traffic, publisher worlds give enormous traffic and no ownership.
See also
Related entries in the Register. Every see-also is reciprocal — if this entry points there, that entry points back.
Metaverse Group, The Register, REG-002 “Virtual world”, as at 2026-08-28. https://metaversegroup.com/encyclopedia/virtual-world/
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