Introducing Metropolis, an Immersive Virtual Platform Blending Commerce, Gaming, Social Interaction and Culture

Building Web3 is tough, and it’s even tougher when it comes to metaverses. The past few years have seen the near failure of many purely digital platforms

People are naturally social creatures who enjoy immersing themselves in engaging experiences. In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, we are witnessing the convergence of several key trends, including the burgeoning Web3 revolution, the metaverse and the rapidly growing creator economy.

At the forefront of this technological evolution stands Metropolis, an immersive virtual platform that seamlessly blends commerce, gaming, social interaction and culture.

To learn more about how the project is building a metaverse that creators and brands actually want to join, members of the community invited the founders of Metropolis, Rania Ajami and Rashid Ajami, for an exclusive session of Cointelegraph’s Ask Anything series.

The siblings, who previously pursued careers in the entertainment, film and music industries before founding Metropolis, chatted with members of the community about the project’s journey so far.

As they explained, they were motivated by the shortcomings of purely digital platforms, most of which failed to gain lasting traction with users despite the efforts of capable teams and significant capital investment.

In contrast, platforms that provide a hybrid vision of physical and digital experiences, such as Twitch and Discord, have managed to build strong communities and generate enduring interest among users. Metropolis was created to fill this gap.

“From the beginning, we wanted to create a dynamic and vibrant world for people to connect with. We wanted to evoke emotions through storytelling while bridging physical and digital experiences,” said Rania.

Adding to this thought, Rashid said that creators today are faced with a limited set of options.

“On the one hand, we have Twitter and Instagram, where most creators spend their time and capital, and on the one hand, there are metaverses that have not yet been adopted. We’re filling the gap between them: you can easily customize, get in and out of our immersive world.”

This ability to easily customize and engage with the world of Metropolis is crucial for creators. As Rania explained, the project’s virtual city spans more than 500 unique locations — from jungles, residential homes and party houses to art galleries, exclusive clubs and DJ towers — each with its own lore, characters and storylines.

The virtual city allows anyone to host digital events, build and engage communities, stream content and sell artwork in their own customized spaces. To ensure variety and engagement, the project is hand-picking amazing creators and artists from fashion, film, music and more.

“We are also working closely with a select group of brands that align with our vision and values to create truly unique and meaningful experiences for our users,” said Rania, adding that the project has already signed over 400 partnerships with Yung Gravy, Steve Aoki, Christian Cowan, Blondish, Mike Shinoda and many more.

“They can get properties and AI agents that you can train to be your own character and create mini-games and chat groups that are segmented and token-gated. So you have your own world in one place as opposed to a more generic scroll feed that you get with an Instagram profile.”

After obtaining a passport, gaining full access and choosing an avatar, users can visit Metropolis X — the platform’s gamified marketplace — to explore locations and experiences and create their own places.

“Say you have a DJ mix, and you want it to be exclusive. You can turn it into your NFT in Metropolis X. It can also be used in an environment and further amplify your brand as a DJ or creator,” said Rashid.

The speakers also noted that the project is focused on removing traditional Web3 barriers.

“While we support custodial wallets, you can only use your credit card within our marketplace.”

The project also launched a token, CLAY, to complement the project’s vision. As Rania explained, it’s not the kind of pump-and-dump memecoin or a token for trading, but to facilitate real experiences in the Metropolis world on multiple levels.

“Yes, it’s very much like an ecosystem token that allows you to access and transact within the ecosystem. CLAY unlocks quests, early access to products, discounts, meeting groups with different creators and brands, leveling up in the games, ways to customize your property and so on,” said Rashid, adding that CLAY staking is available to Metropolis users now, with more options and governance features to be added in the future.