Want to experience the wonder of watching the iconic ball drop in Times Square without getting up off the couch? This year you can ring in the New Year without worrying about overzealous crowds or covid-19 exposure and still watch the ball drop. You’ll just have to journey to the metaverse.
Jamestown real estate and Digital Currency Group are teaming up to build a replica of Times Square in Decentraland. Decentraland is a virtual reality platform based on blockchain technology. The virtual event space opens to visitors on Dec. 31s with a worldwide celebration dubbed “MetaFest 2022”. Guests will have the option to play games and hang out on rooftops. Along with this immersive content, guests can also watch a virtual rendition of the Times Square ball drop. The event will also include virtual live musical performances.
What Is Decentraland?
Decentraland is a decentralized three-dimensional virtual world platform where users interact via avatars. Land plots and other virtual items are available for purchase as non-fungible tokens within. The virtual Times Square ball drop isn’t the first event of its kind. Other virtual events have been largely successful, Decentraland hosted a music festival in Oct 2021, which boasted over 80 artists, including Deadmau5 and Paris Hilton. The metaverse platform will even hold its first fashion week in March 2022.
MetaFest isn’t the only virtual New Years’ event happening this year, however. Paris Hilton is holding an event on New Year’s Eve on her virtual island hosted in Roblox, where she plans to DJ.
The Times Square ball drop is a famed New York tradition that dates back to 1907. With the looming threat of covid, MetaFest offers a safe alternative to the real-world event. As Simo Koster, head of real estate at DCG, told Fortune, “A lot of my plans over the last couple of weeks and over the next couple of weeks have all been cancelled, but this one’s going to remain.”
Jack Brassell is a freelance journalist and aspiring novelist. Jack is a self-proclaimed nerd with a lifelong passion for storytelling. As an author, Jack writes mostly horror and young adult fantasy. Also an avid gamer, she works as the lead news editor at Hardcore Droid. When she isn't writing or playing games, she can often be found binge-watching Parks & Rec or The Office, proudly considering herself to be a cross between Leslie Knope and Pam Beasley.
