Linden Lab, the creators of the social online game Second Life, have partnered with blockchain gaming project Upland. Gamers will be able to use dollars for digital payments within the virtual property trading game Upland. Ultimately both users and the two companies can make a profit from the trading activity within the game.
It’s the first time that Linden Lab is offering Tilia to a third-party client. Upland is also the first endeavor of the Second Life creators into blockchain gaming. The update to Upland is expected to arrive in the next few weeks.
Linden Lab created Tilia to support their virtual world Second Life. The payment service is currently responsible for 500 million dollars in annual revenue. Upland will be using Tilia in order to comply with U.S. regulations. As a result gamers will be able to pay for their virtual land using dollars in their bank accounts.
Upland uses the EOS blockchain to verify user ownership over digital properties that users can buy in their virtual world. Thanks to the blockchain, the network registers ownership in a so-called non-fungible token or NFT. Consumers can store this token in a wallet they have full control over. That’s why gamers are able to lend, trade or sell their digital assets however they want.
Upland is a Monopoly-inspired EOS blockchain in which players own digital versions of real-world properties, which they announced last year. Players can buy virtual property using in-game tokens, which in turn can also be earned inside the game itself. In addition this virtual real-estate platform will become a bit similar to the Monopoly board game. The plan is to allow users for example to setup virtual businesses.
Currently gamers are only capable of claiming building in San Francisco, and not in any other city. Upland.me wants to gradually expand its program to include more cities. They also want to add challenges and reward players for purchasing themed sets of properties, for example all cinemas in a certain city.
Upland is available for iOS and Android.