OpenSim’s Expanding Landscape: A Monthly Overview of Public Grids
OpenSim, the free and open-source virtual world platform, continues to evolve and expand, offering users a unique space to create, explore, and connect. This month, we witnessed a significant increase in the total land area of OpenSim’s public grids, with the addition of a new grid that has sparked interest and curiosity. However, the total number of active users saw a decline, primarily due to several grids not reporting their statistics. Let’s delve into the details of this month’s developments in the OpenSim ecosystem.
A Surge in Land Area
In July 2024, the total land area of OpenSim’s public grids surged by more than 33,000 region equivalents. This growth was largely attributed to the introduction of the Simation Grid, which reported an impressive 25,408 region equivalents. The architecture of OpenSim allows grid owners to easily launch with substantial space, making it an attractive option for those looking to establish a presence in the virtual world.
However, there is some ambiguity surrounding the reported statistics for Simation Grid. The grid’s website states “Standard Region Equivalents: 25408 Km²,” which, if interpreted literally, would imply a staggering 387,693 total regions—a figure that would dwarf all other OpenSim grids combined. This discrepancy raises questions about the accuracy of the reported numbers, and the grid owner is encouraged to clarify the statistics for the community.
User Activity Declines
Despite the increase in land area, the total number of active users across OpenSim grids fell by nearly 1,500 this month. This decline can be attributed to several grids, including Fire and Ice, The City, and Little Big City, not reporting their statistics. As a result, the community is left with an incomplete picture of user engagement this month.
Currently, we are tracking a total of 2,675 public grids, with 318 active and 258 that published their statistics. If you manage a grid and have a stats page that we’re not tracking, please reach out to ensure your grid gets the visibility it deserves.
The Leaders of the Pack
This month, OSgrid retained its title as the largest grid by land area, boasting 33,554 standard region equivalents. Meanwhile, the Wolf Territories Grid emerged as the most active grid, recording 6,540 unique logins over the past 30 days. These grids continue to attract users and foster vibrant communities, making them key players in the OpenSim landscape.
The Nature of OpenSim
OpenSim is designed to be user-friendly, allowing individuals with no technical skills to create virtual worlds quickly and affordably. Those with technical expertise can run OpenSim worlds on their servers for free using various distributions, including DreamGrid or the official OpenSim installer. Commercial hosting options are also available, starting at less than $5 per region.
For those interested in exploring OpenSim, a list of OpenSim hosting providers is available, along with resources for downloading the recommended Firestorm viewer and finding content for your OpenSim world.
Monthly Newsletter Launch
In an effort to keep the community informed, Hypergrid Business is launching a monthly newsletter that will summarize all OpenSim news from the previous month. The newsletter will be sent out on the 15th of each month, right after the stats report is released. You can subscribe here to stay updated on the latest developments.
Top 25 Grids by Active Users
The dynamics of user engagement in OpenSim are crucial for social interaction and commerce. Here are the top 25 most popular grids this month:
- Wolf Territories Grid: 6,540 active users
- OSgrid: 5,168 active users
- GBG World: 2,333 active users
- DigiWorldz: 2,163 active users
- Alternate Metaverse: 1,967 active users
- Vida Dupla: 1,838 active users
- Darkheart’s Playground: 1,718 active users
- WaterSplash: 1,521 active users
- Trianon World: 1,108 active users
- AviWorlds: 1,028 active users
- AviVerse AlterEgo: 987 active users
- Neverworld: 962 active users
- Littlefield: 935 active users
- Party Destination Grid: 840 active users
- AvatarLife: 837 active users
- Moonrose: 825 active users
- Astralia: 771 active users
- Craft World: 744 active users
- Herederos Grid: 582 active users
- Virtual Vista Metaverse: 545 active users
- Gentle Fire Grid: 537 active users
- ZetaWorlds: 524 active users
- Groovy Verse: 522 active users
- Kitely: 462 active users
- Barefoot Dreamers: 438 active users
Notably, the addition of Virtual Vista Metaverse to our database reflects a strong launch and growing interest in new grids.
Online Marketplaces for OpenSim Content
The Kitely Market remains the largest collection of legal content available in OpenSim, currently listing 20,965 products with 41,073 variations. A significant portion of this content is exportable, catering to the needs of users across different grids. Kitely has also recently upgraded its version of OpenSim, enhancing performance and compatibility with scripts from Second Life.
New and Suspended Grids
This month, several new grids were added to our database, including Agartha, AmaziWorld, and Simation Grid. Conversely, nine grids were marked as suspended, including Eenhgrid and Rocket World. If these grids do not come back online soon, they will be marked as closed in future reports.
Conclusion
The OpenSim landscape is ever-changing, with new grids emerging and user engagement fluctuating. As the community continues to grow, it remains essential for grid owners to report their statistics accurately to provide a clearer picture of the ecosystem. If you know of any public grids that are missing from our database, please reach out to help us keep the community informed.
For more detailed statistics and insights, you can access the raw data for this month’s report and explore historical OpenSim statistics dating back to 2009.
As OpenSim continues to thrive, it offers a unique platform for creativity, social interaction, and commerce, making it an exciting space for both new and experienced users alike.