Los Angeles, USA, October 22, 2024, Chainwire
Decentraland, the first decentralized virtual social world, today launched a powerful modern desktop client, signaling a modern era in experiencing spatial environments. This beta release improves performance, provides a more immersive experience and introduces modern immersive features, setting the stage for future innovations and expanded creator tools.
This milestone marks a shift away from the browser-based experience, replacing it with a more stable Unity-based desktop client and a modern Creator Hub, which is in line with Decentraland’s vision for a connected metaworld.
“Today begins a new chapter for Decentraland. As virtual worlds play an increasingly important role in digital life, Decentraland is committed to creating a virtual world where people, not corporations, own their digital lives. Traditional platforms view their users as products while limiting actual ownership, but Decentraland flips this scenario by using decentralization to empower its users,” said Yemel Jardi, Executive Director of the Decentraland Foundation. “As the internet transforms into a more immersive, spatial experience, Decentraland is leading the movement in creating spaces that promote social connection, creativity and autonomy – transcending cultures and backgrounds. The next chapter is about unlocking the true potential of the open metaworld, ensuring that as the digital world evolves, it remains user-centric, community-centric and based on open standards.
Key features of the modern desktop client
- Improved performance and smoother gameplay – The modern desktop client delivers long-awaited performance improvements. Users will enjoy faster load times, higher frame rates, and smoother multiplayer interactions, even in high-traffic areas.
- Immersive environments – The modern client brings the world of Decentraland to life like never before, introducing vigorous lighting with dual suns and moons, modern beaches and ocean views, and procedurally generated environments including vigorous trees, leaves, water and sound effects. Landscape now loads up to 80 plots away, offering users a more wide-ranging and visually wealthy horizon-to-horizon experience.
- New engagement mechanics – The long-in-development Decentraland component will be released as part of the beta, Daily Quests and mini-games, with more to be added in the near future. Daily tasks will augment dynamic participation by engaging users to explore Decentraland and complete various tasks in exchange for rewards such as wearables and emotes. The beta version also includes a brand modern badge system that motivates users to take action by tracking and showcasing their achievements on the platform.
- Simplified user control- Decentraland now features expanded player profiles and a redesigned backpack where users can customize their avatars in a more intuitive way. Navigation has also been improved with a quick access bar to profiles, maps, and backpack features.
- Improved avatars and social interactions – Avatars in Decentraland have been significantly improved, offering smoother movement, improved rendering, and natural interaction with the environment. New chat bubbles, color-sensitive names, and emoji integration make communication more interactive and engaging.
A platform ready for the future
With this release, Decentraland is laying the groundwork for the next chapter, as the modern desktop client and codebase offer the capabilities needed to expand into VR and mobile experiences. The modern desktop client is the cornerstone of this evolution, ensuring that Decentraland remains a premier platform for immersive, decentralized virtual experiences.
“This enhanced desktop client is changing the way people use Decentraland,” said Kim Currier, director of partnerships and marketing at Decentraland. “For our community, it’s about more than just faster loading times and smoother interactions – it’s about creating a beautiful, vibrant space where people can truly connect and make new friends from all over the world. This release also introduces the new Creator Hub, a comprehensive platform where creators can learn and create. It also provides companies with opportunities to engage audiences more effectively by using virtual spaces to create experiences that encourage active participation. This is a big step forward, enriching our community’s interaction and shared experience of Decentraland.”
New desktop client: access and details
The future of Decentraland and virtual social worlds starts now. Experience a revamped, interactive digital experience by downloading the modern desktop client, available on Mac and Windows. For more information and to download the modern client, users can visit Decentraland.
About Decentraland
Decentraland is the first decentralized, community-driven virtual social world. It enables users to create, explore and connect in an open, immersive digital landscape where they take full ownership of their digital assets. Whether they host virtual events or design their digital identities, individuals can shape a world that prioritizes self-expression and freedom – without the constraints of corporate control. Managed by its community through a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) and supported by a non-profit foundation, Decentraland operates as a traversable, open-source world that encourages creativity, ownership and innovation. By fostering collaboration and community, Decentraland shapes the future of digital interactions where individuals can truly own and build their digital lives.
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