Metaverse games that actually have people in them

For a couple of years the word “metaverse” was everywhere. Then, for most people, it went quiet. That does not mean shared virtual worlds disappeared; it means the ones that survived are the ones people actually wanted to spend time in. This page is about those.

A very short history

The word comes from Neal Stephenson’s 1992 novel Snow Crash, which imagined a shared virtual world as the successor to the internet. Second Life, launched in 2003, is often described as an early real version of the idea. The hype peaked in 2021, when Facebook renamed itself Meta and said it was committed to building a metaverse. Meta’s metaverse unit lost more than $10 billion that year, and in February 2023 Mark Zuckerberg announced the company was shifting its focus toward AI.

Meanwhile, some worlds kept going and some did not. Rec Room, a social world on headsets, consoles, PC and phones, announced in March 2026 that it had never worked out how to be sustainably profitable, and its servers shut down on 1 June 2026. Decentraland moved from the browser to a desktop client in October 2024. The lesson for players is simple: pick a world that people already use.

Our picks

These are our picks, not a ranking. Every fact about another game is sourced at the bottom of the page and was checked in October 2026.

Roblox

By numbers, the biggest. Roblox launched in 2006, is free with a currency called Robux, and every experience on it is made by users. It runs on Windows, macOS, iPhone, Android, Xbox, PlayStation and Meta Quest, though not in a browser. Wikipedia reports about 85 million daily active users as of February 2025. Its audience is young; in September 2025 Roblox said it was raising the minimum age for its restricted experiences to 18. Our take for grown-ups is in games like Roblox for adults.

Fortnite

Epic Games’ Fortnite is free in all its modes and runs on PC, Mac, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, iPhone and Android, and it can also be streamed through Xbox Cloud Gaming and GeForce Now. Beyond its famous battle royale, players build and share their own islands in Creative mode and with the Unreal Editor for Fortnite. Wikipedia’s Metaverse article lists it, alongside Roblox and VRChat, among the games most often given the label.

VRChat

Free on PC through Steam, Meta Quest, Pico, iPhone and Android, and you do not need a headset. VRChat came to the App Store and Google Play in full in October 2025. Worlds and avatars are community-made, and some instances can be limited to verified adults.

Second Life

Still running after more than twenty years. A free basic account, paid Premium, a resident-built world and its own currency, the Linden Dollar. You install a viewer for Windows or macOS; mobile apps are in beta. See games like Second Life.

AJ Cities

Our own game, and much smaller than everything above, so we will be straight about it. AJ Cities is a free 18+ open-world game set on the edge of Ajegunle, Lagos. It runs in your web browser on a phone or a computer, with nothing to download, no wallet and no headset. We will not claim it has millions of players. What we can tell you is how it is built so that the people who are there find each other:

• Small, full rooms. Each live estate holds up to 60 players. When one fills up, a new one opens, so you land with people rather than in an empty map.
• Everyone on the same clock. You pick a world that is always day, always night, or on real Lagos time, and everyone in that world sees the same sky.
• One radio for everyone. The estate radio plays the same song at the same moment for every player.
• Somewhere to meet. The queue at the main gate, June 12 Street, the football pitch and beach past the bush, and Prizm, a club house inside the game where Joe-Izzy plays every night from 9 pm Lagos time. It is all virtual, with no real venue or ticket.
• Bring your own people. Pick the same world as your friends and you usually join the same estate.

Side by side

How to tell if a world is alive

• Is it still taking sign-ups? A world that has stopped new accounts, or announced a closing date, is not one to move into.
• Does it group players? Instances or rooms with a cap mean you meet people even when numbers are modest.
• Is there a reason to show up at a time? A live set, a match, a shared clock. Empty worlds are usually worlds with nothing scheduled.
• Can your friends get in easily? If joining takes a headset, a wallet and an hour, most of your friends will not.

Try AJ Cities

Open ajcities.com, choose Party at the estate, sign in with your email (18+), pick your character and a world, and ask the police at the gate. Most nights about four in five guests who ask get in free. Optional tickets from ₦250 last 24 hours; see the tickets page and how party mode works.

What are metaverse games?

Shared online worlds where players appear as avatars and spend time together. Roblox, Fortnite, VRChat and Second Life are among those most often called metaverse games.

Is the metaverse dead?

The hype faded after 2022, and some worlds closed, such as Rec Room in June 2026. Others, such as Roblox, Fortnite and VRChat, are still widely played.

Is there a metaverse game that runs in a browser?

AJ Cities runs in a web browser on phones and computers, with no download, wallet or headset. It is free and 18+.