OpenSim Virtual Land Expands with 996 New Regions, Despite Drop in Active Users
OpenSim, the free open-source virtual world platform, has seen an increase of 996 standard-size regions in virtual land area this month, even as the number of active users decreased by 991. It is believed that the drop in active users can be attributed to normal seasonal variations.
However, the platform also experienced growth in registered users, adding close to 3,000 new users in the same period. This comes as a positive development following a loss of 8,000 registered users last month when AviTron stopped publishing its statistics.
As of now, the public OpenSim grids have a total of 111,452 standard-sized regions in virtual land area. There are currently 2,534 OpenSim grids being tracked, with 420 of them being active this month. Out of these, 285 grids have published their statistics.
The top three largest grids by land area this month are OSgrid, Wolf Territories Grid, and Kitely. Additionally, ZetaWorlds has emerged as the fastest-growing grid, acquiring 757 new regions since the previous report. OSgrid gained 595 standard regions, GBG World gained 297, while Tag Grid and Wolf Territories Grid grew by 64 regions each.
It is important to note that the statistics mentioned do not include most of the grids running on OutWorldz DreamGrid, which is a distribution of OpenSim used for creating virtual worlds on personal computers, private company grids, or school grids. As reported in January, DreamGrid has a total of 8,519 grids with a land area of 65,638 standard regions.
One of the reasons for OpenSim’s popularity is the availability of the free-to-use DreamGrid software, which allows users to easily create virtual worlds through a graphical interface and one-click install feature. The software also provides tools for managing grids, such as adding new regions, banning users, tracking usage stats, and shutting down grids or unoccupied regions to save computing power.
In terms of active users, the top 25 grids this month include OSgrid with 4,918 active users, followed by DigiWorldz with 2,010 active users and GBG World with 1,732 active users.
The Kitely Market, which is accessible to both hypergrid-enabled and closed, private grids, currently has 19,924 product listings with 38,930 product variations. Of these, 33,859 are exportable to other grids, offering creators sales opportunities and reducing the need for pirated content.
In conclusion, despite a decrease in active users, OpenSim continues to grow its virtual land area and registered user base. The platform’s availability, cost-effectiveness, and flexibility have contributed to its popularity among virtual world enthusiasts.