Second Life is an online virtual world that was launched in 2003 by the American company Linden Lab. Although it is no longer as popular as it once was, this pioneering attempt at a “metaverse” still functions and has a loyal group of PC users. Soon, it will also be available on smartphones, with a beta version set to be released by the end of the year.
In a video posted on the Second Life community forum, Linden Lab revealed some details about the mobile app that is currently being developed on the Unity platform, one of the most famous game engines for video games. This will make it easier to distribute the app on both iOS and Android. The video also shows some gameplay scenes featuring 3D characters and environments that will be made as similar as possible to the desktop version.
Although development is still a “work in progress,” Linden Lab has stated that it plans to transfer all existing player data and information to the mobile version. Essentially, it will be possible to do “virtually anything you can do with the desktop version of Second Life without necessarily being on a PC.”
A second life for Second Life. This is undoubtedly the most fitting wordplay for this gaming platform that, despite having its ambitions significantly scaled back, has managed to create 73 million accounts to date. During the pandemic, the number of monthly active users reached 900,000.
