Wagner James Au / New World Notes

SL Meshers/Riggers: How Much Money Do You Make Subcontracting in Second Life? Take This Anonymous Survey!

July 9, 2025

NOTE: Take survey using mouse/trackpad to scroll!

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UPDATE, 3:45pm PT: If you feel uncomfortable naming specific SL brands that pay well, feel free to describe them by content category they're most known for, i.e. furniture, clothes for men, etc.

Since my post on "Shadow Meshing in SL" attracted outsized interest and controversy, I'm delving deeper! Specifically, I want to know how much SL meshers and riggers are paid, on average, so we can establish benchmarks.

If you work on mesh content for Second Life, please take the anonymous survey above or at this link.

Results published first on Patreon and then on this blog soon! And please consider the last two questions where you can share your advice to new creators, and name SL brands which pay well.

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Updating My Metaverse Platform Leader Chart for 2025: First Draft Numbers

July 9, 2025
I'm almost done writing a new 2025 edition afterword to my book, which means updating my top 10 chart of leading metaverse platforms. These are platforms which qualify under my book's broad definition of the technology:

The Metaverse is a vast, immersive virtual world that's simultaneously accessible by millions of people through highly customizable avatars and powerful experience creation tools that are integrated with the offline world through its virtual economy and external technology.

This is very much a first draft, as I run down some more leads, but here's the most current numbers I have now:
- Roblox: 390 million MAU (Source: RTrack + my estimate)
- Minecraft: 170 million MAU (Source: WN / Game Industry Ecosystem)
- Fortnite: 126 million MAU (Source: Business of Apps as of 2023)
- Rec Room: 40 million MAU (My estimate based on sources)
- ZEPETO: 20 million MAU (Interview with company as of 2024)
- VRChat: 12 million MAU (My estimate based on sources)
- IMVU: 3 million MAU (My estimate based on sources)
- Avakin Life: 1.5 million MAU (Interview with CEO, see below)
- Second Life: 500,000 MAU (Interview with owner)
- Horizon Worlds: 200,000 MAU (Source: WSJ as of 2022)
Note: Not a final estimate — please do not cite without that qualifier!

The term "current" is doing some heavy lifting, seeing as it's been difficult, for example, to get a new stat from Horizon Worlds more current than 2022. Also, I suspect the Minecraft number is at its peak right after the Jack Black / Jason Momoa movie came out a few months ago, but has since fallen somewhat.

Anyway, if you have insight on any of these figures, please get in touch off the record and on background! Hit me up on Bluesky or on Reddit here.

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Cajsa’s SL Flickr Pick: Amazing Images from Wonderland 2.0, Incredible New Sim Experience

July 9, 2025

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Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

Cat Afarensis posted this glorious picture to the Flickr group Wonderland 2.0, which is named after the sim Wonderland 2.0, Realm of Wonder. [To teleport, click here]

I love her choice to do the picture in sepia, without all the bright colors that would distract from the picture and confuse the emotional context. She is framed by the moon. If you want, you could imagine her hair is a black full moon, perhaps in eclipse.

For more Wonderland 2.0, click here:

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The Pros of Shadow Meshing vs Going Solo in Second Life: One Mesh Maker’s Take

July 8, 2025

There's been a really interesting reader conversation in last month's article on "shadow mesh" subcontractors in SL, including these thoughts from Dino Sophers, who explains why they themselves prefer shadow meshing — this is her subcontractor site, I believe — as opposed to running their own mesh brand, which they have also done before:

I'm a shadow mesher — though I personally prefer the term ghost mesher. I currently charge L$7,500 per hour (about $28 USD), but let’s break that down. Linden Lab takes 5% on cashouts, so that’s immediately $1.40 gone, bringing it to around $26.60/hour. Then, as someone in the UK, after currency conversion, that becomes roughly £19.75 per hour. That puts me somewhere in the mid-range of hirable mesh creators.

I’m experienced and support several stores, but I’ve seen many ghost meshers taken advantage of — especially riggers. Rigging is complex. A full outfit can take anywhere from one to four hours, yet I’ve seen riggers pricing their work at just L$6,000 per body. That means someone might be working four hours for only $23 — that’s $5.75 an hour, which is below minimum wage.

But what about when some big brands take credit for mesh work? She has thoughts there

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What Blockchain/Web3 Virtual Worlds Should We Add to the Virtual Worlds Museum Gallery?

July 8, 2025

Check out our latest wing of the Virtual Worlds Museum ™, this one devoted to Blockchain Worlds, i.e. virtual worlds integrated on some significant level with crypto/blockchain, or what's often called web3. This is very much a work in progress, and we're looking to add other web3 virtual worlds beyond the twenty or so we're tracking, and as we work with marketing partners to expand the exhibit. Here's just some of the worlds I've covered on New World Notes:

Decentraland: Browser‑based, Ethereum‑powered 3D virtual realm where users truly own their creations—from parcels of digital land to wearable NFTs—and shape the world through community governance. (Read some NWN coverage here)

Sandbox: Decentralized virtual world built on the Ethereum blockchain that allows users to create, own, and monetize interactive experiences using NFTs and the native SAND token. (Read some NWN coverage here)

Somnium Space: VR‑centric metaverse built on Ethereum, accessible via PC, mobile, and major VR headsets. (Read some NWN coverage here)

Upland: Property trading metaverse mapped to real-world cities, built on EOS. (Read some NWN coverage here)

Read the rest of the list is here or after the break:

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Cajsa’s Second Life Flickr Choices: Beautifully Framed Photos by Boots

July 8, 2025

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

Boots ™ posted this marvelous “Be the Lighthouse” is a great example of clever framing, using the life preserver as a “viewing window” to see the lighthouse. Ships and lighthouses go together like bacon and eggs. I love that she found a new way to see the lighthouse. This is such a great picture.

For more of Boots’ lovely pics, click here:

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Top Four Posts Including “Gatekeeping” in SL Shopping Events & Philip Rosedale on the AI-Driven “Ultraviolet Catastrophe” Coming for the Internet

July 7, 2025
SL Brand Spotlight: Readers Recommend These Newer/Smaller Stores!

July 3, 2025

Here's three new-ish/small-ish Second Life brands to check out over the long weekend, recommended by readers:

Sanny advises checking out **..NL..**, "a shop that sells useful tools for Second Life. My recommendation is the *..NL..* Pos Adjuster HUD. It allows you to adjust the position of your avatar when taking group photos. What's more, it's a bargain at L$60."

I'm also intrigued by this intriguing avatar enhancement by **..NL..** : Cold Breath! Not sure how it works (the listing doesn't have any info) but then again, it's free.

Two more new and/or small brands to check out:

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Cajsa’s Choices: Dramatically Pensive Avatar Dudes, Beautifully Photographed by “Pxtrx”

July 3, 2025

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

P x t r x describes himself as a simple lover of photography and editing, but there’s nothing simple about his skills in bringing avatars to life. I love how natural this is, with the three sources of light illuminating him and it looks just right.

For more of Pxtrx’s pics, click here:

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Quality Control vs. Feudalism: Two Views on Second Life Shopping Event “Gatekeeping”

July 2, 2025

Originally published on my Patreon here

A recent SL influencer video (watch above) provoked a mini-firestorm within the SL community, and that's no surprise, as it alleges that highly popular in-world shopping events are unfairly controlled by gatekeeping "cartels", among other hyperbolic descriptors.

I've heard similar complaints for years, so it's worth airing another perspective — in this case, from Axl XOXO, co-owner of BackBone, frequent shopping event participant, and one of the largest furniture brands in SL:

Less than 10% of sales comes from events. We do events cause we want to, they make SL fun and a shopper has an opportunity to see from all of us in one place.

The reason event owners only allow certain designers in isn’t to gatekeep. It’s to protect the event’s integrity. There have been cases where people using stolen mesh or violating IP rights slipped through, and that puts the entire event at risk.

Event organizers do want to bring in fresh talent, and they’re always on the lookout for new faces. But it can’t be a free-for-all, because once an event’s reputation is damaged, it affects everyone involved. Trust goes both ways. If I saw an event owner letting in creators who use stolen content, I’d leave that event immediately.

At the end of the day, the goal is to give customers a space where they can find 100 high-quality designers they know they can trust all in one place.

As evidence of this, he shares this chart on BackBone's sales sources:

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