It’s that time of year again in the United States when pumpkins show up on porches, spooky stories come to life, temperatures drop, and we gear up for Halloween and election season. In other words, it’s the perfect time to curl up inside and dive into the digital world of OpenSim. People seem to be catching onto this idea, as there’s been a noticeable uptick in active users on public OpenSim grids — over 3,000 more than we saw last month. Yet, in the midst of server outages and shifting stats, the number of total registered users took a slight dip, and the virtual land area shrank by about 24,000 standard regions.
Fear not, though, as the reduction in land area is quite straightforward. Last month, Simation Grid, boasting 25,408 regions, has drastically cut down to just 1,024. Despite its expansive digital territory, Simation remains minuscule in the realm of users with only 3 active individuals recorded this month. It seems this was merely an experiment, a common occurrence where folks test the limits of server capability by piling on regions, tinkering for a bit, and then powering down once they realize the servers are sitting there idle and empty.
Currently, we’re monitoring 2,675 public grids, with 301 of them active this past month, and 233 sharing their stats. If you’ve got a stats page that we’ve missed, please give me a shout at [email protected]. It’s a great way to make sure your grid gets a mention in our monthly reports, boosting visibility with both search engines and potential users.
If you glance at the chart, it’s pretty clear that OSgrid leads in land area, displaying 34,103 standard region equivalents. Meanwhile, Wolf Territories Grid takes the spotlight as the most active, welcoming 6,950 unique logins over the last thirty days.
Over the summer, Simation’s surge spiked land area stats, but things have since settled into more typical patterns of growth. Our tally excludes most private grids using DreamGrid due to their nature.
For those unfamiliar, OpenSim is a free, open-source platform reminiscent of Second Life. It enables anyone, even without technical prowess, to craft their virtual worlds affordably and hop between different virtual spaces. Tech aficionados can set up their OpenSim worlds for free, whether using DreamGrid or the official installer, while commercial hosting is quite budget-friendly, starting at less than five bucks per region.
Check out a list of hosting providers, download the recommended Firestorm viewer, and explore where to get your OpenSim world content.
#### Hypergrid Business Newsletter
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### Top 25 Grids by Active Users
The social scene in the virtual grid world values numbers — the more, the merrier. Communities buzzing with activity attract newcomers eager for connection, merchants keen on clientele, and event planners seeking the largest crowds. This month’s busiest grids are topped by:
1. Wolf Territories Grid: 7,122 users
2. OSgrid: 4,910 users
3. GBG World: 2,435 users
4. Darkheart’s Playground: 2,206 users
5. DigiWorldz: 2,186 users
### OpenSim Marketplaces
Kitely Market is thriving with 21,048 product listings and 41,164 variations. Of these, a sizable 35,920 are exportable. The Market has already fulfilled orders for 632 OpenSim grids, as highlighted in the chart showcasing a rise in exportable content — that’s the green spike you see.
### New and Suspended Grids
We didn’t add any new grids this month, but keep us in the loop if anything emerges. Meanwhile, 13 grids, including Angel Souls and Phantom Rose, were marked as suspended. If they’re not back online soon, they’ll likely be considered closed in future updates.
### Top 40 Grids by Land Area
Our list ranks grids by their standard region equivalents, while active users, including hypergrid visitors, are counted when possible. Here are the leaders:
1. OSgrid: 34,973 regions
2. Wolf Territories Grid: 29,566 regions
3. Kitely: 18,165 regions
4. ZetaWorlds: 13,023 regions
5. Alternate Metaverse: 10,513 regions
If you know of any publicly accessible grids we’ve missed, feel free to ping me at [email protected].
Remember, Hypergrid Business keeps your finger on the pulse of OpenSim developments. Our editor, Maria Korolov, balances the line between tech journalism by day and sci-fi novelist by night, creating an immersive world within and beyond the digital landscape. Connect with her for insights into the fascinating intersection of technology and creativity.
