2019·The First City
San Francisco goes live.
First properties minted to actual SF addresses. Early Architects move in. Many of those plots have never changed hands.
About Uplandme, Inc.
Rebuild the World
We started Upland in 2018 with one idea: what if the world we play in could be the one we actually live in? Today, over fifty cities are live and the map keeps growing. We built Upland because no one else was going to.
— Dirk & Idan, Co-Founders
Your Forever Game
No resets since 2019.
Every milestone below still exists in-game. The properties from 2019 are still owned by Upland's players. The Genesis Block Explorers still browse the map. That's the point.
2020·The FIAT WAY
Real money, for real.
Through Tilia (now Thunes), eligible properties sell for US dollars that players can withdraw to PayPal. Six years later, still one of the few mainstream games where the in-game economy clears in real money.
2021–2023·The Brands Show Up
NFLPA. FIFA. Stock Car Pro Series.
Football, motorsports, racing, and sports leagues bring more reasons to collect, race, and compete. Animoca, Block.One, Kingsway, Rocket Internet Capital, and others invest in Upland. The map keeps growing, and more players find their way in.
2023–2024·The Token
$SPARKLET ships.
First as an in-game resource, the fuel for building, energizing, and powering the city. July 2024: token tradability event. $SPARKLET lists on external exchanges. Architects can bridge value in and out.
2025·The Uppies, The Census & lots of Service Structures
Uppies arrive. They start asking questions.
Digital residents arrive with names, routines, and opinions. Service structures start to matter in a new way, and The Census gives players a clearer read on who is moving in.
2026·Life, Stem & Troves
The map starts growing things.
Plants, farming, animals. Properties become places players can tend, not just slots they own. Stem keeps those systems running, and Troves reward players who take care of them.
San Francisco
2019
AND…
Still no resets.
Whatever ships next, your 2019 SF property still has your name on it, if you haven't sold it. The game can keep changing without wiping out what players already built.
SYSTEM_STATUS: HUMAN
The world doesn't run itself.We're online.
Upland keeps moving because real people are at the controls: economists tuning the markets, engineers shipping fixes, designers drawing new districts, community leads in the chat at 2am. You build the city. We keep the lights on.
economy_team// rebalancing district yields
eng_platform// pushing v4.1.2 to staging
community_ops// answering tickets
map_design// drafting next neighborhood
$ whoami
→ the people behind the map
CO-FOUNDER & CO-CEO
Dirk Lueth, Ph.D.
a.k.a. The Economist
IGN:dirklueth@dirklueth
KNOWN FOR
Wrote his Ph.D. on private vs. state-controlled currencies and their impact on property rights. He has spent years thinking about money, markets, and what ownership should mean online. That perspective matters when a city built in 2019 still needs to belong to the people who built it in 2026. Speaks German, French, English, Economics, and long-term planning.
★ UPPIE FIELD REPORT / BERLIN BUREAU
"Riot saw Dirk at the Berlin café again, talking about currencies, markets, and getting value back to fiat. Riot took notes, even the parts that need a second coffee."
Riot Punk, Uppie Field Reporter · 04:17 local
CO-FOUNDER & CO-CEO
Idan Zuckerman
a.k.a. The Genesis Code
IGN:IdanZuck@Idanzuck
KNOWN FOR
Spent two decades shipping consumer games before deciding the next one should keep going. Idan thinks about Upland like a place people return to, not a season they finish. If the product feels persistent, it is because that standard was set early. Games, blockchain, product, and guitar are all somewhere in the mix.
★ UPPIE FIELD REPORT / SILICON VALLEY HQ
"Scout has seen new game systems show up from Silicon Valley at odd hours. The evidence points to Idan. Scout is keeping the spreadsheet anyway."
Scout, Uppie Field Reporter · filed via Uppie Times
COO
Pavlo Kyrylovskyi
a.k.a. The First Operator
IGN:pavelk
KNOWN FOR
Was here before the city was. Employee #1 joined when most of the work still had to be figured out. Property minting, transactions, system handoffs, and Treasure Hunts all depend on the kind of operations work players rarely see. Pavlo is usually somewhere in that middle layer, making sure it holds.
★ UPPIE FIELD REPORT / RECORDS OFFICE
"Professor Scroll checked the records. Pavlo was here before the city was. Professor Scroll is not going to think too hard about what that means. Professor Scroll's paperwork has paperwork now. Professor Scroll would like to lie down."
Professor Scroll, The Skeptic
HEAD OF CONTENT & COMMUNITY
David Paskett ("X1TheGamer")
a.k.a. The Boulevard Broadcast
IGN:x1thegamer@xonebros
KNOWN FOR
Started a gaming podcast in 2013 and kept showing up. If you've joined a Town Hall, watched a Genesis Week stream, or had a question answered late on a Sunday, you've probably heard from him. Engineers build the map systems. David helps make the place feel hosted, explained, and open to the next person walking in.
★ UPPIE FIELD REPORT / LOS ANGELES BUREAU
"Retro Diva spotted X1 in Los Angeles again, talking to a microphone for several hours and somehow still answering chat. Solid work. Retro Diva would still like her wave acknowledged next time."
Retro Diva, The Philosopher
Press & Brand
Working with Upland.
Resources for media, partners, and creators.