Upland is the earth’s metaverse mapped to the real world and accessible via web, iOS and Android. In addition, there is a “real economy” that is sustained by the players via the market forces of supply and demand. Upland is built on the basis of three key pillars: Play, Earn, & Connect. To learn more about the metaverse, read our whitepaper as well as our frequently updated development roadmap which details all the exciting features coming this year.
Upland was created and is operated by Uplandme, Inc., a Silicon Valley based company with support from organizations such as Block.one (creators of the EOS blockchain), and veterans from the gaming, real estate and technology industries. The company was founded by Dirk Lueth, Idan Zuckerman and Mani Honigstein. Upland’s team is proudly distributed, and employs professionals from across the world, including a development division based in Ukraine..
If you’re a new player, we highly recommend that you read our Getting Started Guide to learn about basic game mechanics. For broader advice on game strategy, we encourage you to visit Upland.academy for tips and tricks on how to succeed in Upland. Discover our network of broadcasters who make content about how to play the game. Above all, we have a community full of awesome, friendly Uplanders who love helping new players succeed: join them on our Discord and don’t be shy about asking any questions you may have!
It’s true that Upland is powered by the EOS blockchain, but, you don’t need any in-depth crypto knowledge to play and succeed in Upland. Blockchain technology helps us guarantee true ownership due to the fact that every transaction is recorded on an irreversible ledger. In other words, there’s proof that your property is owned by you - forever! Upland’s economy is powered by UPX, our in-game coin which lets players engage in a variety of in-game activities. Upland’s goal is to be powered by the latest innovations in tech with a streamlined user interface that is usable by anyone and everyone.
Technically speaking, UPX is a fungible token on the EOS blockchain, similar to any cryptocurrency. However, we have elected to use UPX strictly as a utility token. This means it can only be used inside Upland and cannot be withdrawn. By doing so, we avoid the trading of UPX on external or decentralized exchanges outside of our control, which averts the possibility of being deemed a financial security by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC). Maintaining compliance with United States regulations is one of our top priorities. However, as the platform does include a real economy, we have partnered with the financial division of Linden Lab (creators of Second Life) to allow a new feature, called “Property to USD”. Using this feature, players can choose to sell their virtual properties and items for either UPX OR fiat (e.g. USD).
Our partner is officially licensed in all 50 US states. You can read more about that here.
Upland’s economy works according to the principles of supply and demand. If you are interested in more information about the Upland economy, please check out the Upland Handbook and join our Discord here.
One of the magical things about using the blockchain, and some would say its primary benefit, is the idea of true ownership. The meaning of true ownership has evolved along with blockchain technology itself. At Upland, we define it as the notion that no one can control your in-game assets aside from you. When you reach Uplander status (10,000+ UPX net worth), an EOS blockchain account is automatically created for you. This is a real EOS account, just like you could create anywhere else. The private keys to that account are generated from your email/password combination, and are not stored on our servers. Though the Upland system helps you manage your EOS account, we can not control your in-game assets even if we wanted to, nor can anyone else. The account is yours forever and the assets inside it are yours forever.
Being physically present at the location of your ‘block explorer’ (avatar) is not required. We know that the first place users want to own and develop their virtual properties may be in locations close to them, either geographically or in terms of familiarity. We started Upland in San Francisco, New York and other regions - but our dream is to reach every major locale around the world at some point in the next few years.