I reported back in July 2022 on my blog that the Second Life grid been growing steadily since the start of 2022 and that at least 300 new regions were added this year. It seems the positive 2022 growth for Second Life has briefly ended by this week’s grid numbers. Hopefully this will be just a blip moment and the rebound growth will come back again soon.
Since the end of July 2022 it appears the Main Grid has lost roughly 200 regions and if another 100+ regions go offline before the end of September 2022 then the grid will end up being what it was at the start of 2022 roughly. The loss came mainly from Private Estates it appears and from the loss of SSP development regions in early August 2022.
Second Life Main Grid size as of 11 Sep 2022
| Ownership | Total | General | Moderate | Adult | Offline | Total Area (km�) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 27374 | 2580 | 17000 | 7786 | 8 | 1793.98 |
| Linden Owned | 9210 | 1568 | 7235 | 407 | 0 | 603.59 |
| Private Estates | 18164 | 1012 | 9765 | 7379 | 8 | 1190.40 |
There is no need to panic yet unless the it goes under the 27, 000 mark for the total number of main grid regions in Second Life or it goes under the 18, 000 mark for Private Estates. Even then Second Life continues as normal and remains pretty healthy in the economy.
Inflation is a big worry going forward over the next 3-6 months+ and I hope this is not the start of a huge decline for Second Life again after positive net growth in recent years or so. Challenging times ahead maybe.
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Region Stats From 2020, 2021 and 2022
Here are the region statistics as of 24th July 2022…
- Total: 27, 575
- Private Estates: 18, 326
- Linden Owned: 9, 249
Here are the region statistics from 2nd January 2022…
- Total: 27, 231
- Private Estates: 18, 332
- Linden Owned: 8, 909
Here are the region statistics from 3rd January 2021…
- Total: 25, 555
- Private Estates: 17, 024
- Linden Owned: 8, 531
Here are the region statistics from 20th January 2020
- Total: 24, 147
- Private Estates: 16, 036
- Linden Owned: 8, 111
Daniel Voyager 
I believe that with the covid that people were driven into second life and now returning back to work and some normalcy in their life there are concentrating on their real life and getting their finances back in order and not being able to keep up with additional costs.
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Thanks Calista. Yeah you got a good point there and I think loads of people are looking at ways to save/cut down on stuff.
Covid is still around and now people are worrying about paying bills over the winter period. This could have a big impact on Second Life over the next 3-6+ months and I wanted to let people know the current stats/possible projection.
I don’t think the lab can lower prices much more but maybe more discount events/periods could help.
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Or could Open Sims and how much more is available for so much less money be making a larger impact? I was shocked at the difference and while SL is state of the art for products, the culture and climate in OSs seems to be much healthier.
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In July 2022 OpenSim usage dropped in terms of land area and user numbers so growth has slowed down over there for now. The OpenSim metrics will come out shortly so we will can see whats happening.
OpenSim is cheaper and has got it’s pros for sure.
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i dont think so, Open Sim is mainly for Fun and its empty that is the big big problem as there are no new people at all.
But the people save money as Daniel said. Nobody really know or has realised what it means to pay for energy 10times more a month and my guess is it will come much much harder then we think at the moment with the sims, as we dont need to forget, i think 90% of all sims are not paid due to inworld income.
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From what I’ve seen, Open Sim is mostly for Creators (of many types). Many build there then import to SL. Uploads are free, land is startlingly cheap, the culture is not as frenetic and you can find everything you can in SL. There are as many people in OS as in SL, maybe more if you factor out all the alts in SL. I’m told the stats say OS players are more active. You have to know where to look. http://www.opensimworld.com is a good source for events. I’ve only been there six months and have likely brought in 30 new people. I think it’s the future of Virtual Worlds. In OS you own your products (LL owns SL Creator’s products), they are exportable to other grids, and can be purchased on Kitely Marketplace. SL products can only be used in SL. There are certainly challenges, protecting Creator’s Rights primary among them, and there are a lot of talented, dedicated people working the issues. I use the analogy of SL being a planet; OS being the rest of what’s in the sky. All of it is available to explore and enjoy.
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OpenSim has been popular in recent years with so much growth and over the summer there has been a drop. It’s still interesting for many offering cheaper options etc.
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Over the next three months I’m sure the impact of what’s going on in the real world could hit hard.
Inflation for the next three – six months is concerning for sure with prices going up all over the world. It’s what impact this will have on Second Life and OpenSim is the big question now. Guess we will find out soon.
I will blog when I see more major changes.
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What about actual inworld economic activity? What is the GDP of 3d content sales, of gambling etc?
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