Decentraland, a virtual platform where users can buy real estate and conduct NFT transactions using the MANA cryptocurrency, has recently issued its inaugural quarterly update, fulfilling its commitment outlined in its 2024 statement. Managed by the Decentraland Foundation, the platform offers a virtual realm where avatars can purchase and trade clothing, as well as engage in various 3D activities.

Despite its popularity, Decentraland has faced criticism for technical issues and an underutilized virtual world, resulting in a valuation of $1.2 billion in 2022. In response, the platform is launching its new initiative, "Forging Foundations for the Future," aimed at enhancing the desktop client to provide a more immersive experience and foster growth.

The primary focus of the product team this year is the release of the "Desktop Client" in Q2, which will feature significant improvements to networking, avatar and animation creation, locomotion, and the overall user interface. Notable enhancements include the ability for artists to test wearables on moving avatars and an increase in the maximum size for skin wearables from 2 MB to 8 MB.

To lower the barrier for new creators, the $100 submission fee can now be paid using a Wert-powered credit or debit card, eliminating the need to purchase MANA beforehand. Furthermore, SDK 7 Templates will enable developers to seamlessly integrate scenes into their world or LAND with just a few clicks, including templates like The House, The Night Club, The Office, The Shop, and The Theater.

Various modifications have been made to enhance the usability of the editor and LAND, with additional functionalities added to Smart Items in the latest updates. These include Player Health Smart Items, Multiplayer Smart Items, a user-friendly Smart Item View, Scene Audio management from the SDK, and bug fixes. Moreover, users can now associate map NAMES with Wallet Addresses and utilize an improved NAME Minting process.

The governance proposal will enable the transmission of assets, including wearables and emoticons, using their NAME, along with the ability for users to generate a name on the Marketplace and finalize transactions using card payments or cryptocurrencies.

Additionally, Decentraland plans to expand its multi-chain purchasing capabilities to allow users to acquire LANDs, wearables, emoticons, and names using various cryptocurrencies, such as Avalanche, Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, Binance Smart Chain, Optimism, and Fantom.