Are any metaverse projects actually still building in 2026 or did they all just slap AI on their roadmap and rebrand

I used to trade sandbox land on opensea back when virtual plots were going for absurd amounts. at the time it felt like something real was forming. communities, events, brands buying in. felt inevitable.

then it just… quietly stopped being a thing anyone talked about.

SAND is down like 95%+ from its peak. MANA is basically forgotten. GALA pivoted so many times I lost count. and the land market on opensea that used to have real volume just looks like a graveyard now.

what I keep wondering is whether any project in that space actually kept their head down and built through all of it, or whether the playbook was the same everywhere, wait for attention to leave, quietly add AI to the whitepaper, and hope the next bull cycle brings new people who don’t remember 2021.