Decentraland, an open source project aimed at building a blockchain-based virtual reality (VR) world, has launched a new test network and entered into its Bronze Age development phase. The testnet release provides users with the ability to start shaping their environment in 3D.

Decentraland runs on top of its own blockchain, which is used to keep a decentralized ledger of land ownership and content.

According to Yemel Jardi, a software engineer part of the Decentraland team, for VR to reach its full potential, users need to own the content they build. Blockchain can be used to create a decentralized digital record of ownership.

Jardi told CoinJournal:

“Cryptoeconomies have the potential to flourish faster in virtual realities than in the physical world, with easier integrations. In the virtual worlds of the future, we see smart contracts as the way to exchange value. Decentraland will provide a VR platform where there’s no central ownership, where there is no company or committee that can shut you out of the system.”

Decentraland has been in development for the past two years. The team released an alpha prototype in 2015.

For the year to ahead, Decentraland will focus on growing a community of content creators and developers, Jardi said. He further indicated that the team was planning to host a land pre-sale to finance the development of the livenet version of the network as well as content creation.

The virtual reality market is expected to grow from US$1.37 billion in 2015 to US$33.9 billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 57.8% between 2016 and 2022, according to market research firm MarketsandMarkets. Consumer application is predicted to hold the largest market share with gaming being the key driver.