Shardtalk: Interview with Dirk Lueth, Upland

In this episode of ShardTalk, the Co-founder of Upland, Dirk Lueth shared insights on their property trading game. 

ShardTalk is the gaming interview segment that connects our readers to people who are shaping the blockchain gaming space. This episode features Dirk Lueth Co-founder of Upland, the top 5 mobile gaming Dapp. Let’s jump right into it!

Name: Upland
Genre: Property trading
Quick Info: A virtual property game based on actual addresses in the world. Recently expanded to New York City.

Q1.  What is the reason behind picking EOS blockchain to build Upland on instead of Ethereum or other blockchains?

Dirk: We chose EOS for its throughput, speed, scalability and that there are no transaction fees for users. We also selected EOS for the capability to launch across platforms. If not the only, we are one of the only Dapps available on iOS and Android and Web.

Q2. Could you share with us some of the successes your players have had in selling their properties?

Dirk: We sold our highest Markup in % so far, which was from its initial price of 2,080 UPX to 250,000 UPX (+11,200%) at – 514 GARFIELD ST in San Francisco. The highest absolute markup was 1,542,842 UPX for a property with the initial price of 1,707,158 UPX that sold for 3,250,000 UPX (JFK Airport Parcel). We now have +2,000 new users registering per week with Upland and 60,000 properties out of 150,000 in SF have been sold. Upland also now has over 170 UPX Millionaires ($1 = 1,000 UPX, UPX is the in-app currency of Upland).

Q3. What are some of the biggest events Upland has had so far and how your players have benefitted from it?

Dirk: Some of our biggest events were the Crypto Kitties retirement challenges where over 300 Kitties were sent to Angel Island north of San Francisco; and winners received UPX prizes. We also did an event called Blockchain Heroes where we sold out the popular San Francisco Neighborhood Merced Manor within 50 minutes. Winners got a rare NFT Card with Miles. The Blockchain Heroes Card called “SuperMiles featured Upland’s Llama on it. We also had Genesis week with multiple challenges. Winners received UPX prizes and the top winner received the first ever minted property in Upland. We most recently did the New York City Villain Heist giving out UPX prizes and first minted property of NYC.

Q4. What are some of the things new players should look for when playing Upland?

Dirk: New players should understand the value of properties. Some might be more valuable because they belong to a collection, which would – when completed – provide a higher yield. Currently, a property earns 17% UPX yield p.a. on a standalone basis; but if the property is added to a collection, this yield will be increased. New players can check out many of the helpful resources around the web, created by other players who are part of the Upland Contributor Network.

Upland Action News – Fun videos covering what’s going on in Upland
The UPX Podcast – an in-depth podcast about the game, the economy, and the players
Upland Central – Video Tutorials, community promotions and more
Upland Guru – An aggregation of different community-driven content

Q5. You have recently partnered with Tilia Inc. Is there anything you could share or perhaps some sneak peeks regarding the features released in Q4?

Dirk: Not yet. We can only share what has already been said, which is that we’re working with Tilia Inc. to use Tilia Pay to monetize activities in the Upland virtual property trading game. We look forward to sharing more on this soon.

Q6. Is Upland looking to expand to other countries or trying to conquer the USA first?

Dirk: We will be launching some adjacent areas in San Francisco and Manhattan next. The roll-out thereafter is not determined yet but we have started looking at other major cities around the world.

Q7. Is there anything else you will like to share with our readers?

Dirk: Upland managed to overcome the typical blockchain barriers for average people. All new users need is an email address and password to sign up. In addition, Upland can be played on iOS and Android. These facts will enable Upland to attract a mass audience (planned for 2021) leading to high market liquidity unseen with current blockchain applications.

More from blockchain gaming
Upland expands Metaverse to New York City
Shardtalk: Interview With Nicolas Gilot, ULTRA

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