Decentraland Mobile App: Pioneering the Mobile Metaverse
By Decentraland DAO, , in Community Highlights
Editors Note (2026): This article covers a community-built companion app from 2022 that explored early mobile access to Decentraland. That app is no longer maintained. Decentraland is now expanding to mobile with a native client. The Android app is live, with iOS coming soon. The experience is designed to make it easier to drop in, see who’s around, and join what’s happening from anywhere. For the latest updates on mobile and what’s shipping next, read the full announcement.
Thanks to the work of a DAO grantee, Decentraland expanded into the mobile space back in early 2022 with Decentraland Explorer, a companion mobile app. While the app doesn’t offer the full Decentraland experience of walking around in-world, it does allow DCL citizens to keep tabs on events, the Marketplace, and examine Decentraland’s map while they are AFK. The mobile app, like many DAO grantee projects, represents the power of community-driven development and highlights the importance of Decentraland’s open source architecture.
The story behind Decentraland’s companion app
The Decentraland Explorer Mobile App began as a solo developer's endeavor to provide the Decentraland community with a mobile-native map and marketplace user experience. The developer behind this initiative is Gökberk Hamurcu, a software developer with over 15 years of professional experience.
The app was first released on March 11, 2022, and is compatible with iPhones, iPads, and Android smartphones. With no marketing budget, the app managed to garner thousands of installations. This timeline means that when Gökberk eventually uploaded a proposal to the DAO grants program, in July 2022, he had already created a minimum viable product that had been free for users to test for more than three months. This really speaks to Gökberk’s dedication to the project as usually, grantees pitch an idea, requesting a grant, and only then begin work on their project.
https://twitter.com/GokberkHamurcu/status/1549785772638801920?s=20
With a v1.0 already live by the time Gökberk clicked “submit,” the DAO grant he applied for went to taking the app a notch upwards. Recognizing the potential and the value the companion app could bring to the community, Decentraland’s DAO awarded a grant of $32,000 USD to further support the development and maintenance of the app. The grant also aimed to compensate for the development effort and operational expenses that had already taken place.
Less than one year in, the application is already a fast and user-friendly way to stay connected with some aspects of Decentraland life when you can’t be in-world. Check it out for yourself, get it on Google Play or the Apple Store.
App features
The Decentraland Explorer companion mobile app boasts an array of features designed bring users closer to Decentraland even when they’re out and about in the real world:
Genesis.City Map: A zoomable and pannable 2D tile map that allows users to tap on parcels or estates to view details, highlight them if they are on sale, and even fly to them from search results.
Marketplace Home: Users can view the latest LAND/estate, Wearable, and Emote listings, and NAMEs for sale.
Events: The app showcases featured and trending events, and will send you notifications regarding events you’ve RSVP-ed to when they’re about to start.
Favorites (Watchlist): Users can add or remove LANDs/estates, Wearables, Emotes, events, and NAMEs to their favorites.
TxBrowser: Lists all sales, bids, and mints (transactions) in Decentraland, displaying the price, buyer, and seller of the transaction.
Push Notifications: The app offers the option to send users notifications about new listings, events, and more.
These are some features already driving the app’s adoption, but that’s not all that’s to come! The . But what else did the team invest the grant in?
Ongoing development and improvements
The Decentraland Explorer companion app team (also known as “Gökberk on his own”) has been working on several updates to improve the user experience. One of these updates includes adding a satellite view layer to the app’s map, which was achieved through collaboration with another project within the Decentraland ecosystem. This feature allows users to switch between map and satellite views.
Gökberk also added a Wallet Sign-In feature, which enables users to log in using various popular mobile wallets. This provides access to Decentraland-native features such as user profile pages, where users can view LANDs, Wearables, Emotes, and more.
To support governance in the Decentraland community, Gökberk integrated DAO-related features into the app. This allows users to view proposals, participate in discussions, and cast votes through their mobile devices. Gökberk faced challenges with the App Store review process, which delayed the release of certain features on iOS. Despite this, they continued to expand the app’s capabilities by enhancing push notifications. Users can now opt in or opt out of notifications based on their interests.
In line with Decentraland’s open-source ethos, Gökberk recently made the Decentraland Explorer Mobile App open-source, inviting the broader community to contribute to its development. Gökberk also has plans for further enhancements, such as in-app messaging.
The case of an open protocol in Decentraland
Decentraland's open-protocol nature is a driving force behind the innovation and development that has made projects like the Decentraland Explorer and the aforementioned Genesis.City project possible. That Decentraland features can be accessed from a browser, or a mobile app is just anecdotal: the set of open APIs and protocols enables Decentraland to be multiplatform, even to the extent of even being ported into the 2D realm.
Mutual benefit in cooperative work
One of the remarkable aspects of having an open protocol is the synergy it creates between different projects. For instance, the way Genesis.City’s map is integrated into the Decentraland Explorer companion app enhances users' experience. Such integrations exemplify how the open protocols encourage collaborations that enrich the ecosystem.
Community-driven process
The open nature of Decentraland ensures the development and evolution of projects like Decentraland Explorer and Genesis.City are community-driven. This aspect is crucial in ensuring that these projects cater to the real needs and desires of the community. For instance, Genesis.City’s focus on providing a transparent and informative map of properties and LAND in Decentraland stemmed from recognizing the community's need for such a resource.
A future without borders
With Decentraland’s open protocol as the bedrock, the possibilities for new features and innovations in projects like Decentraland Explorer and Genesis.City are unlimited. As more developers or creators join the ecosystem, we can expect to see even more thrilling features and tools that will continue to shape the landscape of the metaverse.
For instance, future developments might include advanced data analytics tools that leverage the open data in Decentraland to provide insights into market trends, or AI-driven tools that can analyze and predict the evolution of different regions within Genesis City. Decentraland’s open-protocol nature is the catalyst that enables projects like Decentraland Explorer and Genesis.City to thrive.
Roadmap and how to get involved
The Decentraland Explorer mobile companion app will continue to be maintained and improved, primarily based on community feedback. Prospects include UI/UX improvements, performance enhancements, bug fixes, and new features like in-app messaging.
As a user of Decentraland Explorer, you can help shape its development by providing feedback and suggestions. The app is available on both the Apple Store and Google Play. You can also keep an eye on the app's updates and new features by following its page on the respective app stores.
By engaging with the app and providing feedback, you can help improve the Decentraland Explorer app for all users. You can also reach out to Gökberk through the project’s GitHub page.
The metaverse is full of yet unrecognized potential and opportunities. Do you have an idea that could benefit the Decentraland community? Learn more about the DAO’s grants here.
Do you know of a cool Decentraland community project that you think should be next in the Community Highlights series? Contact the Decentraland Foundation team @decentraland on Twitter.
Disclaimer: The service described in this article was not developed or audited by the Decentraland Foundation. Always be careful when engaging in any kind of transaction. Decentraland is not responsible for any loss of funds/assets.