Atlas: Earth
Buy up virtual representations of real land and earn real money from it! Digital real estate one 30 ft. by 30 ft. plot at a time.
For everyone that likes a route to generating a bit of passive income, I recommend at least checking out the Atlas: Earth app for the phone. There are definite benefits to investing a little at least at the start, but it is truly possible to get to a payout without putting in any money at all. Something I have not found to be the case for many phone apps, especially ones that will allow withdrawals in actual cash to PayPal.
Although it looks like a game, there really isn’t much to the app that could be called that. Largely, it’s just watching ads and playing a small gamble either for the land or for the roulette wheel.
Even if there is not much actual gameplay in its current iteration, there are still a number of systems in place that might take some explanation. Or some knowledge to help maximize returns for your efforts. (There really are a ton of ads in your future if you plan to use this app.) Before diving into the particulars of different parts of Atlas: Earth though, the following are a few things to take into account. Or the tl;dr version of this post.
The Good:
- You can earn and withdraw without spending any money.
- Earnings and withdrawals are in US Dollars and are not a token of any sort.
- Withdraws to PayPal without any fees attached. (So you earn $5, you get $5.)
- Truly passive earning potential that’s just increased by watching ads.
- Percentages for RNG and the revenue land can generate at different rarities are transparent.
The Bad:
- Virtually every aspect of the app requires you to watch an ad.
- The time needed to reach the withdrawal point drives many people away before they reach it.
- Some systems to generate more of the in-game currency (Atlas Bucks) are virtually inaccessible to those who weren’t early adopters.
- Many features are still only ‘coming soon’ with no ETA.
If the cons haven’t scared you away yet, please view more in-depth information about the app’s systems. As well, if you’re like me and prefer proof before putting in the time and effort of using something like this, the payouts section has screenshots I took from my first withdrawal.
The land that you can buy is the major premise of the entire app. The app implements this in the form of plots (sometimes called parcels as well) that are worth 100 Atlas Bucks each. Each one of these small squares on the screen represents 900 square feet of real land. The numbers that you see at the top of the screen at all times are ‘rent’ accrued on the pieces of land that you own (minus any withdrawals or conversions into Atlas Bucks).
Roads and a few other types of landmarks break up the landscape, but it’s mostly just flat area in a circle around an avatar used to mark your location. And of course, there are strips and dots of land representing other owners too. Buying up land helps to bring some color to the map, a mix of grass and flowers and trees not only to show it’s now cared for but to help distinguish between different types of plots.
Every plot of land is one of four rarities: common, rare, epic, and legendary. Not only does the rarity change the look of the actual land on the map, it also corresponds to significant differences in how much rent you make off of that piece of land. For example, common plots generate 4 times less rent per second than legendary plots. What type of plot you get is entirely RNG-based, and you won’t know what you have until you’ve finished buying.
So how do you go about getting plots? You buy them with Atlas Bucks as mentioned above! The first plot is given to you just for downloading the game and going through a short tutorial. Every other one past that costs 100 Atlas Bucks, and based on the wording, I feel that the amount could possibly change at a later date.
At first, I was skeptical because 100 seems like quite a bit. Even more so when 100 Atlas Bucks equals $5 if you spend them outright. Thankfully though, there are quite a few ways to earn the currency without actually spending real money. Or at least outright just spending money on that currency alone. What I mean by this is that the company behind Atlas: Earth has an agreement with a few merchants to allow money spent in transactions to translate over to in-app currency. Right now, the number of vendors isn’t very many (just the ones listed in the picture). You do also have to connect a card for this feature to function the right way. Still though, I felt like this was overall a cool feature to have.
If you are willing to reinvest the rent accrued by the land you already own, the rate of money converted within the app is actually higher than the one of purchasing directly. For example, if you bought Atlas Bucks within the store, it’s $4.99 per 100 or at a rate of $1 per 20 atlas bucks. If you convert rent, you actually get 25 atlas bucks for $1. Something to consider when you’re weighing the option of paying out vs. reinvesting.
The highest percentage of Atlas Bucks I’ve received come from the free ones you get for watching an ad in the store. Available every 20 minutes, you get 2 free bucks for every ad you watch. Yes, it’s a very slow drip, but it adds up. And if you are diligent about watching those when the timer is up, you can net another plot around once a day. I also use Pomodoro timers a lot for work and writing, so I just run that ad based on those timers.
There is also a referral program within the app that gives Atlas Bucks to both the one sending the invites and the one receiving the invite as well. Click this link or use the code 28PE2H within the app for a free 200 Atlas Bucks after buying up your 10th plot. In addition, every plot bought from a referred player past the first free one gets you 10 Atlas Bucks (up to 100 per person).
Other ways to get Atlas Bucks involve Gems, the other currency used within the app, or becoming a Leader.
I’ll be blunt. If you aren’t keeping your booster active, you are wasting your time. The amount generated in rent is so small that without the multiplier the booster gives, it would take years for you to ever reach the threshold of a payout. Like virtually everything else within the app, it requires watching an ad to activate. One ad watched equals an hour of boosted rent, and it stacks up to over 5 hours at a time.
The multiplier tied to the booster is on a sliding scale. The more plots you have, the lower the multiplier. At its highest (between 1 and 150 plots owned), the multiplier is a crazy 30x the base rent. At its lowest, you still will earn 2x the normal rent when the booster is active. With how many plots it takes to get to that point, a 2x multiplier will still feel plenty high. If you are approaching the next milestone for a lower multiplier, I highly suggest sitting at that edge for a bit, especially if you are reinvesting rent to get more Atlas Bucks. Or focus on buying the next level worth of badges before the dip. Because until you buy a few more plots past that initial jump down, you’ll actually be earning less in rent until you get more plots into that new boost point.
There are special events that increase the multiplier even higher, but based on personal experience, those don’t happen very often. The last event of this kind, the boosted multiplier was actually 50x the normal rent. I’m very much hoping that comes around again.
For right now, badges are the only way other than boosters to increase the rate at which you earn rent. How many you own determines the level of your passport, and each level gives a percentage increase on how much you earn. A level 1 passport gives a 5% increase while a level 5 (the highest) gives a 25% increase. You can buy a badge for every city, state, and country you visit. And yes, you have to be physically in that geographical location for the badge to pop up in the store. Each one costs 200 Atlas Bucks.
Just like with the booster, this feature is scaffolded. Meaning, you should consider the net gain of buying the next badge before you actually do. Buying one single badge gets you an initial 5% increase on rent. But you have to buy another 9 badges before you actually get anything from them and move up to the next level on your passport. Reaching that highest level requires purchasing 101 badges.
I do recommend buying that first badge pretty early on even if you’re sacrificing 2 plots worth of Atlas Bucks. The percentage rate increase is calculated before the booster increase and can earn itself back pretty quickly. I also highly suggest buying up badges in places you will not very often travel to. I think the first one I bought was actually for the city we stayed in on a beach trip with family.
Not only can you see the plots of land already bought up on the map view, you can also find gems from time to time. They have to be within the circle around you for you to grab them. So if there’s one close by, I highly suggest going on a short walk to find them. Every gem lets you spin the wheel pictured on the side. The odds aren’t very high for getting the higher amount of Atlas Bucks but it is still a great feature to try and supplement the other ways of obtaining them.
There are some stipulations to the wheel though. You are only able to spin three times per 24-hour period before each additional spin requires an ad first. In addition, that’s capped as well (I think it’s an additional 3 times with ads). The other thing to keep in mind is that even if you’re watching an ad to spin, you still need a gem to do so too.
While the number of spins may have a limitation based on time, I have not found any on getting the gems themselves. Sometimes you have to do quite a lot of traveling to find them, and it takes a long time for them to regenerate in certain areas. So what I recommend is that if this is a feature you hope to make use of, store as many of these as you can when you’re going to be heading places you don’t normally go. If you’re a passenger, just swipe those gems as someone else is driving. Pick up 30 on a single trip? You’re good already for a few days’ worth of spinning.
This feature would hands down be one of my favorites if it wasn’t virtually inaccessible to someone who wasn’t using the app almost right from launch. To become a leader in an area, you have to have the most plots owned in that area. Mayors have the most plots within a city. Governors have the most plots within a state. Presidents have the most plots within a country.
The reason why I say this is almost impossible for someone just starting out to obtain is that the president for my area has 14251 plots right now. The governor has 5949 plots. The mayor is a little more within reach at 144 plots. But there’s still a moving line you’re having to play catch up to.
Why are leaders important? Every time someone buys a badge for a place you are the leader of, you get a small kickback of atlas bucks for that purchase. So it really does pay to be on top. What I recommend is to look at the mayor level first. Your city needs 100+ plots? You aren’t likely to get that any time soon. But go to a neighboring town, especially if it’s a small one. See how many plots it takes to become leader there instead. Odds are, the amount needed isn’t going to be very high in those areas. Unfortunately, the likelihood of people buying badges is probably going to be a bit lower too.
There are a number of features that will be introduced in “Phase 2” according to the app. Two whole tabs and half of a third are devoted to things that are only coming soon and not already a part of the app. While I do think that these features will be amazing once added and give some actual gaming aspects to Atlas: Earth, the fact nothing has been said or announced about ETA in the time that I have been playing is a bit disheartening.
Landmarks, which will be accruing rent much like plots, are probably the biggest addition that will lead to higher gain on time. I do have some questions about how this will play out though, especially if landmarks are taking up the same physical space as an already-bought plot. Right now there is no way of trading or buying plots from another owner, but that is something also supposed to be in the next phase.
Even if the first two are more likely to increase potential earning, it’s the last of the things on the horizon I’m most excited about. Lumped in with the gems tab is something called “special hunts” that seem to be described as something of a scavenger hunt that will be built into the app. If such a feature were to be added, this would go a long way toward making things feel more like a game.
So you’ve finally reached the $5 dollar payout threshold. Congratulations because, oh boy, that must have taken a lot of ads watched! And sadly, it must also have taken quite a bit of time as well. Give yourself a pat on the back for getting this far, and enjoy that sweet payout. But keep this in mind too: it will never take you this long to reach a payout again. The plots and badges you’ve already purchased are still there generating you rent. And each new one will bring you to the next payout that much faster.
The best part of payouts with this app to me is that this is actual cash being directly deposited into a place where you can actually use it or save it depending on what you decide to do. No, it’s not a get-rich-quick kind of scheme, but it is a passive stream that requires very little effort on your part.
Unlike a lot of other apps out there, you also don’t have to pay into the app or refer someone to get access to what you’ve earned. There isn’t hoop after hoop you have to pass through even after hitting the minimum.
Because I can be a very skeptical person myself, I made sure to take screenshots of my first payout as proof. There are way too many scams out there. I am very happy to say that this isn’t one of them.
