Second Life Economy Up 94% In Q2

This month Second Life issued its Q2 economy report, announcing that the virtual world's economy was up 94% year-over-year and 20% quarter-over-quarter. The current size of the Second Life economy, which represents the frequency and value of player-to-player transactions, is at an all-time high. Linden currently values the Second Life economy as representing nearly $50 million in transactions per month, for a total of $144 million for the quarter.

Linden compares Second Life's growth to a 1% quarter-over-quarter decrease in the size of the US economy in Q2, which represented a 3.9% decline year-over-year. Linden also announced that Xstreet SL purchases were up to about $1.4 million, representing 13% growth quarter-over-quarter and 70% growth year-over-year. Xstreet SL represents roughly 1% of the total Second Life economy.

Monthly repeat logins in Second Life reached a high of 752, 035 early in the quarter before declining slightly later in the quarter. Likewise, peak concurrent users peaked at 88,065 early in the quarter before trending downward. Amount of resident-owned land has also expanded by about 11%, driven a deal that offered Homesteads at a bargain $95 per month rate.

Linden Lab has projected a total economy value of $450 million for the virtual world in 2009. The company's high Q2 growth comes on the heels of a very strong first quarter, where the economy increased by 65%.

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