Secret World: The Real-Life Game Where the Map Is Real and the Quests Pay

What if the real world was the game?

Every good game has the same pieces. You make a character. You get dropped into a world. You take quests to earn gold. You find shops, buy gear and maybe open your own place. You level up.

Secret World takes those pieces and puts them in real life. The map is your actual city. The quests pay real money. The shops are real shops with real discounts. And you can open your own business on the map without paying rent.

It's a game where the economy is real.

Step 1: Make your character

In a video game you pick a face, a name and a class. On Secret World you make a profile: your photo and a short bio about who you are.

Then you make a Creator Card and pick two personas. Think of them as masks, or a character class and a subclass. A main persona and a side one. Photographer and chef. Barber and DJ. Artist and reseller.

Your card is how other players find you. It shows who you are, what people can hit you up for and where to find you on other apps.

Step 2: Enter the world

The world is the real map, wherever you are. Open the app and you see what's happening around you right now. Three things live on the map:

• Gold coins are quests. Someone nearby needs something done and will pay for it.
• Flames are pop-ups. Someone is selling, serving or offering something from a spot, right now.
• Storefronts are shops. Real businesses with real deals for people nearby.

Everything is live. A pop-up shows while it's open and disappears when it closes. A quest stays up until someone takes it.

Step 3: Take quests, get paid in real life

Quests on Secret World are tasks and scenes posted by regular people, not a company. Help carry a couch up three floors. Hold a spot in line. Be in someone's reel. Sing happy birthday to a stranger's mom in a bakery. Film a proposal from behind a tree.

You see what it pays before you take it. You chat, agree, show up and do it. You get paid directly by cash, Venmo, Zelle or whatever you agree. Secret World takes no cut.

Every quest you finish goes on your Creator Card: showed up, on time, did it right, went extra, replied fast. That record is your reputation. The better it is, the more people pick you for the next one.

Step 4: Open your own shop, rent free

In most games, opening a shop takes a ton of gold. In real life, it takes a lease, a landlord and rent you owe whether anyone shows up or not.

On Secret World you open a pop-up. It's a flame on the map, free to post. Sell plates from your kitchen, do lashes from your living room, sell sneakers from your stoop, run a food stand in the park. People nearby see you're open and come.

Pop-ups can even move. A food truck, a mobile car wash or a mobile barber can take the flame with them.

Step 5: Get real discounts

Real shops are on the map too. They post deals for the people nearby: a free coffee with the second one, money off a haircut, a deal on today's cake.

You walk in, tell them you saw it on Secret World, and save real money. No coupon codes, no printing.

Isn't this just Pokémon Go?

Pokémon Go proved people will walk around their city for a game. But what you catch there stays in the game. On Secret World, what you earn is real money. Pokémon Go put a game on the real map. Secret World put the economy on it.

Other apps each do one piece. Some have quests, like gig apps. Some have discounts, like deal apps. Some put things on a map. Secret World puts all of it in one place: your character, real quests from real people, your own business with no rent and real shop discounts, on one map, with nobody taking a cut. The combined map model is patented.

Who's playing

• People who want extra money. Take quests near you in your free time.
• Creators. Get picked for your work and your record, not your follower count.
• Hustlers and home businesses. Put your pop-up on the map and let people nearby find you.
• Shops. Get in front of the people walking past your door.
• Anyone who wants to save money. Find real deals around you.

Where can you play?

Anywhere. Secret World started in New York City, but the map is the whole world. A quest in London, a pop-up in Manila or a shop deal in Lagos works the same way.

FAQ

What is Secret World?

Secret World is a live map of the real world where you can take paid tasks, open a pop-up business and find real shop deals near you. It works like a game: you make a character, take quests and get paid in real life.

Is Secret World a real-life video game?

It works like one. The map is the real world, quests are paid tasks posted by people nearby, pop-ups are businesses you can open without rent, and shops give real discounts.

How do you get paid on Secret World?

You agree on a price in the chat and get paid directly by cash, Venmo, Zelle or however you both want. Secret World takes no cut.

How is Secret World different from Pokémon Go?

Pokémon Go is a game played on the real map. On Secret World the quests pay real money, you can open a real business with no rent and shops give real discounts.

What are personas on Secret World?

Personas are like character classes. On your Creator Card you pick two, a main one and a side one, like Photographer and Chef.

Is Secret World free?

Yes. Making a profile, taking quests and opening a pop-up are free. Only shops pay a flat monthly fee.

Is Secret World only in New York?

No. It started in New York City and works anywhere in the world.