Life in Upland: New Details Revealed + Protem Sale Now Open to All

As we prepare for Totem Phase 3 and gear up to welcome Life into Upland, we’re thrilled to announce a major milestone: the Protem Sweetener Sale, now available to everyone, both Totem holders and non-holders alike.

This isn’t just another feature drop. Life is a bold new chapter in Upland’s evolution, breathing vitality into the heart of what the game has always been about, property development, ownership, and economy-driven gameplay. For the first time, your properties won’t just be plots of digital land; they’ll be living, growing, evolving environments. It’s an exciting new way to build value, express creativity, and participate in a player-driven ecosystem that mirrors the real world in richer, more dynamic ways.

Life adds an entirely new layer to the metaverse, one that complements Upland’s core mechanics of buying, selling, and developing land. And at the center of it all is Stem, which is currently represented by the temporary Protem, the essential resource that will fuel this transformation.

For now, the only way to earn Protem is through Totems. In the future, certain plants and animals, like fruit trees or cows, will be able to produce Protem(which will eventually evolve into Stem), creating new opportunities for ongoing growth and sustainability within the Life system.

Whether you’re looking to grow rare plants, open a Nursery, or enhance your property’s appeal and utility, Protem (soon to be Stem) is the foundation for what’s next.

Now, for the first time, everyone can get Protem for themselves.

What is Protem

Protem (soon to be Stem) is more than just a resource; it’s the food that will sustain Life in Upland. This vital element will be the foundation of the upcoming Life system, a new gameplay experience focused on growth, care, and living elements across the metaverse.

At launch, players will use Protem to feed plants, which they’ll be able to grow, nurture, and evolve right on their properties. Over time, the system will expand and introduce deeper mechanics, with Protem eventually evolving into Stem, the core resource of Life.

Nurseries: A New Metaventure Blooms

Life doesn’t just bring plants to Upland, it introduces a whole new economy. The first step? Nurseries, a brand-new Metaventure type open to all players. Nurseries will open for all players to begin building within the next week, giving everyone a chance to take part in the next evolution of Upland gameplay.

Nurseries will be marketplaces for buying and selling seed Legits on the secondary market. But there’s even more in store for Totem holders.

Totem-enabled Nurseries, properties where one of the 5,555 Totems has been placed, will offer a unique function: all players can spend $SPARKLET to create a random seed Legit, with the Metaventure owner earning compensation. Spending $SPARKLET to receive seed Legits is not staking, once spent, the $SPARKLET leaves your wallet and is not returned. This is a true spend mechanic, marking a key step in expanding $SPARKLET utility within Upland.

At launch, these costs will be higher, but will gradually decrease over time. This phased approach is designed to introduce Life into Upland in a sustainable, balanced way that supports long-term growth and engagement.

Once you’ve got a seed Legit, you’ll be able to burn it to plant it directly on your property, kicking off a whole new journey of care and cultivation. From there, it’s up to you to nurture your plant, help it grow, and bring your land to life in a way never before possible in Upland.

Once planted, plants become permanently linked to the property, they’re not NFTs and cannot be transferred independently. Ownership of the plant is tied to the property itself, meaning whoever owns the property, owns the plant.

At launch, we’ll start with a limited selection of ornamental plants, including flowers, shrubs, trees, and grass, but the variety will grow over time as the Life system expands.

Feeding and Cultivating Life

Each plant will evolve over time, responding to your attention and care. Feed it regularly, watch it grow, and witness it bloom. While rare, just like in real life, plants can still die, even if you’ve done everything right. If that happens, you’ll need to clear the dead plant from your property to make room for new seeds.

Caring for plants in Upland will involve two core actions: feeding and what we’re currently calling cultivating, this may later be referred to as care, pruning, or something else entirely. Feeding uses Protem to keep your plants alive, while cultivating requires you to interact directly with your plants by clicking on them, providing the extra attention they need to thrive.

To streamline the process, you’ll be able to feed all of your plants at once from your profile, making daily maintenance quick and efficient. However, cultivating will remain a more hands-on task, helping bring a deeper sense of interaction and responsibility to your properties.

The balance of these two actions determines your plant’s status. A plant that is both well-fed and well-cared for will be considered “Thriving.” Ignore one or the other, and its health may begin to decline.

This system sets the foundation for future interactive Life features like pets and other living elements, all of which will rely on a similar model of attention and care (think petting your pet).

Maintaining a healthy garden means staying involved, but you won’t have to do it alone. Other players can help with cultivating tasks, building in new opportunities for collaboration and community connection.

Some plants will need more attention than others. More delicate or rare species may require more frequent care, adding variety and strategy to how you manage your growing ecosystem.

Adding to the realism, some plants will change with the seasons. For example, the maple tree will visually evolve through different calendar cycles. Not all plants will behave this way, creating a diverse and dynamic ecosystem where no two properties look, or grow, exactly the same.

By introducing plants that grow, bloom, and change with the seasons, and tying them directly to your properties, Life adds depth, purpose, and a whole new layer of strategy to how you play.

Protem Sweetener Packs

This sale is the first opportunity for non-Totem holders to purchase Protem. Totem holders will still be able to earn Protem by feeding their Totems during Round 3, launching in the coming weeks. But now, everyone can prepare for Life.

Each Sweetener Pack includes UPX and Protem, available in limited quantities until Monday, April 21st at 9 AM PT, or while supplies last.

Tip: Mobile app prices may be significantly higher due to platform fees, so be sure to check the web store for the best pricing before you buy.

Registration Opens: Thursday, April 17th at 9 AM PT
Sale Starts: Friday, April 18th at 9 AM PT
Offer Ends: Monday, April 21st at 9 AM PT or when sold out

10K UPX + 60 Protem

A perfect starter bundle to begin preparing your properties for Life and start experimenting with Protem.

Web Price: $9.99
Quantity: 800

50K UPX + 375 Protem

A balanced pack offering a solid boost of Protem and UPX to jumpstart your journey into plant care and property enhancement.

Web Price: $49.99
Quantity: 400

100K UPX + 825 Protem

An ideal bundle for serious players looking to fully invest in the Life system and gain a strong early advantage.

Web Price: $99.99
Quantity: 200

Prepare Now

With the launch of the Protem Sweetener Sale and the arrival of Life, Upland is entering a bold new phase, one that brings growth, creativity, and living systems into the heart of property ownership. Life isn’t just a new feature, it’s an evolution of what Upland has always been about: building value, developing land, and participating in a thriving, player-driven economy.Whether you’re a longtime Totem holder or just joining the community, now is the time to prepare, because Upland is about to get a whole lot more alive.

Don’t miss your chance to stock up on Protem, secure your place in this next chapter, and help shape the future of Upland from the ground up.