The Sandbox is one of the most recognizable participants in the gaming industry’s user-generated content market, especially when it comes to custom-built platforms for UGC. Unlike Minecraft or Fortnite, The Sandbox Game is being developed as a UGC ecosystem first and foremost, without having an original multiplayer/single-player video game as its basis.
Recently, the companies within The Sandbox ecosystem successfully raised $20 million for their upcoming expansion and feature rollout. This funding, which also includes convertible promissory notes with a $1 billion valuation cap, will further boost the thriving UGC space in The Sandbox. We can expect major updates and exciting new features for users over the next six to nine months.
The company behind this UGC project is Animoca Brands, based in Hong Kong. Its idea of the emerging gaming metaverse is somewhat different than the concept being applied in the three heavyweight participants of the same field, which are Minecraft, Fortnite, and Roblox. Unlike these big games, The Sandbox is a decentralized system. Its developers want to build a space where gaming and culture come together, offering chances for entertainment, brand exposure, and entrepreneurship in equal measure.
During the latest strategic funding round, companies like Kingsway Capital, True Global Ventures, and LG Tech Ventures invested in The Sandbox, signaling that there is plenty of interest in alternatives to centralized gaming metaverses. Besides that, the unique cryptocurrency aspect of this project seems to be especially relevant to the investors.
Despite the fact that The Sandbox Alpha version went live less than 12 months ago, in November 2023, the financial clout and user numbers it wields are impressive. The core element for both factors is the SAND token, built on top of a Web3 application that runs the game.
The SAND token is the native cryptocurrency of The Sandbox, that allows users to create, own, and monetize their gaming experiences on the Ethereum blockchain. Here's a breakdown of its key functions and uses:
Right now, there are around 5.7 million user accounts that have successfully linked their crypto wallets to the game. They generated over 1,000 UGC experiences which are playable right now. The token itself is changing hands at around 0.4 USD per SAND and has a market cap of over 900 million USD. It's likely that soon, the token and its network will likely enter the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap.
60,000 NFTs for in-game avatars have also been traded, some with celebrity endorsements. That kind of backing offers a level of instant appeal to many creators, most of those to the game developers looking to work in decentralized, crypto-focused environments. The Sandbox continues to enforce the key crypto selling points and offer even more appeal to its audience. While other UGC platforms like Helix completely abandon their Web3 support and blockchain features, Animoca Brands is doubling down on them.
Developers of The Sandbox are deeply invested in creating business-to-business partnerships. Animoca Brands representatives managed to close deals with over 400 entities, among them are massive international companies like Lionsgate, Gucci, Ubisoft, Adidas, and Warner Music. Other deals focus on famous names from the entertainment industry like Snoop Dogg, and there are even direct IPs that are present in the game like Space Invaders and the Hellboy series.
Animoca Brands is also thinking outside of the box when it comes to connecting with other organizations or regions. Because of that, the company expects to finalize deals with entities in two important countries for the gaming industry - Saudi Arabia and Vietnam. The funding potential of Saudi Arabia and its willingness to expand into the creative industries is becoming more important, while Vietnam offers a great user base. Out of its nearly 100 million Vietnamese residents, about 21 percent are between 10 and 24 years of age, which is the ideal demographic for all gaming experiences.
Any UGC space is only as good as its collective creative potential to make new experiences and entice future users to try out the platform. According to statistics from The Sandbox, the last 12 months saw more than 330,000 creators get the Game Maker, which is The Sandbox's main development tool.
Presently, the game is also working hard on organizing different initiatives to bring in first-time game-makers and creators. This includes teaching initiatives like boot camps and educational programs that help with the technological onboarding of new users. There are also direct financial and crypto incentives, including the most prominent means of offering these through game jams. A lot of those, including new tooling features, will appear in the next nine months, covering the crucial winter holiday period. Chief among those is the Beta multiplayer rules system, which the development team plans to release before the end of the year.
However, The Sandbox, due to its Web3 setup and the need for crypto wallets, remains a space with a higher barrier to entry than, for example, Fortnite Creative. Because of that, Animoca Brands and its development partners have to use some of that 20 million USD to further lower that barrier and allow for a bigger influx of UGC creators.
