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The Sandbox is a decentralized virtual world built with similar aesthetics to voxel games like Roblox and Minecraft. The latter is the world’s best-selling video game that has surpassed 228 million copies sold.
In The Sandbox, users can own, rent, and sell plots of land, called LAND, and create shareable experiences on those plots for fun or profit. Transactions of LAND and other NFT items are carried out using an in-game cryptocurrency that utilizes the Ethereum blockchain: SAND.
Creators can use the Voxel Editor and Game Maker to build items, buildings, and entire games in the virtual world. The interface features a map of parcels that shows what properties are already owned within the metaverse and where they are located virtually.
The Sandbox was initially developed as a separate mobile game for iOS and Android back in 2012. Animoca Brands bought it in 2018 and transformed the project into an open-world metaverse platform of interconnected games, experiences, and virtual spaces. It is now regarded as one of the top metaverses to follow in the web3 space.
The game’s visual design is presented in a fun, low-poly voxel style that is easily accessible for new users. The Sandbox also uses blockchain technology, which gives it the power to offer the opportunity to monetize in-game creations and digital assets, such as land.
Unlike Decentraland, The platform has not yet had a public launch but is currently in alpha, which was released in November 2021. They are currently on Alpha Season 3 at the time of writing.
Like Roblox, The Sandbox allows you to build your own 3D games using its Game Maker application. Unlike Roblox, The Sandbox is entirely decentralized, meaning no one company or group of people owns it. Instead, the platform is owned by its users. Every block that makes up the virtual world can be held, traded, and sold by players as NFTs.
The virtual world of The Sandbox has been divided into 166,464 land parcels and no new land can ever be created.
Each 1x1 land parcel consists of a virtual space about 98 meters square with a height of about 128 meters. You can see who owns what parcels of land and can purchase your own parcels by checking The Sandbox map on the game’s website.
Just a quick check of this map shows large districts that have been purchased by well-known brands such as The Walking Dead, Shaun the Sheep, and Atari. Land parcels within these districts often have greater potential to rise in value as the name-brand experiences attract more users to each area.
Once you have purchased land, you can then start building your own structures and experiences.
Several organizations have also built developments within The Sandbox, Republic Realm Inc. ourselves included. We recently released a series of luxury Fantasy Islands for sale as NFTs, the ownership of which grants purchasers access to a private-members beach club.
The SAND token is the native ERC-20 cryptocurrency of The Sandbox metaverse and can be stored in most crypto wallets that support Ethereum, such MetaMask. Using SAND tokens, you can purchase various in-game items such as virtual art, digital clothing for your avatar, or even land.
Land is sold on this metaverse platform using LAND tokens – another coin in The Sandbox ecosystem – demonstrating digital real estate ownership. These LAND tokens are compliant with the ERC-721 standard for NFTs, which is used for all other purchasable assets within The Sandbox. SAND tokens are available for purchase on most centralized and decentralized crypto currency exchanges, while LAND can be bought and sold on NFT marketplaces like OpenSea.
There is a fixed total of 166,464 LANDs available in The Sandbox. The basic unit is called LAND, which is a single square that measures 96x96 meters.
Multiple lands can be combined to form ESTATEs. ESTATEs usually come in sizes of 3x3, 6x6, 12x12 and 24x24.
Land in The Sandbox can be developed to house any gaming experience within the constraints of the game maker. It can then be monetized in a variety of ways: charging users to play the game, charging rent to other developers, or selling LAND for a profit.
The Sandbox has repeatedly garnered headlines as big brands continue committing to the platform. The development team has done a great job earning the trust of brands and assuring it is a safe place to invest in metaverse brand partnerships.
For example. Warner Music Group announced the launch of a music-themed amusement park within The Sandbox.
The park represents the decision of yet another major organization to invest in the metaverse which could bring many of the best well-known music world celebrities to The Sandbox.
Snoop Dogg partnered with the platform on a recent NFT drop and music video entirely in The Sandbox’s virtual world. Jamiroquai announced an upcoming partnership as well – though details are scarce at the present moment.
This platform has also been recognized for its commitment to supporting the growth of the metaverse with its $50M Incubating fund. This fund intends to support the development of 30 to 40 metaverse startup companies over the next three years.
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DISCLAIMER
THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DO NOT CONSTITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, OR OTHER ADVICE.
