Users may own, edit, and monetize land plot NFTs in a shared online environment in the future Ethereum-based metaverse game.
Following Facebook’s increased push into the space—including renaming its parent company as “Meta“—and rising value for metaverse-related crypto tokens, excitement over the approaching metaverse may be at an all-time high. One of the most eagerly awaited metaverse games has just received significant financing ahead of its release.
The Sandbox, an Animoca Brands subsidiary, said today that it has secured $93 million in a Series B investment spearheaded by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2. The Japanese business has been aggressively investing in NFT and crypto in recent months, spearheading Sorare’s $680 million fundraising in September and Digital Currency Group’s $700 million raise last week.
Samsung Next, Galaxy Interactive, True Global Ventures, Liberty City Ventures, LG Technology Ventures, mobile game producer Com2us, and many more companies took part in the Series B financing.
The #metaverse is waiting for you to Create, Play & Earn! We cannot wait to welcome you! #TheSandbox #Play2Earn #UGC #NFT pic.twitter.com/aFkcKjJZ95— The Sandbox (@TheSandboxGame) October 16, 2021
Users own plots of land represented as NFTs, as well as NFTs for characters and other goods, in the Sandbox, an Ethereum-based shared online environment. These LAND plots may be personalized and developed with interactive game experiences that can be marketed to generate revenue for their owners.
The game isn’t ready yet; an alpha testing version will be released before the end of the year. According to the startup, The Sandbox has already produced $144 million in NFT sales, with 12,000 unique LAND plot owners and 500,000 total users who have linked a crypto wallet to the site.
The Sandbox has enlisted the help of a number of notable brand and celebrity partners, including musician and ardent NFT collector Snoop Dogg, who will host an exclusive metaverse party for 1,000 people within the PC game, ahead of its official release. The Walking Dead, Bored Ape Yacht Club, Atari, and cryptocurrency exchange Binance are among the other partners in the mix.
Along with the money, The Sandbox has recruited new members to its advisory board, including Guy Oseary, a seasoned music manager and digital investor who is directing Bored Ape Yacht Club’s expansion into other entertainment initiatives, and Nicholas Adler, Snoop Dogg‘s manager and brand curator. Former Riot Games CPO Thomas Vu and FreshPlanet co-founder Mathieu Nouzareth are among the newcomers.
The Sandbox’s SAND token, like Decentraland’s MANA token, has seen a huge increase in value over the last week, fueled by growing interest in Facebook’s metaverse ideas. SAND hit a new all-time high of $3.33 after the investment announcement today.
SAND is now trading at $2.79 per token, up 244 percent in the previous week, according to CoinGecko.
