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The Sandbox launches Alpha Season 3 for its so-called open metaverse that connects several Lego-like virtual worlds.
The blockchain-based virtual universe has more than 90 different experiences with 100 hours of gameplay available for the new season, Sebastien Borget, chief operating officer at The Sandbox, said in an interview with GamesBeat.
Borget said The Sandbox now has four million users who have used his wallet, up from two million in March when the company unveiled Alpha Season 2. He also noted that virtual real estate ownership continues to grow, and the experience shows that owners such as brands are taking advantage of the land. About 22,000 people have paid well for land in the virtual space.
Billionaire investor Mark Cuban recently inflated virtual real estate investments, but Borget said the company continues to show strong momentum as it makes its way into a decentralized open metaverse with a ton of virtual worlds. The question remains whether mainstream users are going to adopt this Lego-esque take on the metaverse in a big way, as The Sandbox bets.
“Over 75% of our landowners actually build,” Borget said.
While The Sandbox is still in development, the alpha launches show owners and players developing their properties as if they were all taking rides in a theme park. The 10-week seasons are one way for The Sandbox to show players what to expect over time, Borget said. Players can create or choose their own avatars, purchase skins, and take them to music, art, architecture, gaming, fashion and entertainment experiences.
The company expects Season 3 to surpass the previous record of 350,000 active users. The Sandbox is one of the main advocates for Web3, or the promise of a world where players can own ownership through purchases of non-exchangeable tokens (NFTs).
The Sandbox promotes avatar-centric experiences with brands such as The Walking Dead, Steve Aoki, Rabbids, Sueco, Warner Music, Care Bear, Smurfs, Atari, Snoop Dogg and Deadmau5. A total of 22 such brands will open experiences in Season 3 where fans can interact with the brands and create their own user-generated branded content.
In Alpha Season 3, 140,000 NFTs can be converted into in-game avatars. By building experience on their LAND, owners can participate in virtual real estate development, adding value and utility to their LAND investment, Borget said. They can grant access to provide NFT holders with a new utility and
monetize their hosted experiences.
Ubisoft makes its debut with a Rabbids game and musician Steve Aoki lets go of his avatar. Snoop will open a mansion. Using The Sandbox’s native VoxEDit and GameMaker tools, virtually anyone can build and create new experiences.
“It’s a long list of content for gamers and non-gamers alike,” Borget said. “It’s like TV shows with seasons where they’re live operations to update the content for fans.”
He said the company continues to see growth from wallet users as well as brands and partners.
“The Sandbox has managed to establish itself as the entry point for many brands in the metaverse,” Borget said. “We give NFTs and Web3 real utility because the NFTs that the brands make let users do things in the games. They can see them in action in a game or user-generated content.”
Borget said that while other blockchain game companies have failed to deliver, The Sandbox’s user-generated content has helped differentiate his company. But he said The Sandbox functions better with higher frame rates for users. About 40 people can share the same experience at the same time. Overall, users can participate in more than 1,000 experiences, Borget said.
“And we have a very busy roadmap,” Borget said. “There is no other place in the world where you see Carebears besides Snoop Dogg.”
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