The gaming industry is allocating more resources to integrate their projects with blockchain technology, with a particular focus on creating metaverses to enhance the overall gaming experience. The rebranding of Facebook to “Meta” in October 2021 resulted in a surge in popularity for metaverse gaming. The integration of blockchain technology into metaverses has transformed the way people interact with each other and has redefined the ownership of in-game digital assets. One of the most exciting blockchain game projects that provides players with a unique virtual experience is The Sandbox, which enables players to contribute to gaming items and virtual land using non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and unleashes their creativity.

Sumber: btcc

Introduction

The Sandbox is a blockchain game that stands out from the rest as it aims to build its own metaverse. This virtual world offers users a chance to own virtual land, use various items, and interact with others. Launched in 2011 by Pixowl, the game was initially intended to rival Minecraft, and it became a hit with over 40 million downloads worldwide.

In 2018, co-founders Arthur Madrid and Sebastien Borget decided to explore the potential of creating a 3D metaverse on the blockchain. Their goal was to let users truly own their creations as NFTs and earn rewards while participating in the ecosystem. The new Sandbox project was released in 2020 and became one of the fastest-growing games in the crypto world, along with Axie Infinity and Decentraland.

All transactions within the game are recorded on the Ethereum blockchain, which incentivizes users to engage with the game and even create and sell their own digital assets on the game’s marketplace. The Sandbox has attracted over 400 partnerships, including Atari, CryptoKitties, The Walking Dead, and hip-hop star Snoop Dogg.

Although The Sandbox is one of the most popular blockchain games, it is not the only game of its kind. The buzzword “metaverse” has become more prevalent, and many high-profile companies are exploring the potential of creating a global virtual world. The Sandbox provides an example of how such a digital world can be created and managed.

In November 2021, The Sandbox raised US$93 million in funding from investors led by the Japanese mobile giant SoftBank, highlighting the growing interest in blockchain gaming. The game’s popularity and success showcase the potential of blockchain technology in revolutionizing the gaming industry and providing players with unique ownership and reward opportunities.

How Does The Sandbox Work?

Initially, The Sandbox was hosted on the Ethereum blockchain, utilizing its immutable ledger to provide players with genuine ownership of their digital assets and land in the form of NFTs called LANDs and ASSETs.

However, in 2022, the developers announced that they would be transferring the virtual world’s ecosystem to Polygon sidechain, a layer-2 solution for Ethereum, in order to decrease transaction fees and enhance the gameplay experience’s efficiency.

The Sandbox’s NFTs

LANDs are digital real estate parcels represented by ERC-721 non-fungible tokens. The game world contains a total of 166,464 LANDs, with 10% being held by the development team for special events and 16% reserved for partners and special rewards. 

The rest of the LANDs are available for the public to purchase and measure 96 meters x 96 meters each. Multiple LANDs can be combined to form an ESTATE, which can also be bought and sold on the game’s marketplace. Users can design and build experiences on their LANDs, which generate revenue collected by the LAND owner.

Premium LANDs are located strategically on the map, and as a result, they have the potential to receive higher levels of traffic over time.

ASSETs are represented as ERC-1155 tokens that can be unique (non-fungible) or interchangeable (fungible). They can belong to various categories, such as equipment or wearables for use by digital avatars, art, or interactive entities in its world.

The Sandbox provides users with tools to create ASSETs, which can be traded on the marketplace and used to equip a player’s avatar. By burning ERC-20 tokens, GEMs and CATALYSTs, users can add certain attributes and rarity scores to the ASSETs they create.

Creative Tools

The Sandbox offers two tools to its users that help them create their own metaverse experience:

a. Game Maker

With The Sandbox Game Maker, users can build impressive 3D games without any coding knowledge. The platform offers visual scripting tools that enable creators to design stunning 3D games in just a few minutes. By utilizing these tools, users can contribute to the diverse metaverse that offers a broad spectrum of interactive experiences and creations.

The Sandbox Game Maker Alpha – New Release

b. VoxEdit

VoxEdit is a user-friendly and robust 3D voxel modeling and NFT creation software available for PC/Mac. With this software, users can create and animate a variety of 3D objects, including humans, animals, vehicles, foliage, tools, and other items. Voxels, which resemble square 3D pixels or building blocks, can be easily manipulated using VoxEdit, allowing for the creation of stunning designs. Once completed, these objects can be exported to The Sandbox marketplace as NFT game assets.

Using these tools, The Sandbox has attracted partnerships with high-profile names such as Atari, who will bring some of their classic titles to the metaverse. Snoop Dogg has also collaborated with the team to design wearable gear and NFT passes to a virtual concert. The Sandbox has even been referenced in one of his songs released in early 2022.

The Sandbox Marketplace

Now Live: The Sandbox NFT Marketplace Beta

The Sandbox Marketplace was introduced in April 2021 as a dedicated platform for buying and selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs) related to in-game assets, known as ASSETS. These ASSETS can be traded with the platform’s native cryptocurrency, SAND. Once acquired, players can use these ASSETS to create unique games within The Sandbox by incorporating them into their LAND using Game Maker. The ASSETS include entities, buildings, wearables, and more, all of which can be utilized within The Sandbox. The Sandbox’s ecosystem involves various tokens that players use to interact with the platform, including SAND, LAND, and ASSETS.

What is SAND?

The Sandbox has its own native token called SAND, which is an ERC-20 token with a total supply of 3 billion. As a utility token, SAND is essential for any transaction and interaction within The Sandbox ecosystem. Players require SAND to play the game, customize their avatars, purchase LANDs, or trade ASSETS on the Sandbox Marketplace. SAND also acts as a governance token, allowing SAND holders to propose and vote on changes to the platform through a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) structure.

Moreover, SAND holders can stake their tokens within the game and earn rewards, including a share in the revenue from all transactions in SAND tokens. The staking of SAND can also increase the chance of finding valuable GEMs and CATALYSTs, the game resources needed for creating ASSETS with a higher rarity.

One way to obtain SAND is by participating in various games and contests within The Sandbox platform. Another option is to purchase the token on cryptocurrency exchanges.

Tokenomics

Token Distribution

The SAND token, an ERC-20 cryptocurrency, was launched in August 2020, with a fundraising goal of $3 million, which was achieved by August 14. The public sale consisted of an IEO (Initial Exchange Offering) on Binance Launchpad, where 360 million tokens were sold at a price of $0.008.

Before the public sale, Animoca Brands held a private seed round in November 2019, raising $3.21 million by selling tokens at $0.0072 per SAND. A strategic sale was also held in July 2020, where the token was sold at an average price of $0.005. In November 2021, the project raised $93 million in a Series B funding round.

The total distribution of SAND tokens is as follows: 

• Binance Launchpad Sale: 12%
• Private Seed Sale: 17.18%
• Private Strategic Sale: 4%
• Foundation: 12%
• Team: 19%
• Advisors: 10%
• Company Reserve: 25.82%

The maximum token supply of SAND is 3 billion tokens, which is expected to be reached by February 2025, once the entire supply becomes unvested.

Source: CoinGecko

Is The Sandbox a Good Investment?

Investing in The Sandbox can be a promising option as it brings blockchain technology into the vast gaming industry. While other projects have tried to integrate blockchain into gaming, The Sandbox has a unique focus on an entirely decentralized gaming environment, where users have complete control over everything. This makes it a potentially successful project compared to others that only use blockchain to store in-game assets.

The decentralized nature of The Sandbox allows it to grow and adapt naturally, making it a more agile platform than centralized game settings. Additionally, as the SAND token is not just an in-game currency but also a governance asset, it allows holders to make important decisions about the project’s development.

The Bottom Line

The Sandbox is a blockchain-based game that enables users to create their own virtual world using non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and earn rewards while participating in the ecosystem. The game’s popularity has grown significantly, with over 400 partnerships and US$93 million raised in funding. The Sandbox has its own native token called SAND, which is essential for any transaction and interaction within the ecosystem, and can also be staked to earn rewards. The decentralized nature of The Sandbox allows it to grow and adapt naturally, making it a promising investment option for many blockchain investors. Overall, The Sandbox’s unique approach to creating a fully decentralized gaming environment and potential for long-term growth make it a solid investment option in the blockchain gaming industry.