The Sandbox Raises $20M, Eyes Creator Economy Expansion

Animoca Brands, alongside its subsidiary Bacasable Global Limited which operates The Sandbox, recently secured $20 million in convertible promissory notes. This new capital injection values the company at a substantial $1 billion. The fundraising effort was spearheaded by Kingsway Capital, with LG Tech Ventures and True Global Ventures also participating. Investors holding these promissory notes have the option to convert them into equity of Bacasable Global Limited. The conversion will occur under the same conditions as the company’s existing preference shares.

The new funding round at a $1 billion valuation is noteworthy, especially considering The Sandbox’s previous ambition to raise $400 million at a $4 billion valuation nearly two years ago. In a formal statement, The Sandbox disclosed that the newly raised funds will be directed towards expanding its creator economy and the development of its decentralized mobile metaverse platform, projected to launch in 2025. Specifically, the funds will enable The Sandbox to introduce new social features, enhance avatar functionalities, and improve its Game Maker and VoxEdit 3D editing tools.

The platform also plans to upgrade its gameplay offerings by incorporating a new multiplayer rules system. This enhancement is expected to enter beta testing later this year, with a general release set for 2025. Since the Alpha version of The Sandbox became available in November 2023, the platform has seen the creation of over 1,000 user-generated experiences. It currently boasts 5.7 million user accounts, all linked to cryptocurrency wallets.

Yat Siu, the co-founder of Animoca Brands, pointed out that many widely-popular games such as Minecraft and Roblox, which boast millions of daily users, do not provide digital property rights to their users. He believes that The Sandbox is “the evolution of UGC games for the age of digital ownership,” offering a unique value proposition that sets it apart from its competitors.

An investment management firm, McKinsey, has forecasted that the metaverse economy will grow to a staggering $5 trillion by 2030. Despite the initial enthusiasm, the concept has struggled to maintain user traction following the end of the bullish market phase. For example, Meta’s significant $1.2 billion investment in its metaverse project yielded only 38 daily users in 2022.

While many major metaverse projects have encountered difficulties in gaining momentum post the bear market of 2022-23, The Sandbox continues to report encouraging growth. Over the past year, more than 330,000 unique creators have downloaded and utilized The Sandbox’s no-code Game Maker tool. This rising interest among creators is a promising sign for the platform’s future.

The Sandbox’s ongoing development and expansion efforts appear to be aligned with the broader trends and future potential of the metaverse economy. According to Yat Siu, the addition of new features and tools will further establish The Sandbox as a leader in the burgeoning field of digital ownership within the gaming industry.

With a keen focus on enhancing user experience and expanding its ecosystem, The Sandbox is well-positioned to capitalize on future opportunities in the metaverse space.