The Sandbox reaches 1,000 user-generated experiences

The Sandbox has reached a new milestone of 1,000 user-generated experiences on its metaverse platform.

There are now more than 1,000 such experiences on The Sandbox Map, which is a virtual land full of brands, gaming companies and users who see it as a new platform for Lego-like games.

To commemorate this achievement and incentivize further creativity, The Sandbox unveils a substantial addition of 500,000 SAND into the reward pool of its Builders’ Challenge creator program.

“We have now over 1,000 experiences live on the map. The takeaway for us it’s like the creator economy in the metaverse is taking off,” said Sebastien Borget, cofounder of The Sandbox, in a interview with GamesBeat. “We have 5.7 million accounts created.”

This infusion of SAND, distributed among the top ten creators based on final rankings, brings the total SAND token reward pool to an impressive 1.5 million SAND, which converts to about $950,000 in U.S. dollars.

This enhancement presents an opportunity for top creators to potentially earn over $100,000 within a ten-week timeframe, reaffirming The Sandbox’s dedication to nurturing its creator ecosystem, said Borget.

Rapid growth and user engagement

Sebastien Borget is COO of The Sandbox.

Since its inception, The Sandbox has experienced a lot of growth, even though it is still in an alpha state. The platform has attracted 330,000 users and more than 200 professional studios to its platform. The launch of the Marketplace on Polygon further accelerated this momentum, with creators listing over 3,300 unique assets and minting over 500,000 copies.

With over 5.7 million all-time accounts created, 25,000 virtual landowners, 60,000 avatars sold, and 200,000 SAND wallets, The Sandbox has solidified its position as a leading user-generated content company in the Web3 space.

Now the Sandbox Map looks a lot more filled out and vibrant than it did in the past when it was populated more sparsely by metaverse-friendly brands. On the right rail of the map, The Sandbox promotes premier experiences that it wants to highlight.

“The map is really the main way to navigate the metaverse with all the different neighborhoods,” Borget said. “If you remember, we have like gaming neighborhood here with Ubisoft, Invincible, Square Enix, etc.”

He added, “It’s always been a mixture of user-generated content, which has really been growing a lot, and content made by brands that we signed like Gordon Ramsay, Lionsgate, a lot of music artists and more.”

It has a long way to go to catch up with other metaverse-like rivals like Roblox and Fortnite, but it is doing pretty good for Web3, considering how tough it is to onboard people with cryptocurrency wallets and other hurdles. Borget said the community has grown thanks to steady improvements and frequent game jams that happen in different territories around the world. He expects that the game world will hit beta status in 2024 and a final launch in 2025.

The Sandbox has more than five million registered users.

The Sandbox continues to empower its creator community through interactive programs such as Game Jam contests, attracting over 2,500 participants in 2024 alone.

These initiatives not only appeal to creators but also attract brands seeking to engage with the creator economy and Web3 gaming culture. With upcoming Game Jams exploring various game mechanics and themes, alongside partnerships with recognized brands and IPs, The Sandbox remains committed to fueling creativity and innovation.

Looking ahead: building the next generation of the creator economy

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As 2024 unfolds as a pivotal year for Web3 gaming and metaverse experiences, The Sandbox is poised for continued success with its ambitious roadmap and growing creator ecosystem, Borget said.

With a focus on investing in the creator community, The Sandbox remains optimistic about the future as its platform evolves and expands.

While there are a lot of experiences available, moving from one experience to another across The Sandbox virtual world isn’t as fast as they would like it to be yet, but Borget said it is on the list of things that the company will address.

“It’s definitely something that’s going to improve,” he said. “The Sandbox is still in alpha. And one of our objectives this year is to improve the onboarding speed, to improve the first time user experience. And to make it like very much faster to switch between.”

Borget said the company has found a lot of users to create experiences by setting up game jams.

“It gives the creators a motivation and a purpose. They try the game maker to make their own game. They receive the land for free if they publish it. Many of them never made video games before. We grow the pool of people who make games in the industry,” he said. “They keep on getting better. And after they onboard into The Sandbox ecosystem, they become full time creators sometimes, starting to earn revenue.”

One of the creators on the platform has earned six figures in income on The Sandbox.

“It’s exciting to see that it’s coming. It’s becoming significant,” he said. “And I think it’s establishing the baseline for a solid economy. We encourage and we distribute. We walk through the creator’s launch,” Borget said.

The Sandbox’s builder challenge is under way and has five weeks more to go in its 10-week season. And the company is increasing the prize pool. The Sandbox has done game jams in Southeast Asia, Saudi Arabia, and more. It is also going to have game jams dedicated to specific brands or personalities who own land in The Sandbox in the coming months.

The game jam winners get featured on the official land of the brand, allowing the brands to recognize the value of user-generated content. The Sandbox has 300 people now.

The Sandbox makes money through the sale of its virtual land. It also makes money selling avatars. But players can earn back their purchases through various activities.

The company keeps about 10% of the land in reserve. And sometimes the company can buy back some land and say it’s going to redevelop the neighborhood. In that way, The Sandbox acts as a kind of governing body.

The company encourages the participants in the game jams to publish their work and put it on the map.

“We’re very creator driven,” Borget said.