The Sandbox, a Hong Kong-based gaming platform and subsidiary of Animoca Brands announced that it has added multiple Hong Kong partners from the film, music, entertainment, acting, professional services, finance, real estate, and gaming sectors to create Mega City, a new cultural hub.
Partners who acquired LAND to build Mega City in The Sandbox’s metaverse include Hong Kong tycoon Adrian Cheng, alternative investing leader Sun Hung Kai & Co, professional services firm PwC Hong Kong, blockchain-related investment and asset management company TIMES CAPITAL, director/producer/actor Stephen Fung, international star Shu Qi, renowned musician Dough-Boy, game IP Little Fighter, and local illustrator Dreamergo, The Sandbox said in a statement.
According to the statement, the new entrants have joined The Sandbox’s virtual real estate by acquiring LAND non fungible tokens (NFTs) in the open metaverse and have committed to building experiences in Mega City.
To celebrate the new partners, The Sandbox will launch a new LAND sale on January 13, 2022 that will allow players to purchase choice spots near the LANDs of the partners announced on Wednesday.
The Sandbox who claimed itself as a metaverse pioneer, is building a vast online metaverse where users create and monetize their own distinct worlds and game experiences. It said that Mega City will be a cultural hub based on or inspired by multiple Hong Kong talents.
The Sandbox also said it continues the expansion of Hong Kong culture into the metaverse with the new Mega City cultural hub, featuring the city’s actors, movies, music, entertainment, art, professional services, finance, real estate, and gaming major figures.
This mosaic of diverse talents and success stories represents Hong Kong’s enduring vitality, technological advancement, and vibrant culture, it said.
It said the soul of Mega City is the talent of Hong Kong, and more than a strict metaverse reflection of Hong Kong, Mega City is its expansion into the future, a place of dreams and fun.
It also said all LAND in Mega City will share this city-of-the-future connection that will be uniquely Hong Kong in its visual approach while reflecting the vision of individual LAND owners.
The involvement of the partners announced on Wednesday follows The Sandbox’s Alpha launch in Q4 2021, which gives anyone the opportunity to participate in play-to-earn gameplay to earn SAND, The Sandbox’s utility token.
Players can now experience the metaverse as they play or take a creative role, building assets and worlds that can be traded as NFTs with other players, creators, and artists on the platform.
According to the statement, The Sandbox has secured over 165 partnerships, including Adidas, Snoop Dogg, The Walking Dead, South China Morning Post, The Smurfs, Care Bears, Atari, CryptoKitties, Shaun the Sheep, Mcdull, and Hanjin Tan, to build a fun, creative play-to-earn platform that offers virtual worlds and game experiences owned and created by players.
The play-to-earn model gives players true ownership of anything they collect in the game, allowing them to trade it to other players (including outside the game on other websites), transfer it to other players, or even resell it.
Meanwhile, On January 13, 2022, The Sandbox will hold a Mega City LAND sale that will allow users to purchase LAND located near to the Mega City projects announced today.
The partner’s estates can be seen on The Sandbox virtual world map. Premium LAND located near the partners will be offered, and each will include exclusive premium NFTs and have the possibility to host events, gaming experiences, or social hubs.
The Sandbox has already sold 70 percent of its 166,464 LAND NFTs, releasing them in successive waves that usually sell out in seconds. Existing LAND owners include Binance, CoinCheck, Metakovan, Pranksy, Socios, and CoinMarketCap, among others.
The Sandbox, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, is one of the decentralized virtual worlds that has been fueling the recent growth of virtual real-estate demand having partnered with major IPs and brands including Adidas, Snoop Dogg, The Walking Dead, Deadmau5, Atari, Rollercoaster Tycoon, Care Bears, The Smurfs, and more.
Building on existing The Sandbox IP that has more than 40 million global installs on mobile, The Sandbox metaverse offers players and creators a decentralized and intuitive platform to create immersive 3D worlds and game experiences and to safely store, trade, and monetize their creations.