Borget starts by telling Tsang that The Sandbox has unlocked infinite possibilities within the digital world as an extension of real-world activities. Apart from games, which already exist in Web2, players can now socialise with other users, dance in clubs, attend concerts and visit galleries. “We want to use technology and the benefit of true ownership of your digital assets to create a new form of digital entertainment, through the avatar that is this representation of ourselves: our new identity,” Borget says.

Currently, The Sandbox has more than 20,000 landowners, including top-tier brands and celebrities: rapper Snoop Dogg for hip hop parties; Adidas for lifestyle; Gucci for fashion; Ubisoft for gaming; Warner Music Group for music; The Walking Dead for entertainment. “It’s a great, diverse and global range,” Borget says. “We want to make it a place where anyone, through their avatar, can find a connection point. Brands bring the culture and [are] the bridge between the real world and [virtual] world. No matter where you are in the world, there [will be] content or communities that appeal to you [and allow you to] use the creative possibilities that The Sandbox offers.”

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In Mega City 2, which is an extension of the existing The Sandbox community, these virtual experiences and features will further be enhanced as The Sandbox gains more partners, including Standard Chartered Bank, the Regal Hotel Group, and video game MadWorld. Hong Kong players may find The Sandbox’s collaboration with Ocean Park of particular interest. Tatler Asia and The Sandbox will also collaborate on a brand new Tatler Tower in the metaverse. “Mega City 2 represents what I believe is the best of what makes up Hong Kong’s lifestyle, culture, luxury, fashion, movie and more,” Borget says.

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In Mega City 2, a 1x1 plot of land is roughly 100m x 100m x 128m. Each is sold at 1,011 sands, which is roughly US$2,500, and users create lots of types of architecture: virtual houses, headquarters, theatres, concert stages and games. Borget says it doesn’t take an architecture degree to build things in The Sandbox, as creating virtual houses with Voxels, which is a 3D grid, is similar to building things with Lego. The Sandbox also works with The Ledger, a crypto wallet company, to ensure the security of digital assets. The team is also gearing up to announce the details of an educational experience in which users will receive and learn about the Ledger wallet in season three.

For this Meta Versed episode, The Sandbox and Borget worked on a special gift for 50 lucky viewers: an in-game asset in the form of a Cosmic Body Suit created by a player named @giddi for avatars in The Sandbox. The suit helps winners’ avatars gain a 7-point boost in power and 22-point boost in speed.

Borget says that the virtual experience isn’t limited to the metaverse. “Interoperability, where an existing NFT has multiple utilities across the decentralised application and the actual world, is essential to show the benefit of the technology,” he says. “If you own physical wearables from one of the brands supported by us, that can include luxury brands like Montclair, you can scan the NFT code on that wearable, and it will detect that you’re the owner of the physical version, and give you the capacity to claim a Sandbox version of it.”

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The possibility to bridge the physical and digital worlds, as demonstrated by The Sandbox’s designs, creative collaborations and experiments, hints at future potential for the platform that would once have been deemed far-fetched.

Tune in to episode five on April 7, which will feature digital artist and metaverse fashion icon Ruby 9100M, who will discuss the evolution of the fashion industry as it enters the Web3 era. Register here.

If you missed the episode, you can now watch it here.

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