Founder of The Sandbox: 'Essential' to Metaverse That Users Own Their Digital Content
Sebastien Borget, founder and COO of the metaverse realm The Sandbox, sat down wit Decrypt's Stephen Graves at NFT Paris to talk about the future of the open metaverse and true digital ownership, what's next for The Sandbox, and its current user numbers and stats.
At least one metaverse executive hasn’t tired of insisting the digital realm remain open to all.
The Sandbox COO and co-founder Sebastien Borget highlighted how other metaverse firms like Roblox and Fortnite do not allow users to move their digital assets between platforms freely.
“That's why we still need to say ‘open metaverse’ in opposition to the closed-walled garden platform,” he told Decrypt at this year’s NFT Paris.
Sandbox COO Views the Ethereum Metaverse Game as a ‘Digital Nation’
Digital land sales are booming lately following rising interest in crypto games and Facebook’s prominent push into the metaverse. But Ethereum-based metaverse games like The Sandbox, Decentraland, and Axie Infinity have been selling virtual plots for years—before metaverse hype picked up steam. If spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on digital land parcels still seems far-fetched today, then imagine the gamble when The Sandbox first offered them up in 2019. Early adopters are now seeing th...
The Sandbox, which first launched in 2012, allows users to purchase digital real estate as NFTs called LAND, which can then be customized and monetized in-game.
Ownership of in-game assets is also key. Unlike Web2 games, users should be able to move their creations or purchases from realm to realm and retain their digital property throughout.
“It is essential that users have true digital ownership of that content,” he told Decrypt. “They are the true owners of their avatar, but also their wearables, their equipment, their land, their house, and the content they create and earn as they engage.”
The COO told Decrypt that creators should get up to “95% or 100% of the revenue they bring and they generate as they contribute to the development.”
The Sandbox metaverse concert
The Sandbox is also set to host its first concert later this year. Borget was tight-lipped, revealing only that the project has been “in the works” for quite some time.
The Ethereum-based metaverse platform has already formed several relevant partnerships in the music industry.
Major label Warner Music Group—the record label hosting artists such as Cardi B, Ed Sheeran, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers—opened a virtual outpost in The Sandbox in January 2022. The space was earmarked for use as a metaverse concert venue and amusement park.
The move would again put Sandbox in competition with rivals such as Roblox and Decentraland.
NFL Reveals First Super Bowl 'Metaverse' Concert in Roblox
While 2022 may have made “metaverse” a dirty word for some, major brands are still lining up to experiment with the immersive, future version of the internet. The NFL is still on that list. The league on Thursday announced plans for the first-ever virtual Super Bowl concert. Featuring the vocal stylings and motion-captured movements of hip-hop artist Saweetie, the concert will launch during Super Bowl weekend on Roblox, the massively popular multiplayer online game. On Friday, February 10, the...
Roblox recently partnered with the NFL to host a virtual Super Bowl concert, featuring a vocal performance and motion-captured movements from hip-hop artist Saweetie.
Decentraland rolled out Metaverse festival as far back as July 2021, during the height of pandemic social distancing regulations.
The festival, hosted at KnownOrigin’s virtual headquarters within Decentraland, featured performances by electronic music artists such as Ookay, SNBRN, Fred Thurst (aka Dr. Fresch), Autograf, and Win and Woo.
