The Sandbox secures $20 million in funding to support creators in the open metaverse | Pocket Gamer.biz

Animoca Brands and its subsidiary The Sandbox have secured $20 million in convertible promissory notes with a valuation cap of $1 billion. 

The primary investors in this strategic funding round were Kingsway Capital and Animoca Brands, along with contributions from LG Tech Ventures and True Global Ventures. Noteholders have the option to convert their notes into shares of Bacasable Global Limited at the same terms as existing preference shares.

This new funding will help propel The Sandbox’s vision of a decentralized virtual world where gaming and culture intersect to benefit the community by providing more earning opportunities for creators and enhancing multiplayer gameplay options. The plans include updating the Game Maker and VoxEdit 3D editor tools, introducing new social interactions and abilities for avatars, and expanding gameplay possibilities through a new multiplayer rules system set to launch in Beta later this year and to the public by 2025. Additionally, The Sandbox is working on a mobile version of its decentralized metaverse expected to launch in 2025. 

Since its alpha launch in November last year, The Sandbox has grown to feature 1,000 user-generated experiences and has connected over 5.7 million user accounts with crypto wallets. The development of a mobile version of the metaverse is also underway, scheduled to launch in 2025. 

CEO and co-founder of The Sandbox, Arthur Madrid, said, “The open metaverse empowers anyone to express themselves while discovering and engaging with the culture of millions of other users. Our mission at The Sandbox is to develop creative tools and technologies that bring fairness and new opportunities for all types of creators in the open metaverse in all aspects of culture, particularly games, music, fashion, art, sports, and entertainment.”

Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, commented, “McKinsey estimated that by 2030 the metaverse could add $5 trillion to the global economy; today, games like Minecraft and Roblox are some of the most popular titles in the world, but they do not provide their users with digital property rights. 

With over 400 partnerships including Lionsgate, Ubisoft, and Gucci, The Sandbox aims to launch more than 100 experiences featuring global brands throughout 2024 as it “represents the evolution of UGC games for the age of digital ownership.”

Leading the funding round were Kingsway Capital and Animoca Brands, with support from LG Tech Ventures and True Global Ventures.