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What is The Sandbox:
In recent times, the gaming industry has been utilizing its resources in the virtual world, popularly known as Metaverse. The concept has gained immense popularity, especially after Facebook rebranded itself as Meta. But the Metaverse just isn’t limited to gaming; it’s much more than that. One of the significant Metaverse projects is the Sandbox. It is a play-to-earn game based on the Ethereum blockchain utilizing Decentralised Finance(DeFi) and Non-Fungible Tokens(NFTs) in a three-dimensional Metaverse. The Sandbox game allows its users to build and create games and digital assets and customization through tools like Game Maker and VoxEdit.
Users and Players in the Sandbox game can create their Avatars to access the various environments, hubs and games in the Metaverse. The in-game creations can be monetized via NFTs and sold through the Sandbox Marketplace for the tokens called SAND.
The backstory of the Sandbox game:
One of the early virtual worlds is the Sandbox, a blockchain-based decentralized Metaverse.
It was a game developed by video game publisher Pixowl in 2012 and was later acquired by Animoca Brands in 2018, after which it was integrated with blockchain technology. And the players were allowed to monetize their in-game creations, and it merged into a virtual world where people could play games, socialize and even attend concerts.
Components of the Sandbox:
VoxEdit: VoxEdit is the 3D voxel modelling and Non-Fungible Token creation package available for PC and Mac users. The tool allows the creation and animation of three-dimensional objects like animals, humans, vehicles, items, tools, etc. These creations look similar to building blocks as they are 3D square pixels. Once these are fully developed, they can be exported from VoxEdit to the Sandbox marketplace to become the Sandbox NFT game assets.
Game Maker: As the name itself suggests, the Sandbox game maker allows the development of fascinating 3D games without any cost. No complex coding is required due to the accessible visual scripting tools.
Sandbox Marketplace: The Sandbox marketplace lets users sell, upload and publish the Sandbox NFT creations. After a process of ownership verification, these creations become assets that the creators can sell via an initial sell offer on the marketplace. The Sandbox NFT are also quite popular among other NFTs operating on the Ethereum blockchain.
What is SAND:
SAND is the native token of the Sandbox, which is used in the Sandbox ecosystem for the varied interactions and transactions in the Sandbox game. The Sandbox coin can also be bought on crypto exchanges and earned by playing or participating in contests in the Sandbox.
SAND is an ERC-20 utility token built on the Ethereum blockchain, which can be used for playing games purchasing virtual lands and assets on the marketplace. The token holders have the right to vote on changes related to the Sandbox ecosystem via a Decentralised Autonomous Organisation or DAO. Holders can also stake the Sandbox coin in the game and earn rewards in return.
The total supply of the SAND tokens is 3 billion, out of which around 1B are already in circulation. Apart from the SAND token, there are LANDs and ASSETS in the Sandbox ecosystem:
LAND:
LANDs are the digital pieces of real estate in the virtual world. These are the Non-Fungible Tokens(NFTs) operating on the public blockchain Ethereum. The users buy LANDs usually to utilize them for games, assets and different interactive experiences.
ASSETS:
These are the tokens developed by assembling User Generated Content (UGC). ASSETS uses the ERC-1155 standard and could be traded on the marketplace. Their primary use is to facilitate the Sandbox Game Maker as creation elements.
The total number of LANDs on The Sandbox is 166,464, out of which The Sandbox holds 10% to hold special events, 16% is reserved for partners, creators and gamers as rewards, and the rest is for the users.
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The Sandbox’s upcoming events to keep an eye on:
Recently, the Sandbox introduced a staking mechanism with SAND. This feature would allow users to stake SAND without the need to pair the token with anything else.
The official website highlights the closing of the Sandbox game’s Alpha Season 1 and the anticipated Season 2 to be coming soon. The website further highlights the features of the Alpha Season 2:
- More Alpha passes will be available.
- There will be enhanced and new experiences available to the players.
- More Play-to-earn rewards will be there.
- It will be open for everyone to participate and evolve through the process.
- There also might be some surprises in the Metaverse.
Roadmap of the Sandbox:
The Roadmap of the Sandbox says that for Quarter 1, Progressive opening to the Metaverse will be provided to the LAND owners who have developed high-quality experiences.
There will be a Decentralised Autonomous Organisation(DAO) launch for Quarter 2 with a staking and voting mechanism for the holders of SAND, LAND, and AVATARS.
2022 Quarter 3 will witness the launch of virtual concerts, which will be the first for the Sandbox and The Walking Dead game. The launch of a mobile version is expected by Quarter 4
Prominent names associated with the Sandbox:
The Sandbox has a lot of prominent names associated with it, for instance, Snoop Dogg, due to whom the sales gained widespread attention when the famous rapper bought land in the Sandbox. Some LANDs on The Sandbox are owned by Square Enix, Atari, Roller Coaster, Tycoon, Binance, Smurfs, Deadmau5 etc. It has also collaborated with OpenSea, Adidas, CoinMarketCap, Maker, WAX, etc.
The Sandbox Vs Decentraland:
Decentraland emerged earlier than the Sandbox, and it was the first runner in the 3D blockchain game.
Decentraland was the first to develop the working of proof of concept and had a game available to the public. In contrast, the Alpha version of the Sandbox is only currently available for the public.
The Sandbox seems to have better and solid plans for the future in comparison to the Decentraland. Also, Sandbox is better in terms of graphics than Decentraland.
Decentraland is supported by prominent firms, including the CoinFund, Digital Currency Group, FBG Capital, etc. It has also collaborated with Samsung, Polygon, etc. Whereas SoftBank is one of the significant supporters of the Sandbox.
Current Prices and Future Price Predictions for the SAND:
At the time of writing, the SAND token is trading at a value of $4.11, with a market capitalization of $4,366,825,167. The Sandbox coin witnessed its All-Time High in November last year when it hit $8.44.
Wallet Investor predicted the price of the Sandbox coin to hit around $23 by 2025. Whereas DigitalCoinPrice predicted it to reach around $20 in 2025.
Cryptopolitan carried out a price prediction of $50 of the SAND token by 2025.
The Sandbox game and the Sandbox NFT have emerged to be quite significant and popular among the gaming enthusiasts. Although all these predictions show a bullish move of the market. But given other competitors in the market, it is to look forward if they prove to be accurate.