The Sandbox, World of Women Form $25M NFT Alliance for WoW Foundation

Two of the most prominent Ethereum $NFT projects on the market are joining forces. Today, crypto metaverse game The Sandbox announced a partnership with $NFT profile picture project World of Women, which will see the gaming project provide $25 million in grant funds to found the WoW Foundation.

The WoW Foundation is a World of Women initiative to help bring more women into the $NFT space and the burgeoning metaverse via education and mentorship. The Sandbox will provide the funds over five years to support the foundation in achieving its aims, many of which are tied into The Sandbox's game world.

For example, the WoW Foundation will create 3D avatars based on all 10,000 World of Women profile pictures, which their respective holders can use within The Sandbox. Some of these avatars can currently be seen during the game's public, pre-release "alpha" test, which provides a small sampling of the game world to try out.

The foundation will build a WoW Museum in The Sandbox's online world too, as well as launch a WoW University in the game that offers educational Web3 lessons along with $NFT diplomas for students. It will also create a WoW Academy incubator for artists and projects, with potential funding, mentorship, and networking available for selected participants.

"When [The Sandbox] approached us with this initiative, one so close to our own values and ethos, we jumped on the opportunity," a World of Women representative told Decrypt. "We are humbled and excited to work with such a great team who shares our strong beliefs about why it's so important to invest in and lift female voices."

Despite a significant initial focus on The Sandbox, a press release suggests that the WoW Foundation will work in "different sub-sectors within the blockchain world." However, funds must be used on initiatives that "carry the same objective to further invest in women in the space, building long-term and equitable growth and opportunities in the industry."

The Sandbox, World of Women, and the metaverse

World of Women is the most successful women-centric $NFT project to date, with nearly $157 million in secondary trading volume to date. It has attracted notable fans such as actresses Reese Witherspoon and Eva Longoria. In fact, Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine production studio recently announced plans to bring the project to Hollywood via TV shows and film projects.

Meanwhile, The Sandbox has seen increased attention in recent months as metaverse hype has surged, thanks in large part to Facebook's prominent moves in the space.

The Sandbox lets players buy and customize virtual land in the game, allowing them to create interactive environments and game experiences that can be shared and even monetized. The game has inked partnerships with more than 200 brands and celebrities to date, including Snoop Dogg, Adidas, The Walking Dead, and Atari.

The metaverse refers to a more immersive future version of the internet, in which users can work, play, and socialize using 3D avatars. It's expected to take place in overlapping online spaces that are interoperable and work with $NFT assets, such as characters, items, and digital locations.

The Sandbox, which could launch fully later this year after a series of additional alpha test periods, is one of the first notable examples of what a metaverse space could look and feel like. The Ethereum-based Decentraland is a key rival, and both it and The Sandbox have seen surging demand for virtual land plots (sold as NFTs) since late last year.

In January, The Sandbox spent 200 ETH—over $707,000 at the time—to purchase World of Women $NFT #6025 from social media influencer Logan Paul. It was a record sale for the collection at the time, although last week, a World of Women $NFT sold for about $754,000 at a Christie's auction.