The Sandbox and Chain Games’ new partnership highlights the power of cooperation in the journey towards a true metaverse. The latest pairing joins a growing list of symbiotic crossovers that show how no one can go it alone in the new networked world.
The partnership is simple: Chain Games’ catalog will be available to play via The Sandbox. The collaboration ensures the immediate scratching of both parties’ backs. The Sandbox gets sought-after, high-grade content and Chain Games gets instant access to an established virtual infrastructure with a large captive audience.
The recent press release goes into slightly more detail: ‘Users can experience cross-platform interoperable NFT in-game assets in the Chain Games and The Sandbox ecosystems.’ In simpler terms, users won’t be limited to using their NFTs solely within the platform they were originally designed for. Users will also be able to utilize the CHAIN token within The Sandbox which will mean gamers who have already built up a store of assets will not be starting from scratch in the new environment.
But despite cross-working and cooperation, each platform still ultimately wants to hold users inside its own ecosystem for as long as possible. This is why The Sandbox has partnered with Chain Games, who can offer a few things the metaverse platform can’t do itself:
- AAA Games – This is Chain Games prime selling point. Fun titles such as Super Crypto Kart and Chaino are popular among blockchain enthusiasts. And heavy hitters like Call of Duty, Madden NFL and FIFA will attract the console gamers who are looking for something similar to what they’re used to.
- Dedicated fanbase – The move to The Sandbox was driven partly by a desire to connect with a wider audience. But Chain Games can boast its own loyal following that will surely be willing to play in The Sandbox. Its website suggests it has 20,000+ fans ready and waiting to join the party.
Crossover partnerships: where everyone’s a winner?
No one quite knows what’s in store for the future of blockchain and the metaverse. SAND, The Sandbox’s native token, reached $8.40 in November last year. That was an increase of 23,233% from January. As I’ve been writing this sentence though, I’ve watched the price tick down a few cents to $3.95. A thrilling ride certainly, but hardly the sort of sure bet that big companies and investors look for.
And yet, despite the instability of this brand new world, big names are flocking to join the metaverse now because they see early adoption as the best way of controlling the future marketplace. Adidas has bought LAND and built the AdiVerse in The Sandbox; Nike acquired RTFKT Studios to design its digital fashion brand. Facebook famously changed its name to Meta and Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard in an early move to consolidate its future metaverse offering.
The Sandbox is one of a number of platforms where established names can enjoy a slice of the technology’s cutting edge. Over the past year it’s announced partnerships with Snoop Dogg, Richie Hawtin, Play Magnus Games and The Smurfs. And the relationship cuts both ways: The Sandbox has the technical know-how; the content creators keep the people hooked.
But if the metaverse is morphing into nothing more than the digital storefront for existing corporations, is it truly a means of decentralization or is it just the world we already have, rendered anew in pixels and blockchains?
Build it and they will come, seems to be the motto of The Sandbox. And in this field of virtual dreams, The Sandbox has built a platform which, in theory, was supposed to be created by the community for the community. It will be interesting to see in a few years’ time if the digital Utopia that people tried to create hasn’t become another place for companies to merely pitch their wares.
