At least one metaverse executive hasn’t tired of insisting that the digital realm remain open to all.
Sandbox COO and co-founder Sebastien Borget highlighted how other metaverse companies like Roblox and Fortnite don’t allow users to freely move their digital assets between platforms.
“That’s why we still have to say ‘open metaverse’ as opposed to the closed-walled garden platform,” he said Decrypt at this year’s NFT in Paris.
The Sandbox, first launched in 2012, allows users to purchase digital real estate as NFTs called LANDs, which can then be customized and monetized in-game.
Ownership of game assets is also critical. Unlike Web2 games, users should be able to move their creations or purchases from one realm to another and retain their digital ownership throughout.
“It is essential that users have true digital ownership of that content,” he said Decrypt. “They are the true owners of their avatar, but also of their wearables, their gear, their land, their home, and the content they create and earn as they engage.”
The COO said Decrypt that creators should get up to “95% or 100% of the revenue they bring in and generate while contributing to development”.
The Sandbox metaverse concert
The Sandbox will also host its first concert later this year. Borget gasped, only revealing that the project has been “in the works” for quite some time.
The Ethereum-based metaverse platform has already formed several major partnerships in the music industry.
Major Warner Music Group, the record label home to the likes of 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 concert venue and amusements in the metaverse park.
The move would once again put Sandbox in competition with rivals like Roblox and Decentraland.
Roblox recently partnered with the NFL to host a virtual Super Bowl concert, featuring a vocal performance and motion-captured movements by hip-hop artist Saweetie.
Decentraland launched the Metaverse festival as early as July 2021, during the height of pandemic social distancing regulations.
The festival, hosted at KnownOrigin’s virtual venue within Decentraland, featured performances by electronic music artists such as Ookay, SNBRN, Fred Thurst (aka Dr. Fresch), Autograf and Win and Woo.