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