What is The Sandbox, and How Can You Earn From Playing?
Fancy trying your hand at crafting your very own 3D assets? Perhaps you’d like to experiment with building 3D games from scratch? Or invest in some digital real estate to house your creations?
Welcome to The Sandbox, the play-to-earn (P2E) virtual world where you can create, play, and experiment with 3D games and experiences — all while potentially turning a tidy profit.
The Sandbox is a virtual world where you are rewarded no matter the role you play. Whether you’re a player, creator, or investor, you reap attractive rewards just by participating.
This article will walk you through what The Sandbox is and how it uses blockchain technology to build a decentralized metaverse experience on a P2E model.
What is The Sandbox?
Image credit: The Sandbox
The Sandbox is a user-generated content (UGC) platform that allows you to create, share, and play 3D games and experiences. It is the third largest metaverse built on Ethereum, and is geared towards artists, game developers, and gamers.
As The Sandbox utilizes blockchain technology, it guarantees a verifiable and transparent way of managing the ownership, authenticity, and scarcity of digital assets and land parcels. This gives you full control over your creations, and you can benefit from the value they generate.
Below is an overview of the suite of tools and services The Sandbox offers:
Game Maker
Image credit: The Sandbox Blog on Medium
Interested in creating your own game but don’t have coding experience? Try your hand at Game Maker, which allows you to build 3D games without prior coding experience.
On Game Maker, all you have to do is drag and drop ASSETS — the basic building blocks of games on The Sandbox — into the scene editor, customize them with visual scripting, add sounds and music, and publish them to the metaverse.
You can also play games made by other creators and discover new genres and styles.
VoxEdit
Image credit: The Sandbox
VoxEdit is a 3D voxel modeling and animation software you can use to create your own ASSETS or edit existing ones. ASSETS are the building blocks of The Sandbox’s universe, and these encompass characters, props, environments, animations, and more.
When you’re done building your ASSETS, you can export them as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which you can then sell and trade on the Marketplace.
Marketplace
Image credit: The Sandbox
The Marketplace is The Sandbox’s decentralized NFT marketplace. Here, you can buy and sell thousands of ASSETS created by artists and game developers across different categories and genres. You can also sell your ASSETS on the Marketplace to earn a profit on your creations.
Apart from trading ASSETS, you can also bid on LAND parcels — The Sandbox’s virtual real estate — that are located in different districts and neighborhoods. Each LAND parcel doubles as an NFT that lets you host games and experiences.
SAND
An overview of SAND’s price performance across time.
Image credit: CoinMarketCap
SAND is the native utility token of The Sandbox. It is used to buy ASSETS and LAND, access premium features, participate in governance, stake for rewards, and play games.
SAND is an ERC-20 token that runs on the Ethereum blockchain and has a fixed supply of 3 billion tokens. You can earn SAND by creating and selling ASSETS and LAND, playing games, completing quests, or participating in events across The Sandbox.
How Can You Earn From Playing The Sandbox?
The Sandbox runs on a P2E model that rewards you for participating in the metaverse. Here’s how you can generate rewards on The Sandbox:
Create ASSETS
After creating or editing ASSETS, you can sell them as NFTs on the Marketplace for SAND or other cryptocurrencies. You can also earn royalties every time your ASSETS are used or sold by other users.
Create Games
Using the Game Maker, you can create your own games or customize existing ones. When you publish your games, you can monetize them by setting fees for access or items, selling advertising space, or configuring subscription models.
Play Games
When you play games made by other creators, you can earn SAND and other rewards by completing objectives, such as finishing quests, finding hidden treasures, winning competitions, or simply joining events. You can also use your SAND holdings to buy items and access premium features across The Sandbox.
Invest in LAND
If you’re not much of a gamer, you can invest in The Sandbox’s version of real estate instead — LAND. You can do so by buying LAND parcels on the Marketplace or participating in auctions.
Once you’ve acquired LAND, you can host games and experiences or rent them to other users for a fee. Like real estate, LAND appreciates in value over time. As more users join the world, demand for LAND will naturally increase, resulting in a price hike price for virtual real estate.
How to Get Started with The Sandbox
Kickstarting your journey with The Sandbox is easy. Whether you want to be a player, a creator, or simply an investor, here are the steps you need to take to get started:
1. Download VoxEdit
If you want to create your own ASSETS or edit existing ones, you will need VoxEdit. Head over to the VoxEdit website to download a copy.
2. Download Game Maker
If you want to create your own games or edit existing ones, you will need Game Maker. You can download it for free from the Game Maker website.
3. Create a Wallet
If you want to trade ASSETS, LAND, or SAND, you will need to create a wallet to store and manage your cryptocurrencies. You can use any wallet that supports Ethereum and ERC-20 tokens, such as MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, or Trust Wallet.
4. Buy SAND
To buy ASSETS, LAND, or access premium features, you will need to hold SAND first. You can easily purchase SAND from cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Binance, Huobi, or Uniswap. You can also buy SAND directly from The Sandbox website.
5. Browse the Marketplace
The Marketplace is where ASSETS and LAND are available for trade. To get started on the Marketplace, simply connect your wallet to begin making transactions.
Why Should You Invest in The Sandbox?
The Sandbox is not only a gaming platform but also a potential investment opportunity if you’re interested in the future of the metaverse and blockchain technology. Here are some reasons why you might want to invest in The Sandbox:
The Sandbox has Growing Demand.
The Sandbox is one of the market's most popular and active metaverse projects, with over 1.3 million installs and 1 million unique users recorded in 2022 alone.
The demand for ASSETS, LAND, and SAND is expected to increase as more users join and create games and experiences.
The Sandbox has Forged Strategic Partnerships.
Image credit: The Walking Dead on The Sandbox
The Sandbox has established strategic partnerships with some leading brands and companies in the gaming, entertainment, and crypto industries. These include Atari, Square Enix, Care Bears, The Walking Dead, Binance, Gemini, and Polygon.
Such partnerships are crucial for The Sandbox to expand its reach, enhance its features, and increase its value proposition.
The Sandbox is Innovative.
The Sandbox leverages blockchain technology to create a decentralized and community-driven platform that gives you the ability to own and control your digital assets and land parcels.
NFT technology is also a massive part of The Sandbox, ensuring the uniqueness, scarcity, and verifiability of ASSETS and LAND in the metaverse.
Additionally, The Sandbox uses Gems & Catalysts, special tokens that enhance ASSETS with different attributes and rarity levels. These attributes balance the values of ASSETS on the Marketplace, ensuring they are fairly and transparently traded.
The Sandbox Uses a Rewarding Model.
The Sandbox utilizes a play-to-earn (P2E) model that rewards you for participating and contributing to the metaverse. You can earn SAND by creating and selling ASSETS and LAND, playing games, completing quests, or participating in events.
With SAND on hand, you can buy ASSETS and LAND, access premium features, participate in governance decisions, stake for rewards, and play games.
Limitations of The Sandbox
The Sandbox is not without its challenges and limitations. Here are some of the potential drawbacks of using or investing in The Sandbox:
Technical Issues
The Sandbox is still in development and has yet to launch its full version. This means the platform may have technical issues or bugs that affect its overall performance and functionality.
For example, some users have reported problems downloading or installing VoxEdit and Game Maker, while others faced issues connecting their wallets to the Marketplace or the app.
Regulatory Uncertainty
The Sandbox operates in a highly dynamic and uncertain regulatory environment that may affect its operations or viability.
Some regions may impose restrictions or bans on cryptocurrencies and NFTs or require compliance with certain laws or regulations. These may affect The Sandbox’s business model and user base.
Market Volatility
Like any other cryptocurrency, The Sandbox’s token SAND is subject to market volatility and fluctuations that may affect its value. The price of SAND may change significantly due to supply and demand factors, market sentiment, or external events.
Similarly, the value of ASSETS or LAND may vary depending on their popularity, scarcity, or quality.
Competition
The Sandbox faces competition from other metaverse projects or platforms that offer similar or superior features and services. For example, Decentraland, CryptoVoxels, Somnium Space, Axie Infinity, and Roblox are some of the competitors that The Sandbox has to contend with regarding user base, content creation, innovation, and monetization.
Leap Into The Sandbox Today
Whether you are a gamer, an artist, a developer, or an investor, The Sandbox gives you a unique opportunity to unleash your creativity and imagination while also earning from playing.
You can get started with Bake’s Fun & Games bundle, which ties The Sandbox’s native token SAND with Axie Infinity’s AXS. Together, these two tokens represent leveraging the power of blockchain to create P2E models for video games.
By investing in this bundle, you’ll establish your support for the vision of blockchain gaming.
Ready to begin your Sandbox journey? Head over to Bake now to create your account and buy your first SAND!
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