On Wednesday, the Sandbox metaverse announced a star-studded list of partners for its ambitious, upcoming Mega City, a Hong Kong-influenced cultural hub within the metaverse.
Fast facts
- The Sandbox, the decentralized gaming metaverse from Hong Kong’s Animoca Brands, announced plans to build with a star-studded group of partners a virtual cultural hub called Mega City. The partners, representing Hong Kong sectors such as film, music, gaming, finance and real estate, have purchased the Sandbox’s virtual real estate in NFTs called LAND, where Mega City will be located.
- Mega City aims to reflect Hong Kong culture. “This mosaic of diverse talents and success stories represents Hong Kong’s enduring vitality, technological advancement and vibrant culture,” stated the Sandbox in its press release.
- “You will be able to experience a new kind of immersive experience and that comes along with bringing a lot of people who add to that cultural aspect,” said Sebastien Borget, co-founder and COO of the Sandbox, at a Q&A briefing held the day of the announcement. “We feel like Hong Kong has the correct concentration of that talent [and] that’s why we are with a diverse selection of people.”
- The list of the Sandbox’s latest partners includes film director and producer Stephen Fung and international actress Shu Qi, PwC Hong Kong, Times Capital, artist and music producer Dough-Boy, illustrator Dreamergo, and CEO of New World Development Adrian Cheng.
- Cheng, who announced his investment in the Sandbox last year, previously said that “providing platforms for the next generation to be empowered to create, innovate and feel part of something that’s paving the way for the future is critical to progress.”
- To celebrate the new partners, the Sandbox will launch a new LAND sale on Jan. 13 — players will be given opportunities to buy virtual land near the Mega City LANDs.
- In November last year, the Sandbox metaverse platform raised US$93 million in a Series B round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Borget told Forkast.News after the announcement that the Sandbox will focus the new funds on engineering talent to scale the platform and to draw in more IP, brands and celebrities in its global expansion.