As the downfall of FTX continues to push the crypto markets deeper into red territory, DappRadar says that one sector of the industry remains largely unaffected by the turmoil. In a new report, the data acquisition and analysis firm says that the blockchain gaming sector continues to be a driving force for the decentralized application […]
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The AI-generated avatar creation cross-platform for the metaverse, Ready Player Me, has raised $56 million in a Series B funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). The startup’s co-founder and CEO Timmu Tõke says the funding will be used to scale the cross-platform metaverse avatar system. Investors Inject Ready Player Me With Fresh Capital, CEO […]
An Ethereum-based altcoin project that first launched in January of 2018 has suddenly roared back to life. The core asset of the decentralized cloud computing blockchain network aelf (ELF) shot from $0.35 to $0.65 in the span of about 40 minutes on Monday – a massive 85% increase. The sudden price jump follows the platform’s […]
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SAND prices have surged to a new all-time high as The Sandbox announces its highly anticipated play-to-earn metaverse event.
Animoca Brands' virtual property and gaming firm The Sandbox is opening up part of its Metaverse to players for the first time via a multi-week play-to-earn (P2E) Alpha event.
But only a handful of lucky players will get to enjoy the full experience.
Sandbox’s virtual gaming world enables users to monetize their time spent in the Metaverse via a play-to-earn model. Players can purchase land and create NFTs within the game, and earn the Sandbox token (SAND) by completing various quests. They can also stake the token.
According to a Nov. 17 announcement from the firm, the event will start on Nov. 29 at 1 pm UTC and will run until December 20. A select group of just 5000 users will have the chance to earn up to 1,000 SAND (worth around $3,500 at current prices) and three exclusive NFTs via time spent across 18 experiences developed by The Sandbox teams.
Get ready for The Sandbox Alpha!
— The Sandbox (@TheSandboxGame) November 16, 2021
Launching November 29th
Anyone can experience the Alpha hub and three experiences
5,000 Alpha passes giving access to content, NFT, and 1,000 SAND!
Get all details below https://t.co/63iAl5MMmS pic.twitter.com/OiXmbAWYN2
The three exclusive NFTs will only be available during the event. They will depict a medieval-style gate, a blue and black dragon, and a longsword that are all usable in the Sandbox Metaverse.
The Alpha Pass is an NFT ticket that grants full access to the event to 5000 individuals. One thousand are up for grabs in raffle for Sandbox Landowners, and 2,250 more will be given out to Sandbox account holders via daily social contests over a three week period. These golden tickets will also be on sale on OpenSea’s secondary market between Nov. 29 and Dec. 19.
Players without the pass will be able to access three experiences and the Alpha Hub, a multiplayer gaming mode that features a range of locations and quests, but they will not be eligible for P2E rewards.
According to data from OpenSea, the floor price for Sandbox NFTs sits at around 1.019 Ether (ETH) worth $4,284 at the time of writing. Total trade volume stands at 39,700 ETH ($165.3 million) since late 2019.
For new users who are champing at the bit to enter the virtual game, Animoca Brands co-founder and chairman Yat Siu told Cointelegraph that people should take the time to carefully experience the Sandbox before snapping up tokenized land:
“I would recommend for people who want to experience it, you know, just go to the places, experience them, join the community on Discord, have a chat with them. See what it's all about before you make the plunge to buy land because you know, it's like buying real estate anywhere in the world.”
“I mean, you're not going to just fly over to New York and say, I'll take that,” he added.
Related: Axie Infinity, Decentraland and ‘metaverse’ cryptos rally after Facebook rebrands to Meta
At the start of this month, The Sandbox closed a $93 million Series B funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. The firm stated that the project has been in development for four years and will launch its Metaverse in "phased stages" moving forward. The funding will reportedly go towards scaling The Sandbox via developing new games and live experiences, and seeking out additional partnerships with popular brands and intellectual properties.
According to data from Coingecko, the price of SAND hit a new all time high of $3.42 earlier today. SAND has been on a meteoric surge in 2021, gaining 8663.5% over the past 12 months.
“The metaverse enables us to embed computing into the real world, and to embed the real world into computing. Bringing real presence to any digital space,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
U.S. tech giant Microsoft is taking the plunge into the Metaverse via updates to its Teams and Xbox gaming console services, along with a new product called “Dynamics 365 Connected Spaces.”
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced the firm’s Metaverse plans for Teams and Spaces on Nov. 2 during the Microsoft Ignite conference.
“The Metaverse enables us to embed computing into the real world and to embed the real world into computing. Bringing real presence to any digital space. What’s most important is that we are able to bring our humanity with us, and choose how we want to experience this world,” Nadella said.
The metaverse is here, and it’s not only transforming how we see the world but how we participate in it – from the factory floor to the meeting room. Take a look. pic.twitter.com/h5tsdYMXRD
— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) November 2, 2021
The update for Microsoft Teams is dubbed “Mesh” and its initial rollout in 2022 will provide users with personalized digital avatars and immersive spaces to meet in the Metaverse “that can be accessed from any device, with no special equipment needed.”
Later down the road of Mesh’s development, organizations will also be able to build custom spaces to support contexts such as meetings or “social mixers.”
Microsoft's new Dynamics 365 Connected Spaces product is set for its first preview in December 2021, and it will enable organizations to combine Metaverse and artificial intelligence (AI) tech with their businesses. The firm said that Spaces can be used to harness observational data from cameras from the “the retail store to the factory floor,” in what it is calling a “hybrid work environment.”
“With the power of your existing cameras, harness computer vision and observational data to help complete the picture—giving a new perspective into people, places, and things, wrote Vishal Sood, the General Manager of Connected Spaces in a Nov. 2 blog post.
“Following deployment, simply turn on AI-powered models, known as skills, to help understand specific scenarios such as customer behavior at a promotional display, traffic patterns, and insights unique to your space.”
Related: The Sandbox raises $93M to expand its NFT metaverse
During an interview with Bloomberg TV on Nov. 3, Nadella also stated that Microsoft’s video game firm Xbox will “absolutely” work on integrating the Metaverse into its gaming lines. The CEO kept his cards close to his chest however, as he didn’t provide any concrete updates for the gaming sector.
“You can absolutely expect us to do things in gaming,” Nadella said, and added that:
“If you take Halo as a game, it is a Metaverse. Minecraft is a Metaverse, and so is Flight Sim. In some sense, they’re 2D today and the question is can you now take that to a fully 3D world, and we absolutely plan to do so.”
Microsoft is not the only mainstream giant to come out with Metaverse plans this week, with Cointelegraph reporting earlier today that Nike had submitted applications for trademarks of its iconic logo and slogan for use in “online virtual worlds.” The firm has also posted two recent job listings for virtual material designers.
Nike said the new recruits would “play a key role in redefining our digital world, ushering us into the Metaverse.”
Social media giant Facebook is famously taking the plunge into the Metaverse, with the rebrand to Meta and the firm working to provide a platform for creators to build virtual online businesses, connect online experiences with the physical world and launch its virtual reality hardware business named “Reality Labs.”
During an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box on Oct. 29, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian commented on Facebook’s plans labeling it a “masterstroke in diversion and distraction,” from the problems that have plagued the firm.
While Ohanian noted that Meta should not be “underestimated,” he emphasized that there is enough organic movement from the crypto sector to create an open Metaverse as opposed to one controlled by the social media giant:
“Right now there is this bottom-up movement to create the etaverse. We have seen what is happening in the crypto community… we are seeing a lot of people building what I think is, and hope will become a much more organic type of world rather than a top-down Facebook-imposed one.”
