Square Enix Leads $2M Investment Round for ‘The Sandbox’ Game on Ethereum

After recently announcing a third presale of their coveted game’s virtual spaces, The Sandbox (TSB) revealed they have a number of big-name backers.

According to a March 20 press release by Animoca Brands, parent company of TSB Gaming, the third quarter of 2019 had been a particularly successful one for the game.

Between July 9 and Sept. 19, TSG raised $2.01 million consisting of 83% cash and 17% in digital assets, namely SAND tokens and simple agreement for future equity notes. Investors included Square Enix, B Cryptos, Mindfulness Capital, and True Global Ventures.

Sebastien Borget, COO of Pixowl and of TSB Gaming, gave his thoughts on the recent investment:

“The Sandbox is a pioneer in the space of blockchain gaming, NFTs, and true digital ownership, and we are thrilled to have Square Enix with us as a strategic investor, supporting our ambitious vision of building the Metaverse where Creators can make games on their LANDs and trade ASSETS on our marketplace in a totally decentralized manner.”

Borget told Cointelegraph that the involvement of a major game developer like Square Enix is big news for the platform.

Indeed, Square Enix itself has acknowledged the potential of blockchain in gaming. In a new year’s letter, the firm’s president Yosuke Matsuda said the technology will be a key growth factor for Square Enix in the future:

“Meanwhile, games using blockchain are no longer in their infancy and are gradually coming to represent a more significant presence. Rather than treating blockchain gaming as an opportunity for speculative investment, we believe establishing whether it is capable of bringing something new to our customers’ gaming experiences will be the key to growth.”

Square Enix developed major hits in the gaming industry such as the latest addition in the Tomb Raider series and the long-awaited remake of Final Fantasy VII that is slated for release in April.

Tokens can be utilized for TSB gameplay

TSB is a virtual world built on the Ethereum blockchain to allow players to build, own and monetize their own voxel gaming experiences. 

As the namesake suggests, SAND tokens can be utilized in the game. Players and creators can purchase them, earn them through gameplay, and exchange them with Ether (ETH).

Successful presales of game’s virtual spaces

The mobile creation game has had more than 40 million downloads and brought in over 1,300 ETH during the first and second presale of the game’s virtual spaces, called LAND. The third presale, starting on March 31, is expected to do similarly well before the game launches in the second half of 2020.