The Sandbox aims to make India its largest market | CoinDesk JAPAN

Metaverse platform The Sandbox aims to make India its largest market within the next two years. The Sandbox is the first subsidiary of Metaverse Games and venture capital giant Animoca Brands to enter India through a joint venture with a local company earlier this year.

“We want to connect different parts of the world to build a diverse and inclusive world without borders. With that vision in mind, a year ago we decided to establish a joint venture in India. The Sandbox co-founder Sebastien Borget told CoinDesk in an interview in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru earlier this month.

The joint venture between venture-backed companies Brinc and The Sandbox was announced in February 2023 and led to the creation of BharatBox, India’s cultural metaverse hub that also encompasses India’s film industry, Bollywood.

“BharatBox is The Sandbox’s India entity,” said Karan Keswani, CEO of BharatBox. “The BharatVerse is the land of India on the map of The Sandbox.”

The company’s expansion into India comes as lawmakers are calling for the Web3 industry to wean itself from crypto assets (virtual currencies). India’s crypto industry has been in survival mode since the imposition of harsh taxes in 2022. Despite the regulatory cloud, Web3 gaming giant’s expansion into India reflects its interest in the country’s gaming and developer prospects.

“We are ready to work with regulators and discuss this area,” Borje said.

In the past six months, BharatBox has signed 25 partners, including three legacy media and entertainment companies in Indian cinema: Eros Entertainment, Hungama and Shemaroo. But it is the partnership with CoinDCX, India’s leading crypto exchange, that Keswani hopes will make India the Sandbox’s biggest market.

“CoinDCX’s strategic ecosystem partnership with Web3 Wallet Okto enables exposure to their 16 million users,” Keswani said. “The Sandbox has 5 million wallets worldwide. With our partnership with CoinDCX and Okto, we are confident that we can reach 3 to 4 million gamers through the Okto community within 24 months. Our vision is to capture these users and India will become the largest market in The Sandbox.”

Neeraj Khandelwal, co-founder of CoinDCX and Okto, told CoinDesk: “Okto is working with one of the best players in the metaverse and gaming ecosystem to help them build a strong foothold in India. I’m happy to be able to help build this.”

Most of the partnerships are contractual and LAND partnership agreements, where LAND NFTs acquired in the open metaverse can be used to build gamified experiences in an India-specific sandbox. Recently, he has expanded the Indian epic “Mahabharata” into the Metaverse.

BharatBox is also working on bringing Animocha Brands’ extensive portfolio to India and offering other Web3 solutions such as ticketing and blockchain gaming.

｜Translation: CoinDesk JAPAN
｜Edited by: Toshihiko Inoue
｜Image: Shutterstock
｜Original text: The Sandbox Aims To Make India Its Largest Market