The Sandbox, a notable player in the metaverse platform world, is making a big move towards India, aiming to turn it into their largest market in the next couple of years. This effort kicked off earlier in the year when they began a joint venture with a local company. This move marks a first for The Sandbox, a subsidiary of the metaverse gaming and venture capital heavyweight, Animoca Brands.
Sebastien Borget, Co-Founder of The Sandbox, shared his excitement about this venture. Speaking from Bengaluru, in the south of India, he expressed their goal to create a world without borders, uniting various regions globally. This vision led them to India a year ago, resulting in the formation of a joint venture.
The partnership between The Sandbox and Brinc, a global venture accelerator, was announced in February 2023. It gave birth to BharatBox, a cultural hub in the metaverse focused on India. BharatBox includes elements of Bollywood, India’s renowned Hindi cinema industry.
Karan Keswani, CEO of BharatBox, explained, “The Indian entity of The Sandbox is BharatBox, and BharatVerse represents the Indian land on The Sandbox map.”
Their focus on India is particularly bold, considering the country’s recent push for the Web3 industry to distance itself from crypto. Following the imposition of heavy taxes on crypto in 2022, India’s crypto sector has faced significant challenges. Despite these regulatory hurdles, The Sandbox’s entry into the Indian market reflects their confidence in India’s gaming and developer potential.
Borget emphasized their readiness to work with regulators to navigate this new space.
In just six months, BharatBox has secured partnerships with 25 Indian entities, including major media and entertainment companies like Eros Entertainment, Hungama, and Shemaroo. A crucial partnership with CoinDCX, a leading Indian exchange, is expected to be a game-changer.
Keswani highlighted the importance of their alliance with CoinDCX and the Web3 wallet Okto, noting the potential to reach CoinDCX’s 16 million users. He expressed confidence in attracting three to four million gamers from the Okto community within 24 months, making India The Sandbox’s top market.
Neeraj Khandelwal, co-founder of CoinDCX and Okto, expressed enthusiasm about collaborating with a leading name in the Metaverse and gaming industry to establish a strong presence in India.
Most of these partnerships involve contracts and land partner agreements, enabling the company to use its Land NFTs in the open metaverse. This includes creating unique experiences tailored to India, like bringing the epic tale of Mahabharat to the Metaverse.
BharatBox is also working to introduce Animoca Brands’ wider portfolio to India, offering other Web3 solutions like ticketing and blockchain gaming.
