For Sébastien Borget, the journey began with a love for gaming, leading to the co-founding of The Sandbox—one of the leading metaverse platforms with over 6.3 million user accounts linked to crypto wallets.
Their recent Alpha Season 4 event drew more than 580,000 unique players in six weeks, resulting in 1.1 million blockchain transactions and 350,000 NFT sales. The creator economy is thriving, boasting over 1,500 user-generated games.
As an entrepreneur with a background in telecommunications, Borget has secured over 400 partnerships with major brands and has established the SAND token as the second-largest by market cap in the gaming sector, per CoinMarketCap.
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Here, Borget discusses Asia’s leadership in blockchain gaming, The Sandbox’s commitment to cultural localization, and the potential effects of AI on the gaming landscape.
What inspired you to launch The Sandbox?
“I’ve always been a tech enthusiast and an early adopter of gaming hardware. My adventure began with a Super Nintendo, and since then, I’ve owned nearly every console on launch day. That childhood enthusiasm propelled my ambition to create my own video games.”
This ambition led Borget and co-founder Arthur Madrid to start their journey together in 2007, establishing three companies, two of which they successfully exited. In 2011, they pivoted to mobile gaming and released The Sandbox as a 2D world-building game, achieving 40 million downloads.
Challenges emerged, especially with App Store restrictions that hindered revenue sharing with creators. However, the rise of blockchain technology and NFTs in 2017-2018 allowed them to rebuild The Sandbox as a blockchain-based platform, integrating NFTs for avatars, virtual land, and assets.
How did you navigate challenges like market downturns and evolving user expectations?
“We’ve developed through every market cycle. Starting in 2018 during a bear market made fundraising particularly challenging. We presented to over 100 investors before acquiring seed funding, primarily from Asian firms. This highlighted Asia’s robust interest in blockchain gaming.”
The trend continued with a Series B funding round led by SoftBank. In turbulent years from 2022-2024, their focus shifted to expanding in Asia, a decision that proved beneficial as this region accounts for 40% of their audience and revenue.
How is The Sandbox adapting to the unique cultures of Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia?
“Rather than focusing solely on the U.S. market, we built The Sandbox as a ‘metaverse of culture,’ emphasizing localization by embedding small teams dedicated to regional markets. This strategy has fostered strategic partnerships across Asia, including projects with Bollywood studios in India and prominent webtoon collaborations in Korea.”
Localization goes beyond translation; it involves incorporating culturally pertinent brands to connect meaningfully with local audiences, driving engagement in these markets.
What role does AI play in engaging your user base?
AI remains in its early stages in gaming, yet they are leveraging it for chat moderation, motion capture animations, and exploring generative AI for game creation. They are also evaluating AI-driven NPCs to enhance user interaction.
Monetization models within the gaming ecosystem are evolving. What trends do you see?
As Web3 monetization matures, their game management system has fostered engagement through events and mission-based rewards. They plan to ramp up seasonal events from one to four per year in response to robust user interest.
How do you view the potential of stablecoins in The Sandbox’s ecosystem?
Stablecoins present opportunities for enterprise integration, with emerging regional options alongside established currencies, prompting inquiries into the future dominance of the U.S. dollar in Web3.
What valuable insights can you share about the gaming culture within Asian markets?
Borget remarks on how technology permeates daily life in Asian countries and how storytelling, branding, and gamification resonate with local players, emphasizing the need for local teams to drive growth in these diverse markets.
What key topics are you excited to explore at the upcoming event in Hong Kong?
He aims to delve into the enhancements AI can bring to interactive gaming experiences and the evolving landscape of Web3 gaming infrastructure amid shifts in global crypto dynamics.
