The Sandbox, the blockchain game network that was a key driver of the surge in digital real estate the year before, will begin a new season next week as the value of virtual lands continues to decline due to the ongoing bear market in cryptocurrencies. Hong Kong unicorn Animoca Brands is sponsoring the game, which describes itself as an engaging metaverse platform where users may own and sell their in-game assets, such as digital land sold as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Sandbox only needs to be played during certain “seasons” – generally lasting approximately a month. The most recent season, which began on August 24 and lasted for ten weeks, is the longest till now. Players may earn NFTs by participating in 98 different “experiences” on the platform that include a variety of minigames. New Offerings From The Sandbox The new services by The Sandbox coincide with the growing interest in metaverse real estate, as cryptocurrencies’ price declines have negatively affected the value of digital assets. According to market watcher WeMeta’s statistics, the average price for a piece of land in The Sandbox has been approximately US$5,000, much less than the US$20,000 it fetched from November 2021 to January 2022. Decentraland, another well-liked blockchain game site, observed a similar pattern. Virtual land sales decreased to just $5,000 this month from over $30,000 in late November. A reduction in the value of Ether has contributed to t...