[The Sandbox aims to make India the largest market]
Virtual world gaming platform The Sandbox plans to make India its largest market within two years. The Animoca Brands unit expanded into India this year with its first local joint venture.
Sebastien Borget, co-founder of The Sandbox, said in an interview with CoinDesk in Bangalore, India this month that The Sandbox hopes to build a diverse and inclusive world that connects all regions around the world. Its joint venture, launched in February 2023 by The Sandbox and global venture accelerator Brinc, creates a cultural virtual world hub called BharatBox, covering India's renowned Bollywood film industry.
Karan Keswani, CEO of BharatBox, said that BharatBox is the Indian entity of The Sandbox and aims to establish the Indian territory BharatVerse on The Sandbox map.
Although India’s cryptocurrency regulations are unclear, The Sandbox still has ambitions to enter the Indian market. Borget said they are willing to work with regulators to discuss the industry.
In the past six months, BharatBox has signed agreements with 25 Indian partners, including Indian film entertainment companies such as Eros Entertainment, Hungama and Shemaroo. Keswani is particularly optimistic about the partnership with Indian exchange CoinDCX, which he expects will make India the largest market for The Sandbox.
Keswani pointed out that the partnership with CoinDCX and Web3 wallet Okto will reach 16 million users, far exceeding The Sandbox’s 5 million wallet users worldwide. Their goal is to attract 3 to 4 million gamers within 24 months.
Neeraj Khandelwal, co-founder of CoinDCX and Okto, said they are excited to collaborate with players from the top virtual worlds and gaming ecosystems.
BharatBox is also working to bring in Animoca Brands’ broader product portfolio, offering other Web3 solutions like ticketing and blockchain gaming. A recent project was to bring the Indian epic Mahabharata into the virtual world.
