For Sébastien Borget, what started as a gaming desire has developed in co-founding the sandbox, now one of the world’s most recognized metaverse platforms with more than 6.3 million user accounts with connected wallets of crypto.
Recently Alpha Season 4 The Currated event attracts more than 580,000 unique players in just six weeks, making up 1.1 million blockchain transactions and 350,000 NFT sales, while its creator’s economy continues to develop, with more than 1,500 user-generated games published on platform.
As a serial businessman with a telecommunication background, the Borget helped the sandbox secure more than 400 major brand partnerships and established native token, sand, as the second largest gaming token by market cap, according to In CoinMarketCap.
This series was brought to you by Consensus Hong Kong. Come and experience the most influential web3 events and digital assets, Feb.18-20. Register now and save 15% in Code CoinDesk15.
Here, Borget, who will be a speaker at Consensus Hong Kong, discusses Asia’s dominance in playing blockchain, sandbox approach to localization of culture and potential impact of AI in the gaming industry.
This interview is reserved and lightly edited for clarity.
What led you to start the sandbox?
I’ve always been a tech geek and an early adopter of gaming hardware. My journey began with a Super Nintendo, and since then, I have shared almost every console on the day of the launch. The urge of that childhood enhances my dream one day creating my own video games.
My co-founder Arthur Madrid, and I started working together in 2007, who founded three companies-two of us successfully exited. In 2011, we moved to Mobile Gaming, launching Sandbox as a 2D world -building game. It gained 40 million downloads and 70 million players’ creations, but we face challenges in maintaining game creators. App and Google Play’s limitations have prevented us from sharing revenue, leading creators to leave over time.
By 2017-2018, I was experimenting with Bitcoin and Blockchain mining technology. When cryptokitties appear, I see NFTs as a game-changing solution-allowing players to truly own and make their creations money. That’s when we decided to rebuild the sandbox on Blockchain, making avatars, virtual lands and NFT properties and launching our own economy driven by the token.
How can you handle challenges such as bear markets and shift user expectations?
We have built every market cycle. When we started in 2018, it was a bear market – fundraising was incapable of being tough. We built more than 100 investors before getting seed funding from the brands of Animoca, True Global Ventures, Square Enix and Hashkey – all based in Asia. It was our first indicator that Asia had a stronger appetite for playing blockchain than the West.
Our Series B Round in 2021 was led by Softbank from Japan, which strengthened that trend. While 2022-24 were Bearish years, we focused on expanding Asia, where we saw continuing interest. For the past two years, we have grown small, agile teams in India, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Turkey and even Saudi Arabia. Today, Asia is worth 40% of our audience, partnerships and income, making it a major pillar of our growth strategy.
How is the sandbox taping in markets like Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia, each with its own unique user base?
Unlike some western companies that put the US first, we built the sandbox as a “metaverse of culture,” focused on localization from the beginning. Instead of launching with a large centralized team, we embed small, regional teams in every country. This method has helped us to produce strategic partnerships in major Asian markets, cooperating with Bollywood studios and Indian music labels, which have gained high -profile projects in Korea such as Solo leveling – one of the leading webtoons – and even cooperating with South Korea’s City of Incheon. In Japan, our cooperation is a major milestone Attack to Titana global recognized franchise.
Localization, for us, is more than translation – it is about incorporating significant cultural brands that truly reflect local audiences. This approach has been instrumental in driving a strong relationship across Asia.
How is the Sandbox using AI to engage with creators and players?
AI is in the early stages of playing play, but we have explored its potential in some major areas. For chat moderation, we use GGWP AI To ensure a safe and well -moderated player experience. In the movement of the movement, our cooperation with Kinetix AI gives us to create realistic avatar animations directly from video captures. We also experiment with the development of AI for the creation of the game, especially in the AI-powered level design based on text signals, even if the entire integration is still underway.
In addition, we consider the AI-driven non-player character (NPC) and virtual agents capable of engaging in intelligent conversations and strategies with PVP battles. Other platforms like Minecraft and Roblox have begun to experiment with AI-Drive-driven agents, and we will soon be able to monitor their progress to determine if similar innovations will be a great that fits for the sandbox.
How do you see financial incentives and monetization models that change inside the sandbox?
The Web3 Monetization is still emerging, but our Liveops game management system has emerged as a proven model, with regular game events, adventures and rewards based on the driving contact mission. During Q4 2024, we launched Season 4, which became our strongest time despite the bear market. Building this momentum, we plan to measure in 2025 by expanding from a major period each year to four -time events.
However, the broader web3 gaming landscape remains unsure. Telegram -based games get traction, even though their monetization models are still unattended. Meanwhile, high-quality web3 titles such as shardbound, shrapnel and metalcore are working to copy traditional AAA gaming models, which signed a move towards more sustainable economic frameworks In space.
By adopting Asia’s driving driving, do you see the sandbox incorporating stablecoins into its ecosystem?
Stablecoins are the key to adopting business and business, but they are still highly centralized. We see emerging regional stablecoins, such as Hong Kong dollar-pegged stablecoin, in conjunction with the USDC and USDT. The broader question is whether the US dollar will remain dominant money reserves in the web3, or whether Asian alternatives such as Chinese Yuan or HKD will rise. It can affect international trade and crypto adjustments.
What is the most not appreciated aspect about the gaming ecosystem in Asian markets?
I think what is very -ndervalued and not appreciated is how many technologies are burning in the culture and the day -to -day habits of people in Korea, Japan, China and other Asian markets. For example, you look at those countries and you see older generations invested in stocks, real estate, digital payments and transportation systems. There is no objection to adopting new technology, unlike western countries ..
Another thing that really doesn’t matter is how storytelling, characterization and branding matter on gaming and web3. Look at Memecoins like Shiba Inu or Dogecoin – they reflect because they are in line with Asian bond techniques where mascots and storytelling are a big deal. That’s why gamification works well here.
And even the web3 play levels are the field of gaming -removing traditional differences -Different expenditure in the gaming region -Adoption still requires local teams, local strength of people and cultural adaptation. You need people on earth because local content and contact are still pushing for growth in these markets.
What are you most excited about talking about stage in Hong Kong?
I am interested in the evolution of AI -powered agents, which moves across the NPC static to fully interactive, AI -driven characters that enhance gaming immersion. Another major development is to increase app chains, with projects such as abstract and pudgy penguins that pioneered new models that change web3 gaming infrastructure.
At the same time, the global crypto scene is undergoing a major shift, especially in the positioning of Hong Kong itself as a leading crypto hub. With a new US president administration, the question remains: how will the transfer of policies to the wider web3 ecosystem affect? As competing in Hong Kong, Dubai, Singapore and even France to become the leading crypto hub worldwide, it would be nice to see which scope leads to shaping the future of digital ownership.
