“The next station is – The Sandbox!” Embracing the emerging development of Web3, MTR Corporation announced today (21 April 2022) that it will start its metaverse journey in partnership with The Sandbox, a leading decentralized gaming virtual world and subsidiary of Animoca Brands. As the first global transport operator to join The Sandbox metaverse, the Corporation will build a railway-focused virtual space to create unique, fun and immersive experiences through gamification with the aim of taking customer experiences to a new arena and engaging creators to build this new community platform together.

 

Echoing MTR’s brand-new campaign “Go Smart Go Beyond” of employing advanced technological and innovative initiatives for customized experiences and a high level of service to keep cities moving, the Corporation has seized the opportunity of the megatrend of Web3 and the metaverse and acquired a plot of land at the Sandbox metaverse to further interact with our customers, in particular with the young generation.

 

An immersive virtual station will be built on a plot of land of The Sandbox metaverse. By mimicking and gamifying the physical railway environment, players will be able to enjoy an MTR journey on many levels that stretch the imagination beyond taking a train ride. There will be endless new possibilities including driving a train or even operating a railway station and unlocking exciting adventures in this constantly evolving space. There may also be a railway museum to showcase the moments that MTR intersects with the communities and cultures of Hong Kong. Meanwhile, the Corporation will explore making use of the virtual environment to facilitate STEM education.

 

The strategic move with The Sandbox also demonstrates the commitment of the Corporation in supporting the technology and innovation development in Hong Kong to benefit and create long-term value for the community. The adoption of such an open innovation approach not only enables the Corporation to explore more innovative ideas for its businesses and services but also shows support to local-based tech companies as well as the development of the technology innovation ecosystem by leveraging on its expertise and resources.

 

“We are excited for the strategic partnership with The Sandbox to embark on our new journey in the metaverse and engage customers in a brand-new way,” said Dr Jacob Kam, Chief Executive Officer of MTR Corporation. “To pursue continuous enhancement, we challenge our status quo and keep abreast of new technology trends. This foray into the metaverse allows us to venture into the virtual space to build a fun place to interact with our community while at the same time also seize opportunities that would add to our real-world experience beyond bounds. I look forward to seeing the creative ideas brought by the community especially from our young generation and exploring potential opportunities in the future.”

 

“Public transportation is going to play a major role in shaping the future of both the real world and the Metaverse,” said Mr Sebastien Borget, COO & Co-Founder of The Sandbox. “I recall my first time in Hong Kong, it started with a MTR’s train ride and I’m looking forward to seeing MTR Corporation play this role of onboarding people into the new opportunities offered by the Metaverse and connecting them via digital interactions and creative expression that are built and owned by the community.”

 

"We are thrilled to welcome MTR into the Web3 metaverse. MTR's participation demonstrates the company's renowned culture of excellence, innovation and enterprising spirit,” said Mr Evan Auyang, President of Animoca Brands. “I have had the pleasure of having worked with MTR for nearly 2 decades and I couldn't be more thrilled that the company has made this leap forward in extending its world-class operations into building communities in the virtual space. We look forward to working closely with MTR to build the open metaverse.”

 

As a next step, the Corporation will work with The Sandbox and our strategic partner Collectiv to develop a roadmap and create a virtual station in the metaverse. The experience will be built with strong creative and social elements based on the VoxEdit and GameMaker tools provided to users of The Sandbox, and will be open to the public and allow unlimited creation by players. Stay tuned for this incredible train ride!

 

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ABOUT MTR CORPORATION

Every day, MTR connects people and communities. As a recognised world-class operator of sustainable rail transport services, we are a leader in safety, reliability, customer service and efficiency.

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MTR has extensive end-to-end railway expertise with more than 40 years of railway projects experience from design to planning and construction through to commissioning, maintenance and operations. Going beyond railway delivery and operation, MTR also creates and manages dynamic communities around its network through seamless integration of rail, commercial and property development.

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With more than 40,000 dedicated staff*, MTR carries over 13 million passenger journeys worldwide every weekday in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Australia and the Mainland of China. MTR strives to grow and connect communities for a better future.

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For more information about MTR Corporation, please visit www.mtr.com.hk.

*includes our subsidiaries and associates in Hong Kong and worldwide

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ABOUT THE SANDBOX

The Sandbox, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, is one of the decentralized virtual worlds that has been fueling the recent growth of virtual real estate demand having partnered with major IPs and brands including Warner Music Group, Ubisoft, The Rabbids, Gucci Vault, The Walking Dead, Snoop Dogg, Adidas, Deadmau5, Steve Aoki, Richie Hawtin, The Smurfs, Care Bears, Atari, ZEPETO, CryptoKitties, and more. Building on existing The Sandbox IP that has more than 40 million global installs on mobile, The Sandbox metaverse offers players and creators a decentralized and intuitive platform to create immersive 3D worlds and game experiences and to safely store, trade, and monetize their creations. For more information, please visit www.sandbox.game and follow the regular updates on Twitter, Medium, and Discord.

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ABOUT ANIMOCA BRANDS

Animoca Brands, a Deloitte Tech Fast winner and ranked in the Financial Times list of High Growth Companies Asia-Pacific 2021, is a leader in digital entertainment, blockchain, and gamification that is working to advance digital property rights. It develops and publishes a broad portfolio of products including the REVV token and SAND token; original games including The Sandbox, Crazy Kings, and Crazy Defense Heroes; and products utilizing popular intellectual properties including Disney, WWE, Snoop Dogg, The Walking Dead, Power Rangers, MotoGP™, and Formula E. The company has multiple subsidiaries, including The Sandbox, Blowfish Studios, Quidd, GAMEE, nWay, Pixowl, Bondly, Lympo, Grease Monkey Games, and Eden Games. Animoca Brands has a growing portfolio of more than 170 investments in NFT-related companies and decentralized projects that are contributing to building the open metaverse, including Axie Infinity, OpenSea, Dapper Labs (NBA Top Shot), Yield Guild Games, Harmony, Alien Worlds, Star Atlas, and others. For more information visit www.animocabrands.com or follow on Twitter or Facebook.