The Sandbox expands to Saudi Arabia through a partnership with Sandsoft
The collaboration will boost The Sandbox’s operations in Saudi Arabia and develop a team to grow the creators market and user base in the region
13 October 2023 - The Sandbox, a leading decentralized gaming virtual world and a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, today announced a collaboration with Sandsoft, the mobile-first Riyadh-headquartered game developer, publisher and investor powered by AAA talent. Sandsoft will be a key partner in The Sandbox’s expansion into Saudi Arabia and the Middle East and will also be a driver in attracting local talent in the video game sector and growing education and job opportunities within the region.
The collaboration aims at building a team of Web3 gaming experts to create partnerships with local public and private industry actors, entertainment, IPs & Brands and celebrities to explore opportunities in gamified social experiences in The Sandbox, and to empower local creative talent by educating and onboarding developers and artists into its ecosystem.
“We’re excited to collaborate with Sandsoft in bringing new creators to contribute towards the open Metaverse and develop together a virtual neighborhood on our map. This partnership will allow brands and creators across Saudi Arabia and the Middle East to discover the creative opportunities The Sandbox provides,” said Sebastien Borget, COO and co-founder of The Sandbox. “It will also enrich The Sandbox’s global ecosystem with Saudi Arabia’s rich culture and history.”
“The Sandbox has great potential for game developers, creatives, brands and consumers from the Middle East and North Africa,” said David Fernandez, CEO of Sandsoft. “We’re pleased to announce this collaboration, which will drive opportunities for vibrant and diverse communities in Saudi Arabia and beyond, expanding on Sandsoft’s existing initiatives to nurture talent in the local gaming ecosystem.”
With a diverse global team of more than 60 people, Sandsoft is on a trajectory to become a leading mobile-first gaming powerhouse. Sandsoft’s ‘Press Start’ internship program aims to provide opportunities for talented young people in Saudi Arabia to enhance their game development skills under the supervision of leading games industry figures including VP Studio Yahsir Qureshi (formerly of EA, Zynga) and CTO Ahmed Sharif (previously at Meta, Sony, EA).
Part virtual real estate, part amusement park, The Sandbox fully embraces the idea of the metaverse as a continuous shared digital space where worlds and heroes collide to make magic. Over 400 partners have joined The Sandbox, including Warner Music Group, Ubisoft’s Rabbids, Cut The Rope, Gucci Vault, The Walking Dead, Invincible, Snoop Dogg, Deadmau5, Steve Aoki, SM Entertainment, The Smurfs, Care Bears, and Atari, all following The Sandbox team’s vision of empowering players to create their own experiences using both original and well-known characters and worlds.
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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 brands including Warner Music Group, Ubisoft, The Rabbids, Cut the Rope, Gucci Vault, The Walking Dead, Invincible, Snoop Dogg, Adidas, Deadmau5, Steve Aoki, SM Entertainment, The Smurfs, Care Bears, and Atari. 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.
About Sandsoft
Founded in 2020, Sandsoft is a gaming company based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, focused on publishing, developing & investing in high quality game experiences and studios internationally. Sandsoft is committed to delivering engaging and entertaining experiences to players in the MENA region and globally supported by an experienced team with a proven track record. This seasoned team is composed of passionate game creators who have worked on some of the most successful game franchises ever released including FIFA, Candy Crush, Need for Speed, Angry Birds and World of Tanks and provide a deep-rooted knowledge of the video games market. With offices in Saudi Arabia, Spain, Finland and China, Sandsoft aims to bring continents, cultures, and people closer and help develop the gaming ecosystem across MENA to take it from an emerging market to a global market leader.