Animoca Brands adds Snoop Dogg to The Sandbox gaming metaverse

One of the world’s most famous entertainers, Calvin Broadus, better known as “Snoop Dogg”, is set to grace one of the world’s fastest-growing decentralised virtual gaming worlds – The Sandbox – after partnering with Hong-Kong based gaming company Animoca Brands.

The rapper, actor, songwriter and entrepreneur will be featured in a growing metaverse by having his likeness recreated and digitally commoditised via digital content and ongoing promotions.

According to Animoca Brands, Snoop Dogg will own “virtual land” in the metaverse including access to a stylised digital mansion, as well as launching his non-fungible token (NFT) collection including player avatars and a limited ‘Snoop Dogg Private Party Pass’ that gives users VIP access to concerts, events, Q&A sessions and dedicated “NFT drops”.

The metaverse developers have declared users will have an opportunity to buy property adjacent to Snoop Dogg’s mansion and have put out a rallying call to existing fans by saying, “Snoop Dogg is building his mansion inside The Sandbox and you are invited to the party”.

Furthermore, the US rapper is expected to present his personalised 3D avatar collection in The Sandbox metaverse, allowing players to create games using virtual “Doggfather” items such as Snoop Dogg’s personal car collection, dogs, statues and memorabilia.

The US rapper and entrepreneur is an award-winning entertainer, credited with creating 19 studio albums and selling more than 40 million worldwide. Snoop Dogg has also made headlines investing in telemedicine and launching his own eSports tournament series – the Gangsta Gaming League – in 2019.

The partnership agreement means Snoop Dogg joins over 165 existing partnerships between Animoca Brands and other household brands from the gaming and entertainment niches including Atari, The Walking Dead, deadmau5, Richie Hawtin, The Smurfs, Care Bears, ZEPETO and CryptoKitties. Every franchise has agreed to follow The Sandbox team’s vision of empowering players to create their own experiences using both original and well-known characters and worlds.

Alpha launch

According to The Sandbox co-founders Arthur Madrid and Sebastien Borget, the gaming metaverse is scheduled to launch its first public Alpha later this year, with the ultimate goal of enabling participants to experience a blockchain-based social hub that facilitates people to build collections of fantasy and role-playing adventures, that can be traded with other players, creators, and artists on the platform.

“We are building the future of entertainment where everyone will enjoy creating and sharing their very own virtual experiences,” The Sandbox chief executive officer and co-founder Mr Madrid said.

“The Sandbox is bringing iconic culture with Snoop Dogg and enhancing it through innovation with NFTs and virtual experiences. Snoop’s LAND is decentralised and 100% owned by him to develop through his creative genius.

“I can’t wait to join his first private party in The Sandbox,” he added.

In July this year, Animoca Brands raised more than $113 million to deliver digital property rights to video gamers by leveraging blockchain NFTs and enabling benefits such as play-to-earn capabilities and digital asset inter-operability.

“We are entering into a new age of creative potential that was never possible bound by the laws of the physical world and are excited to help Snoop continue to provide innovative entertainment for his millions of fans all across the globe,” Cultivate Studios founder (and representative of The Sandbox and Snoop Dogg collaboration) Alex Livian said.

Animoca Brands has also announced The Sandbox will hold a LAND sale on 30 September 2021 to enable fans to buy LANDS adjacent to Snoop Dogg’s in-game property, thus becoming the Doggfather’s virtual neighbours in the metaverse.

“I’m always on the lookout for new ways of connecting with fans and what we’ve created in The Sandbox is the future of virtual hangouts, NFT drops and exclusive concerts,” Snoop Dogg said.

“We’ll have a fresh set of Dogg style NFTs that players can integrate into the game experiences to take this online experience to the next level.”