British Museum Expands into Metaverse with The Sandbox

MetaversePlanet August 1, 2023Last Updated: August 14, 2024

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The British Museum, one of England’s most prestigious museums, is set to launch NFT collections in collaboration with its licensing partner, LaCollection, through a partnership with the Ethereum-based, metaverse-focused gaming startup, The Sandbox.

According to the details released, these NFT collections will reflect the extensive range and depth of the British Museum’s collections and offer new immersive three-dimensional experiences. Additionally, the British Museum is planning to create its own 3D space within The Sandbox.

British Museum Expands into Metaverse with The Sandbox

Sebastien Borget, COO and co-founder of The Sandbox, stated that this partnership offers a unique opportunity for The Sandbox’s players. This initiative will allow people worldwide to engage with the historical, artistic, and cultural treasures housed by the British Museum. Through this innovative approach, the British Museum is looking to discover new ways to share its collection and engage with broader audiences.

This venture into The Sandbox marks another step into the Web3 space for the British Museum, which had previously entered the NFT realm with its Hokusai collection. In collaboration with LaCollection, the British Museum auctioned over 200 Hokusai NFT artifacts, in addition to fixed-price NFT sales.

Last year, The Sandbox announced the creation of an in-game museum dedicated to the NFT profile picture project, World of Women, as part of a five-year, $25 million initiative to create a WoW Foundation.

Expanding its market presence, The Sandbox entered the Turkish market in June 2022 and has since supported artistic ventures in the region. For example, in collaboration with NFT Biennial, The Sandbox launched a Voxel Art-supported metaverse experience at the X MEDIA ART MUSEUM by DasDas.

Turkey has emerged as a significant market for The Sandbox, ranking among the top 5 countries in terms of user base, as mentioned by Sebastien Borget in an interview in November 2022. Despite the challenges of the crypto winter in December 2022, The Sandbox captured attention with a virtual land sale that generated $1.66 million. These cultural initiatives are poised to enrich the platform’s content diversity and enhance user engagement.