Despite a general decline in activity in Web3-based games and projects since 2023, The Sandbox demonstrates an impressive rebound, especially in the NFT trading segment. According to the Web3 analytics company Messari's report for the fourth quarter of 2023, NFT sales not related to LAND grew by 43%. In particular, 30,194 coin courtyards were sold, contributing to a year-over-year increase of 246%. Among the most notable sales were avatars from the Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix series in collaboration with Ubisoft, as well as the Notorious BIG Big Poppa NFT collection.
In the fourth quarter, public LAND became the main driver of sales, accounting for 44% of the total volume, while private land trading also increased by 19%. However, auction sales, public land sales, and property sales declined, and overall revenue fell by 42%, primarily due to a decrease in the volume of primary sales.
Despite a decrease in the SAND share by 8% in the fourth quarter, the market capitalization of SAND grew by 89%, reaching $1.2 billion, thanks to a 86% increase in SAND prices, from $0.31 to $0.58.
The Sandbox also paid special attention to user-generated content, launching the Game Maker 0.9 tool and making LAND publication available to everyone. Sebastien Borget, Chief Operating Officer and Co-founder of The Sandbox, emphasized significant changes in the project over the past year, including dozens of branded events, new seasons, and hundreds of unique experiences. It is expected that in 2024, the focus on content creators will only intensify, making it the "Year of Creators."