Gaming Platforms FlickPlay, The Sandbox Take Steps Toward Metaverse

Gaming companies FlickPlay and The Sandbox announced a new partnership on Monday that will allow players to use a blockchain asset on both platforms, representing a key step in the building of the metaverse.

The idea of the metaverse involves people moving freely between virtual worlds on different platforms and taking their virtual clothing and other belongings with them, a concept called interoperability.

Such an idea is many years away and will require collaboration between companies and metaverse developers, including Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc, Microsoft and Epic Games.

FlickPlay is an app where players can unlock digital collectibles by using an interactive map of their actual surroundings, and then use their phone's camera to overlay the collectibles onto the real world and interact with the objects to make videos and other content. On Monday, the app announced its first collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) called Flicky, which will feature designs of an anthropomorphic chameleon wearing different clothes.

A portion of people who acquire a Flicky will be able to use the NFT as their avatar on The Sandbox, a web and mobile game where players can build a three-dimensional virtual world.

Initially, Flicky owners will unlock a version of the chameleon to use on The Sandbox, but soon they will be able to use the exact version of the digital asset that is stored on the blockchain in both games, said Pierina Merino, founder and chief executive of FlickPlay, adding that the company is working with The Sandbox to reach interoperability by the end of the year.

The integration is notable because it may be the first to bridge an NFT in the virtual world with usage linked to the physical world, said Sebastien Borget, co-founder of The Sandbox.

The partnership with FlickPlay will help "create a more immersive experience that extends into the metaverse and The Sandbox," he said.