HONG KONG – 13 July 2022 – The Sandbox, a leading decentralized gaming virtual world and a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, announced today it has partnered with Tony Hawk Inc. and Autograph to create a Tony Hawk LAND in The Sandbox, marking the first entry of Tony Hawk into the metaverse.
Through the partnership, Tony Hawk Inc. and The Sandbox will collaborate on Tony Hawk’s 6x6 LAND to build the largest virtual skatepark ever made. In addition, Autograph will create Tony Hawk avatar NFTs based on Tony Hawk and his most iconic skateboards, equipment, and apparel including the legendary skateboard Tony Hawk used to land the 900 at the X Games in 1999. The Sandbox will make these NFTs interoperable in its open metaverse, turning Autograph’s high-fidelity avatars into 3D voxel versions that have in-game functionality for experiences, adding utility and value for their owners.
Tony Hawk is a legendary skateboarder, entrepreneur, and founder of The Skatepark Project. He became a pro skateboarder at the age of 14, and by 16 was considered the best competitive skateboarder on Earth. A World Champion for 12 years in a row, he continues to skate demos and exhibitions internationally, and remains the most recognized action-sports figure in the world. He considers skateboarding to be an art form, a lifestyle, and a sport, and was the first skateboarder to land a 900 – considered one of skateboarding’s most technically demanding moves – among many other achievements. Hawk is an inaugural member of the Skateboarding Hall of Fame.
“I have been a fan of new technology all of my life – from the first videogames and home computers with CGI capabilities – so I am fascinated by the metaverse, and excited to bring our culture into the virtual landscape of The Sandbox,” said Tony Hawk.
“Tony Hawk embodies the perseverance of constantly striving for improvement while never giving up, and it forged him into a skateboarding legend and successful entrepreneur,” said Sebastien Borget, COO and Co-Founder of The Sandbox. “We share his passion for innovation, creativity, and the drive to constantly create something: this is the energy that powers our entertainment metaverse. There’s no better way to bring skateboarding culture to The Sandbox than by following the example of the greatest skateboarder of all time, whose legacy stretches from the sport and lifestyle’s early days to the present and beyond.”
“At Autograph, we strive to build otherwise impossible experiences for communities of fans and this is a step towards our goal of connecting them uniquely and at scale to Tony Hawk and each other,” said Dillon Rosenblatt, co-founder and CEO at Autograph. “We are thrilled to be working with The Sandbox and Tony Hawk on this activation and many others.”
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. Tony Hawk joins over 300 existing partnerships including Warner Music Group, Ubisoft, The Rabbids, Gucci Vault, The Walking Dead, Snoop Dogg, Adidas, Deadmau5, Steve Aoki, Richie Hawtin, The Smurfs, Care Bears, Atari, ZEPETO, and CryptoKitties, 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 IPs and brands including Warner Music Group, Ubisoft, The Rabbids, Gucci Vault, The Walking Dead, Snoop Dogg, Adidas, Deadmau5, Steve Aoki, Richie Hawtin, The Smurfs, Care Bears, Atari, ZEPETO, CryptoKitties, and more. 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 Animoca Brands
Animoca Brands, a Deloitte Tech Fast winner and ranked in the Financial Times list of High Growth Companies Asia-Pacific 2021, is a leader in digital entertainment, blockchain, and gamification that is working to advance digital property rights and contribute to the establishment of the open metaverse. The company develops and publishes a broad portfolio of products including the REVV token and SAND token; original games including The Sandbox, Crazy Kings, and Crazy Defense Heroes; and products utilizing popular intellectual properties including Disney, WWE, Snoop Dogg, The Walking Dead, Power Rangers, MotoGP™, and Formula E. It has multiple subsidiaries, including The Sandbox, Blowfish Studios, Quidd, GAMEE, nWay, Pixowl, Forj, Lympo, Grease Monkey Games, Eden Games, Darewise Entertainment, Notre Game, and TinyTap. Animoca Brands has a growing portfolio of more than 340 investments, including Colossal, Axie Infinity, OpenSea, Dapper Labs (NBA Top Shot), Yield Guild Games, Harmony, Alien Worlds, Star Atlas, and others. For more information visit www.animocabrands.com or follow on Twitter or Facebook.
About Tony Hawk Inc.
After more than 30 years of building a global brand ranging from apparel, toys, events, endorsements, social media, film production, and one of the most successful video game franchises ever, legendary pro-skateboarder Tony Hawk remains one of the most popular athletes in the world. Hawk’s foundation, The Skatepark Project, helps finance public skateparks in underserved communities across the USA and other parts of the world. And he still skates regularly.
About Autograph
Co-founded by Tom Brady and headquartered in Los Angeles, Autograph is an NFT platform that brings together the most iconic brands and legendary names in sports, entertainment, and culture to create unique digital collections and experiences for fans. Members of its star-studded Advisory Board have dropped collections that all sold out in record time, including Tiger Woods, Tony Hawk, James Harden, Naomi Osaka, Simone Biles, Wayne Gretzky, Derek Jeter, Sabrina Ionescu, and more.
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