Design firms find new business in the metaverse as Covid-19 drives interest in virtual world
- As Covid-19 deals a blow to businesses, design firms shift to building experiences inside the metaverse
- Animoca Brands has pledged US$50 million to venture capitalist firm Brinc to fund start-ups to create inside The Sandbox
For over 10 years, Kenny Ng’s Hong Kong design production company Kenal Group hummed along, designing billboards and planning events for a variety of clients. But the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020 threw his business into disarray, forcing Ng, in his 40s, to search for new revenue streams.
Much to his surprise, he found his answer in one of technology’s hottest buzzwords: the metaverse. Over a few weeks starting last November, Ng put together a new studio named PanGu, with about 10 designers dedicated to building experiences in The Sandbox, a virtual world backed by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp. The venture quickly drew new clients, such as Taiwanese singer Nine Chen, who is planning a virtual concert.
“We are now working on two projects and about to get a few more. So we’ve been busy for sure,” Ng said. “We are looking to hire a few more people to the team after Chinese New Year.”
PanGu followed the footsteps of Index Game, the first Hong Kong company devoted to creating projects inside The Sandbox. The business, a spin-off of interior design firm Index Design, was set up by three co-founders during the pandemic and expanded to a team of 18 in about half a year.
On Thursday, blockchain gaming firm Animoca Brands, the parent company of The Sandbox, pledged US$50 million for an accelerator programme under Hong Kong-based venture capital firm Brinc, aimed at funding 100 start-ups to build inside The Sandbox.
“It could be a studio that creates games for fun. It could be someone who enhances how assets are created, or how experiences are created,” Ginesta said, “We’re also looking for game creators who can really push the boundaries of what’s available today.”
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As global interest around the metaverse concept continues to grow, Animoca Brands said last week that its private valuation had soared fivefold from last May to US$5 billion after receiving US$358.89 million in its latest fundraising round.
Despite the enthusiasm, The Sandbox is still in alpha test mode, and some users who have gained early access likened the platform to “Minecraft and Roblox, but on blockchain”. Detractors said that The Sandbox is buoyed mostly by market hype around cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
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Animoca has yet to announce a public launch of The Sandbox, but Brinc’s Ginesta said the platform would soon open to more users.
“I’m pretty sure the next alpha run will be for a really broad audience, if not anyone who wants to go in,” Ginesta said. “This a very near horizon thing. This is not sometime in the future. This is now.”
PanGu’s Ng believes that as more events and advertising campaigns go digital, design firms need to become well-versed in the metaverse. He said that while it is not particularly difficult to build experiences in The Sandbox, clients are turning to professionals for their design knowledge.
“Many of our clients are still unclear what they can do with the land that they have bought in the metaverse,” Ng said. “They know that it is a hot trend, but they don’t know what to do with it. That is where we come in. We can design the environment, the events, and the gameplay for them.”
