The metaverse game platform The Sandbox has undergone significant business and personnel restructuring. According to French media (The Big Whale), The Sandbox has cut its workforce by 50%, with half of the approximately 250 employees laid off, and has begun closing several overseas offices; at the same time, the parent company Animoca Brands will take over operations entirely, and the two co-founders will step back from daily management.

In this regard, Animoca Brands confirmed to the media that it has undergone a "restructuring," and the group's CEO Robby Yung was appointed as the new CEO of The Sandbox about two weeks ago.

Insiders pointed out that the two co-founders Sébastien Borget and Arthur Madrid are still involved in the project but no longer have operational decision-making authority: Sébastien Borget has been appointed as "Global Ambassador"; Arthur Madrid serves as "Non-Executive Chairman."

It is reported that this round of layoffs at The Sandbox mainly affects teams in Argentina, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, and Uruguay, and the Lyon office in France is also expected to close. Animoca Brands confirmed that four offices have officially closed, but emphasized that The Sandbox still operates at nine locations globally.

As the main shareholder, Animoca Brands has invested about $300 million in The Sandbox over the past eight years, but it is not satisfied with the latter's progress, as the number of players has not improved.

Insiders revealed that The Sandbox now has only 'hundreds' of daily active users, many of whom are even bots from South America. In fact, even at the peak of the metaverse craze, The Sandbox's activity level was difficult to compare with Decentraland or Axie Infinity.

It is said that The Sandbox currently holds assets ranging from $100 million to $300 million, primarily in Ether and stablecoins. Last year, the platform completed a $20 million funding round, achieving a valuation of $1 billion.

There are concerns about whether The Sandbox will shift in another direction as the metaverse continues to cool down.

According to (The Big Whale), The Sandbox team is developing a meme coin issuance platform based on Base, similar to Pump.fun.

Sebastien Borget admitted in an interview: "We have always adhered to our gaming vision, but we must also consider market developments and changes."

Animoca Brands publicly emphasized: "The Sandbox has not deviated from its core mission, and we are still full of expectations for future opportunities."

The Sandbox's native token SAND has also not performed well in the market, with its market capitalization peaking at $6.2 billion in 2021, but has now shrunk to about $700 million, a decline of over 90%. Despite the recent market hype around competing coins, SAND remains sluggish.

"Active users remain 'hundreds'! The Sandbox cuts 50% of its workforce and is reportedly developing a meme coin platform" this article was first published in (Blockcast).