2022 was the year the wheels fell off the metaverse bandwagon, which had been the most hyped narrative at the start of the year. By far the worst performing sector in blockchain, the average drawdown was 89%.

Even Facebook’s grand plans to dominate the metaverse are in disarray; is losing more than a billion dollars a month, while the flagship “Horizon Worlds” attracts less than 200,000 users a month.

But amid all the gloom, there are still miles of runway in unprecedented fundraising and signs from The Sandbox, play-to-win games, and niche metaverse platforms that 2023 will be much more productive.

Sébastien Borget, COO and co-founder of The Sandbox, has been traveling a lot lately to visit the company’s new offices. He speaks…