The Sandbox, a leading decentralized gaming virtual world and a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, today announced a partnership with world-renowned hospitality company Cipriani to bring iconic Italian lifestyle and elegance to the metaverse.

The experience will allow players to walk the streets of Venice and discover the original Bellini, meet the Cipriani family, and take part in a relaxing and invigorating metaverse experience. The landmark Cipriani Wall Street Ballroom will also be recreated to host a masquerade ball, fashion shows, concerts, and other cultural events.

We’re delighted to bring iconic Italian history into The Sandbox to further enrichen our players’ experiences. In designing a metaverse for a such a diverse audience, we have the unique opportunity to represent nationalities and cultures from around the world, enabling us to connect with our players at a deeper level than traditional games. Sebastien Borget, COO and Co-Founder of The Sandbox

The Masquerade will be among the first events hosted on Cipriani’s LAND, where visitors will have a chance to dance and listen to great music, all while hidden behind amazing masks. It will be a place to meet new people and learn about the experiences that Cipriani provides.

Cipriani’s LAND will be located in the trendy new Galleria neighborhood in The Sandbox. Launched on 1 December, 2022 at 3pm UTC, this neighborhood is built around fashion, media, and hospitality brands. Its upscale sense of style makes it the perfect place to host memorable Cipriani experiences.

Players exploring Venice will be welcomed with a splash of time travel upon arriving at Harry’s Bar, the legendary 1930’s bar known for being a beloved place of gathering where writers, painters, artists, aristocrats, and royalty would meet to enjoy good company and drink a famous Bellini cocktail. The bar recently celebrated its 92nd anniversary on May 13th and will be featured in a new playable experience and accompanying NFT drop.

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 brands including Warner Music Group, Ubisoft, The Rabbids, Cut the Rope, Tony Hawk, Gucci Vault, The Walking Dead, Invincible, Snoop Dogg, Adidas, Deadmau5, Steve Aoki, SM Entertainment, The Smurfs, Care Bears, and Atari. 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, a Fortune Crypto 40 company, and one of the Financial Times’ High Growth Companies Asia-Pacific 2023, 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 original games such as The Sandbox, Phantom Galaxies, Life Beyond, 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, Animoca Brands Japan, Grease Monkey Games, Eden Games, Life Beyond Studios, Notre Game, TinyTap, Be Media, PIXELYNX, and WePlay Media. Animoca Brands has a growing portfolio of more than 380 Web3 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 Cipriani

On May 13 1931, Giuseppe Cipriani opened Harry's Bar on the first floor of an abandoned rope warehouse off a dead end in Piazza San Marco, Venice. At 50 square meters, it appeared to be a typical "cozy" Venetian restaurant, but with the careful attention to detail and perfectly proportioned furniture, glasses and cutlery Harry's Bar was anything but typical. Unchanged since 1931 and now a National Landmark, its famously relaxed atmosphere, great food and warm service have catered to a very eclectic clientele that has included through the years Hollywood legends, royalty, artists and people from all over the world. It has been constantly imitated but never reproduced.

In the 92 years since and with three generations of Cipriani family members leading the growth, Arrigo, Giuseppe and his sons Ignazio and Maggio, the family has developed into an international hospitality brand, with restaurants, landmarked event spaces, residential, luxury rooms and suites and private membership clubs around the world including Venice, Milan, New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Monte Carlo, Ibiza, Marbella, Riyadh, Las Vegas, Istanbul, Doha, and the upcoming Manama in Bahrain, Jeddah and Punta del Este. The timeless values of love for service, lack of imposition, quality of products and luxury in simplicity are still valid today as they were in 1931.

Visit www.cipriani.com