The Sandbox, an Ethereum-based metaverse game platform, announced Tuesday that it has launched a DAO—or decentralized autonomous organization—to let token holders help shape the future of the game and its economy.

Users who own NFT-based LAND plots or hold the game’s SAND token will be able to propose and vote on governance decisions regarding gameplay upgrades and feature additions, future events and rewards initiatives, how “player status” will be determined based on asset ownership, and other potential aspects of The Sandbox universe.

"We believe a gaming open metaverse must be governed by all users: creators, players, and LAND owners, to make it timeless and push the boundaries of our community,” said The Sandbox co-founder and CEO Arthur Madrid, in a blog post. “Blockchain technology enables a full decentralized system of decisions and power to people.”

A DAO is a decentralized community of people with aligned interests or goals, and membership is typically represented by asset ownership—whether it’s a fungible token or an NFT.

The rollout is happening in three phases, with the debut phase beginning Tuesday. In this initial phase, SAND token and LAND plot owners can vote on Sandbox Improvement Proposals (SIPs) submitted by the community via email. A council composed of Sandbox leadership and partners from firms like Animoca Brands will review and guide proposals.

In a later second phase, dubbed “Exploration,” The Sandbox will hand off more power to the DAO and no longer be in charge of the community’s interactions. Eventually, the DAO will be fully independent in a third phase, and be responsible for the entire process of proposing and voting on ideas. The multi-phase rollout reflects a path of progressive decentralization.

“We want to ensure a thoughtful and well-executed launch,” reads a blog post about the DAO. “This allows us to test and iterate on the DAO’s functionality as we progress, enabling us to learn from any challenges that arise and make necessary adjustments along the way, ultimately leading to a more robust and effective system.”

Five initial SIPs are up for voting now, including plans to introduce the DAO constitution, establish a DAO foundation to administer decisions, approve a 25 million SAND annual budget (about $11 million worth), invest in a carbon capture project, and partner with the Red Cross to help raise funds for humanitarian efforts.

“The launch of The Sandbox DAO marks a significant milestone in our journey to build the open metaverse together,” said co-founder and COO Sebastien Borget, in the post. “Four years ago, we began empowering a new generation of creators through decentralization, blockchain, and NFTs. These creators are now the citizens of a digital nation in the making and hold the power to decide how the platform should evolve and what initiatives it will support.”

Editor’s note: This article was written with the assistance of AI. Edited and fact-checked by Andrew Hayward.