The Sandbox co-founder and COO Sebastien Borget announced at the EthCC[9] conference that the first round of stress testing for the mobile-native game The Sandbox NEXT began on March 26. According to Foresight News, NEXT has transitioned from using the Unity engine to Unreal Engine to enhance graphics and physics performance for mobile devices.
NEXT is a multiplayer survival game supporting up to 20 players in competitive matches, optimized for mobile with features like auto-aim and shooting mechanics. The initial release includes two maps, 'Desert' and 'City.' Players can transfer their identity, game progress, and NFT assets from The Sandbox's main platform to the mobile version.
Sebastien Borget highlighted that NEXT complements the SANDchain, a layer-2 network based on ZKsync, set to launch in September 2025. The low-cost transactions of the L2 network will facilitate asset minting and market trading for mobile users.