The Sandbox, a leading decentralized gaming virtual world and a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, announced today that it has partnered with Slipknot, the most enigmatic, provocative, and aggressive band of the modern era, to bring Knotfest into the metaverse- creating KNOTVerse, a Web3 home for Slipknot/Knotfest metaverse experiences, concerts, and lifestyle, in The Sandbox.

The collaboration brings together innovators in their respective fields to create a one-of-a-kind meeting place for heavy music culture in the metaverse. KNOTVERSE will host Web3 experiences curated by Knotfest and Slipknot specifically for the culture. The KNOTVERSE roadmap will see unique NFTs and generative collections, plus metaverse concerts, gaming experiences, fan experiences, unique collaborations, wearables and much much more. It will ultimately offer fans of the heavy culture utility through unique access to new music, IRL events, festival experiences, merchandise, gear, masks, and more.

KNOTVERSE is thematically tied to Slipknot’s self-curated, destination festival brand and media site, Knotfest. Traditionally an immersive, dark carnival event that spans the globe and media site www.knotfest.com, The KNOTVERSE LANDS in The Sandbox will inherit the festival’s dark carnival theme and integrate more than 20 years of Slipknot themes and imagery, authentically recreated in voxel form.

“When I started playing Quake online in 1999 and Minecraft in 2011, it was another level”, says M. Shawn “clown” Crahan. “But at the time, I couldn’t have Sid scratching next to me, I couldn’t offer visual art to fans. All we could do together was play the game. But little ideas like that are not only possible now, they barely scratch the surface. We are listening, we are watching, and we are going where our fans are leading us. And if you don’t understand or you’re worried, know that we’re going to help bring our fans along. We are getting in this for all of us, with all of us, and we can’t wait for you to see what we have coming up.”

Part virtual real estate, part amusement park, The Sandbox fully embraces the idea of the metaverse as a continuous shared digital space where worlds and heroes collide to make magic. In this spirit, The Sandbox team is working closely with Slipknot to bring their LANDS to life in The Sandbox as the foundation for KNOTVERSE metaverse experiences.

“We’re proud to welcome Slipknot and Knotfest as the first heavy music band to open a home for their community in The Sandbox open metaverse,” said Sébastien Borget, COO and Co-Founder of The Sandbox. “We’re building the future of digital expression and social interactions and this partnership invites a diverse, freethinking new audience to experience the benefits of true ownership where any Slipknot NFT can be used not only in The Sandbox but on any other compatible platform.”

Slipknot/Knotfest joins over 200 global brands – including Adidas, Snoop Dogg, Warner Music Group, Ubisoft and Rabbids, Shibuya 109, Gucci, HSBC, The Walking Dead, The Smurfs, and CryptoKitties – that have already formed IP partnerships to create voxelized versions of their worlds and characters in the metaverse.

(Photo - Alexander Gay)