Hey @CryptoDiplo, thanks for bringing this up — it’s a crucial conversation to have.
Most major projects involving user-generated content eventually offer APIs and tools for third-party integration once their games are stable and ready to scale with the community.
This pattern is clear across several leading ecosystems:
And the need becomes even more obvious once you start building — something we experienced firsthand during the early development of SIP-19.
Robust public APIs would enable third-party builders to:
- Tracking and rewarding player activity
- Cross-platform login ID connections
- Access to real user metrics
- Simple on/off-chain data integration
- On/off ramps and player incentive mechanisms
- Linking users to their assets across on- and off-chain environments
As we (@wakeuplabs) noted in the SIP-19 posts with @miki, we highlighted several blockers and outlined concrete API needs.
With the right infrastructure, products built by the community could be far more scalable, dynamic, and meaningful for end users.
That said, just asking for this kind of development isn’t enough.
While, this kind of initiative should start with builders and users who can define what’s needed and why, we also need to be realistic:
Recognizing the need doesn’t automatically make it a priority.
The Sandbox team is already handling critical tasks like:
- Ensuring the game builder performs reliably
- Keeping on-chain payments secure
- Maintaining platform stability
They’re also likely focused on long-term improvements that fall within their existing roadmap.
And that’s completely fair.
It’s not the DAO’s role to reprioritize The Sandbox Company’s internal roadmap.
Instead, the DAO should focus on proposing initiatives that it can fully execute independently, with the right structure and accountability in place.
Expecting the core team to take on tasks outside their mandate isn’t realistic, especially when their focus is guided by board-level decisions.
So… what can we actually do?
Looking at other ecosystems, what works best is creating an environment where — once an initiative like this is approved and funded — it can be delivered without blockers, and is fully supported and aligned with key stakeholders.
That means the community defines not only what’s needed, but also takes on the responsibility of executing the task properly — validating collaboration with the necessary parties.
To start moving in this direction, we should first:
- Validate whether The Sandbox team sees the value in public APIs for third-party builders.
- Confirm their openness to collaborating with external teams on execution.
- Ensure a Technical Lead is assigned from The Sandbox — at least part-time — to act as a bridge between the external team and Sandbox. (If needed, the DAO can fund this role.)
From our experience, without these validations, proposals like this often generate initial excitement but ultimately lead to frustration when they can’t be delivered.
However, if we do secure the right support, we at WakeUp Labs are ready to co-develop a clear, actionable proposal with DAO contributors and lead the technical execution, if it gets approved.
What do we want to ask TSB about APIs?