TECH

Nikeland, the Nike virtual world

Nike Inc. teamed up with the Roblox gaming platform to create a virtual world called Nikeland, becoming one of the first major brands to take an interest in the metaverse idea. The digital space will allow avatars to be equipped with various products of the company and will be available free of charge to all users of the Roblox platform.

Today, Nikeland visitors can play a variety of mini-games, as well as create their own from interactive objects available in the virtual space. The word “metaverse” became popular in the tech industry after Facebook changed its name to Meta and announced its intention to create a virtual world in which people can interact with each other through avatars, shop, enjoy music at shows and more.

''Nike created this custom world modeled at its headquarters within the Roblox 3D virtual space, with the goal of bringing sports and games together to make them a way of life,'' Nike said in a statement. In the future, the company plans to continue developing its own virtual world, adding new features and functions that will make interacting with the metaverse more diverse and exciting.

According to research firm Strategy Analytics, the global metaverse market will be $6.16 billion by 2021 and will grow to $41.62 billion by 2026. Analysts are confident this area will develop rapidly in the coming years 

AVnews