The concept of a metaverse is nothing new, with many believing that it will come to fruition first in the gaming industry. The latest videogame company to talk about building a metaverse, however, comes from a surprising source: Electronic Arts, in the world of sports.
When asked whether EA is considering taking all of its “siloed sports communities” and connecting them, thereby creating a sports-themed gaming metaverse, CEO Andrew Wilson gave a lengthy response as to why a company (like EA) would do just that.
He noted that EA has over 700 million players and they spend on average 90 minutes during a playing session. After doing this with their core friend group, they go to other platforms to talk about the game, then create content about the game on even another platform. Hence, there are many interconnected relationships, but the platforms themselves are dispersed.
According to Wilson, there is a “meaningful opportunity” to “harness the power of that community” outside and inside of EA games. He added that is the “third pillar of our core strategy” which will be led by the brand. While he said that EA had nothing to announce today, he noted to “watch this space.”
Wilson has expressed a positive attitude towards Web3 before, saying that play-to-earn and NFTs would likely be part of mainstream games in the future, though adding that the conversation was “very, very early.”
Metaverse a Hot Topic in the Past Month
While NFTs have remained mired in a bit of a slump and cryptocurrencies have ranged in the new year, the metaverse is starting to pick up some steam — as shown by the news stories we’ve covered in the past month. From new metaverses being developed to top companies unveiling metaverse experiences, buzz around virtual worlds is on the uptick.
Here are some of the headlines:
- Porsche Embraces Metaverse as it Demoes New Macan Through VR Headsets
- Honda to Bring NFTs in ‘Life Beyond’ Metaverse
- Upland Metaverse Dishes Out $13.5M to Players in December
- Siemens Partners with Amazon, Microsoft & Sony for Industrial Metaverse
- ‘Ready Player One’ Author to Bring IP to New Metaverse
- Korea’s Youth Olympic Games to Host Metaverse Experience
- Reebok Partners with Futureverse to Launch Metaverse Experience in 2024
And they run the gamut too: Industrial metaverses that save companies money, organizations creating new campaigns using VR and other metaverse technologies, and aspirations to build virtual worlds that leverage intellectual property. Although talk of the metaverse had cooled since a burst of interest in 2021, it appears the concept is making a comeback.
Of course, we, as Web3 denizens, know it never left at all.
That makes the EA news an even more bullish sign: We could see even more metaverses crop up, giving us online experiences that we can share with friends, family, and other communities. Ready Player One?