GAMING, LEADING THE PATH TO THE METAVERSE

It’s likely you, like many business professionals and organizations, are wondering how to take your brand to the Metaverse. It’s a common question and challenge, how can organizations leverage a promised land that technology companies are building to expand users’ experience in the digital environments?         

Gameloft for brands is there for you. Before presenting some ways to take your brand to the Metaverse, we will introduce some key facts that explain its current relevance.

The concept of the Metaverse was first mentioned in 1992 in the novel Snow Crash. Its author Neal Stephenson described the Metaverse as a shared virtual space with interconnected virtual worlds driven by the Internet and augmented reality. Nevertheless, until 2020 this concept was just fiction. With the advent of the global pandemic, the need to find alternative ways of working, socializing, shopping, finding entertainment and doing almost every other activity in a digital fashion became urgent. Nearly every industry leveraged technology and the Internet to help people continue on with their lives, and these applications of technology very much succeeded in keeping the world’s flow during the unprecedented lockdown.

The Metaverse was born after the idea of building immersive virtual worlds where everyone can have a digital life experience. This idea of building digital worlds is where the gaming industry becomes the main contributor. In fact, each video game is a unique digital world and has been for 50 years. Video games have transformed from individual hobbies to social, open experiences. Some of the most popular games today allow players to participate in the creation of their game environments, design their quests, manage in-game resources and embrace adventures together with other players to achieve objectives they have defined, with every action facilitated through a self-created identity or avatar they can always customize. The best games gather players, competitors, and fans inside and out of the games, creating a strong community.

The industry had never reached as much as gamers as now. According to Newzoo, over 2.9 billion people play video games regularly, so in other words, 40% of the total population enjoys this activity. It is a growing audience driven by access to mobile devices, cloud streaming platforms and 5G technology. A variety of game genres and challenges attract people from all generations: 81% of Gen Z, 77% of Millennials, 60% of Gen X and 42% of Baby Boomers.

Top brands discovered the relevance of the Metaverse and have taken the first steps into it: Nike, Adidas, Lego, Coca Cola and Vans are some of the earliest adopters, creating exclusive experiences for gamers and attracting millions of curious visitors who explore what is happing there. As a larger audience is attracted, the Metaverse would grow and develop. Music concerts, digital venues, fashion shows, visiting tourist sites, and even celebrity’s digital presence are some of the brand experiences that are already taking place in the digital world. 

Through Gameloft for brands, you can take your brand to this level of engagement within the Metaverse. Brands can enter the Metaverse through gaming and by integrating into the most popular digital worlds.   

First, reach the game’s audience through in-game advertising solutions. These solutions are displayed in Gameloft’s games as well as in the largest premium in-game adverting network conformed by the most popular games from the largest publishers.

               
Second, reach the strongest gamers community of players and viewers through the most renowned influencers on gaming live streaming channels and social media profiles. 

               
Third, by doing native in-game product placement, imbed your brand into the game’s universe and make it part of the story. Home Billboards and in-game or interstitial product placement are some of the favorite ways brands have integrated themselves within the Metaverse.

Finally, brands can start exploring the Metaverse by integrating into an existing Metaverse such as Roblox or The Sandbox with an exclusive tailor-made gamified experience created by Gameloft artists and developers.

Contact us to get more information on how your brand can give the first steps to join this new form of engagement.