In a major step towards mainstream gamer adoption for crypto, Nike’s nonfungible token (NFT) platform .Swoosh will soon be integrated with EA Sports games, potentially allowing Nike's virtual footwear and apparel to appear in games.
In a June 1 statement, Nike said that its “virtual creations” — its way of saying NFTs — will start being incorporated into EA Sports games in the coming months, though neither Nike or Electronic Arts (EA) has revealed which game titles will include Nike’s virtual goods.
And that does it for the launch of the OF1 Collection.
— .SWOOSH (@dotSWOOSH) June 1, 2023
Thank you to all of the 50K+ .SWOOSH members who participated.
We'll be back tomorrow with a recap of all things OF1.
Oh, and we have a special announcement coming at 8am PDT.
Until tomorrow .SWOOSH fam
EA Sports games include FIFA — which was awarded the title of “most popular game” in 2022 — as well as Madden NFL series and the NBA Live series, all of which attract millions of gamers. It’s expected that Nike NFTs will be customizable wearable add-ons that players can purchase and alter their character avatars in-game.
"This partnership will allow us to unlock some incredible new experiences for our .SWOOSH community and the massive EA SPORTS fan base," said Ron Faris, general manager of Nike Virtual Studios.
EA SPORTS @dotSWOOSHhttps://t.co/hNxxdaMgRL pic.twitter.com/NH8vp0fWoQ
— EA SPORTS (@EASPORTS) June 1, 2023
Nike first unveiled its .swoosh NFT platform in November 2022, but didn’t release an NFT collection until the beginning of 2023.
It was on May 15 when .Swoosh released its first NFT collection, a line of virtual shoes called Our Force 1, a not-so-subtle nod to the brand’s iconic Air Force One line of sneakers. At the time of publication, more than 97,000 of the sneaker NFTs have been sold to just under 53,000 addresses, according to data from Polygonscan.
Related: NFT collections take massive price hit in 2023: Nifty Newsletter, May 24–30
In December 2021, Nike entered the Metaverse through the acquisition of virtual sneakers and collectibles brand RTFKT. It also launched the virtual world Nikeland.
While .Swoosh uses similar tools and technologies to RTFKT and Nikeland, all three are individual projects for the company.
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