Banking on the metaverse hype in the coming years, tech companies are developing interactive, virtual worlds for users. We recently saw Krafton partner with Naver Z to develop its NFT Metaverse platform, which will presumably host its own blockchain-based games. Now, Epic Games, the developers behind the uber-popular BR title Fortnite, has joined hands with The Lego Group to develop “an immersive, creatively inspiring and engaging digital experience for kids of all ages to enjoy together.” Take a look at the details below.
Epic Games and Lego Group to Build a Metaverse for Kids
Epic Games recently shared an official blog post on its forum to announce the long-term partnership with the Lego Group. Although the company did not provide much detail about its metaverse project, it shared both companies’ vision of a family-friendly digital space for kids that will “empower them to become confident creators and deliver amazing play opportunities” while being in a positive and safe virtual environment.
As per the blog post, both Epic Games and the Lego Group will combine their existing technologies to create an interactive virtual world for kids of all ages. Epic already has its popular battle royale title Fortnite that, over the years, went on to become a virtual space for teens and adults to hang out, watch live concerts, and enjoy several pop-culture crossovers.
The Lego Group is also an experienced player in the toy industry that has delivered unique physical toys as well as digital experiences to customers for many years. Hence, we expect the companies to come up with an interesting solution for a kid-friendly metaverse platform.
Furthermore, both companies have agreed upon three key principles before developing the virtual world. These principles “will ensure the digital spaces they develop deliver engaging play opportunities safely”, and they include the following:
- Protect children’s right to play by making safety and wellbeing a priority.
- Safeguard children’s privacy by putting their best interests first.
- Empower children and adults with tools that give them control over their digital experience.
With this initiative, Epic and Lego will compete with the popular online platform Roblox, which also offers a similar virtual world where kids can hang out and play mini-games. However, with Epic and Lego’s experience, we can expect an improved virtual platform than the existing ones in the market.
As for the release timeline of the Epic-Lego metaverse, details about it are currently under wraps. So yeah, stay tuned for further updates on the same, and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
