As the NFT Push Continues, Nike Plans to “Go Way Deeper” Into Video Game Fashion
By Brylle Uytiepo • January 16, 2024
As the NFT Push Continues, Nike Plans to “Go Way Deeper” Into Video Game Fashion
Nike, the world’s largest sportswear company, has said that it plans to use its blockchain and digital wearables to increase its influence in the video gaming industry. Despite the company’s declaration of intent to enter the gaming industry, it is unclear what kind of gaming activations it will undertake in the future, particularly with regard to the use of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs).
A Change in Perspective: Digital Goods and Wearables for Video Games
Swosh highlighted a change in the way people view virtual goods—rather than only seeing them as transactions—in a blog post. The brand-new “Nike In-Game Wearables” virtual product line was going to be released soon, the business said. These wearables are buyable and may be worn within well-known video games, unlike digital collectibles.
Collectors of these in-game wearables will not require crypto wallets, since. Gamers will be able to directly link their accounts with Swoosh, which will simplify things. Regarding whether or not these wearables will be NFTs, the post has some uncertainty.
The Blockchain Attempts Made by Nike in the Past
Since acquiring cryptocurrency company RTFKT and launching the.Swoosh platform, Nike has been a major player in the blockchain industry. Notwithstanding their existence, Nike has not always released its digital products on the blockchain and has been hesitant to classify them as NFTs.
There have been references to possible 2023 partnerships between EA Sports and Fortnite, as well as past releases of digital shoe NFTs by Swish on Polygon. With no blockchain integration, the Fortnite partnership, however, ended up being a digital collectibles project.
Nike distinguished “digital collectibles,” or NFTs, from “in-game wearables,” implying that there are intrinsic distinctions between the two. This means that the latter might not be crypto-related, similar to its work with Fortnite.
Collaboration between NFT Movement and EA Sports
With the purchase of RTFKT, Nike has taken a calculated approach, even if it has been leading the fashion industry in the use of NFTs; In-game digital collectibles that are included in upcoming EA titles were alluded to in the blog article. Despite the absence of explicit mention of NFTs, the Today NFT collections are available on the Polygon-based Swoosh platform.
Making Sense of the NFT Mysteries: Proceeding
The blog post reassures Nike Digital Collectibles (NFTs) owners that they will eventually be able to transfer their possessions to their own cryptocurrency wallets. As a result of this development, owners of Nike NFTs will be able to exchange them on platforms that guarantee creator royalties. On the other hand, Nike claimed that creating its own NFT marketplace would take focus away from developing new products and engaging stories.
Regarding which of Nike’s next video game integrations will incorporate NFTs, there is still uncertainty despite these guarantees. As of right now, fans and collectors are unsure of Nike’s future in the NFT market because the business has not responded to pleas for information.