Footwear and apparel giant Nike has hinted that it may soon drop a collection of sneaker nonfungible tokens in Epic Games’ widely popular online game Fortnite.
The move would mark a potentially huge opportunity for Web3 adoption by traditional gamers, given that Fortnite has had more than 242.9 million active players over the past 30 days, according to Active Player.
Great catch with the @dotSWOOSH reference. @FortniteGame integration would be the biggest thing that’s ever happened with NFTs
In a June 16 announcement across Nike’s social media channels, the firm stated that on June 20 the “ultimate Sneakerhunt begins.”
In a brief accompanying video, Fortnite’s logo and Nike’s Air Max logo are featured front and center amongst a backdrop of floating clouds in the sky.
The video then transitions to reveal the name of the sneaker hunt, “Airphoria” and concludes by showing Nike’s logo for its web3 platform .SWOOSH alongside the logo for Epic Games’ Unreal Engine.
Details are sparse at this stage, however, members of the NFT community speculated that Nike may have built an NFT-related game using Fornite Creative 2.0, which essentially enables users to create their virtual island game maps using Fortnite assets.
“I remember that Fortnite recently launched Fortnite Creative 2.0, which has a strong self-built map mode similar to creating games on ROBLOX. I guess Nike may have used this mode to create a game. Two years ago, Nike also created a game on ROBLOX, but it was not combined with NFT[s] at that time,” noted @clone_news_cn.
While it is not 100% confirmed if NFTs will be a part of Airphoria, .SWOOSH’s involvement would suggest that it is on the cards, while Epic Games also holds a friendly stance towards NFT gaming.
Related: Sotheby’s auctions off Dmitri Cherniak’s ‘The Goose’ NFT from 3AC collection for $6.2M
Nike’s NFT unit has been ramping up its efforts to edge its way into the traditional gaming space of late.
On June 1, .SWOOSH announced that its NFTs will be integrated into games developed by EA Sports, the company behind the hugely successful FIFA soccer game franchise, among others. However it has not been confirmed which EA Sports games will eventually have Nike NFTs in them.
Trump drops series 2 NFT collection ahead of presidential run
Another round of digital nonfungible tokens (NFTs) trading cards have dropped bearing the likeness of former United States President Donald Trump, with 38,001 minted on Polygon (MATIC).
The collection was launched on April 18 at a price of $99 each, it currently has a floor price of 0.0659 ETH ($145) according to data from NFT marketplace OpenSea and has racked up a volume of 592 Ether (ETH), or over $1.2 million.
Based on the collections creator fee of 10% the sales have generated over $100,000, while the initial subscription generated an additional $3.76 million of revenue based on a sale price of $99.
A screenshot of Trump’s April 18 Instagram post. Source: Instagram
Posting to Instagram, Trump suggested that he kept the price the same as it was for the first series “because I want my fans & supporters to make money, & have fun doing it,” adding:
“I could have raised the price MUCH HIGHER, I believe it still would have sold well, with a lot more money coming to me, but I didn’t choose to do so. I WILL BE GIVEN NO ‘NICE GUY’ CREDIT?”
The initial series, which was unveiled on Dec. 15, has seen its floor price drop by 61% in the last 24 hours according to OpenSea, although the trading volume has increased by 1,011%.
Meta opens Horizon Worlds to teens in a bid for more users
Teens from the U.S. and Canada can now use the virtual reality (VR) app Horizon Worlds after Big Tech firm Meta opened it up on April 18, it was previously restricted to people aged 18 and over.
The decision comes after Horizon Worlds fell well short of its monthly active user goal for 2022 recording an average of just 280,000 over the year compared to the 500,000 it had targeted according to the data website Statista.
Various advocacy organizations and safety groups have urged Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to halt plans to allow minors into its metaverse. An April 14 open letter argued that Meta should wait for more peer-reviewed research on the potential risks of allowing youths in the metaverse.
The letter claimed minors will face harassment and privacy violations on the VR app, which is still in its early stages.
Meta’s Horizon Worlds isn’t safe for kids, and @Fairplayforkids has the receipts. Children’s wellbeing should be a priority, not an afterthought, and Meta can’t even manage that on existing platforms. https://t.co/WhAEnBRo0M
— Tech Transparency Project (@TTP_updates) April 17, 2023
Meta’s announcement appeared to target the concerns as it focused heavily on ways it plans to mitigate these risks through features such as parental supervision tools, and limiting interactions between teens and adults they don’t know.
The key takeaways listed in Meta’s public announcement. Source: Meta
Nike kicks off first .SWOOSH digital collection with NFT sneakers
Global sportswear brand Nike launched its first NFT collection through its Web3 community platform .SWOOSH, a digital version of its “iconic” Air Force 1 sneaker from 41 years ago.
Old sole, new story.
The #OurForce1 collection features digital renditions of AF1s past, present and future built for the next generation.
Nike’s first-ever virtual collection is inspired by the AF1 Low, a classic style remixed hundreds of times since it dropped in ‘82. pic.twitter.com/dlq65VNeAb
The Polygon-based NFTs are priced at just under $20 and are available to all .SWOOSH members. According to Nike, the NFTs will have a range of perks such as “special access to physical products and experiences.”
Related: What happens to your NFTs when you die?
Nike added that it will “introduce other new utilities and benefits” to its virtual creations in the near future.
After Nike announced the upcoming launch of the NFT marketplace in November 2022, its community voted that Nike’s first digital asset collection should be based on its Air Force 1 sneaker.
Smurfs step into Web3 with new NFT collection
The popular cinematic animated franchise The Smurfs are set to launch a new collection of NFTs in association with the Web3 platform, The Smurfs’ Society.
The first public sale for the 12,500-strong NFT collection began on April 18 with 3,000 NFTs depicting various Smurfs characters up for auction with an average bid price of 0.02 ETH ($42).
Our Bucket Auction is LIVE!
You have 48 hours to place your bids and become the owner of a unique Smurf NFT ✨
Only 3000 Smurfs are available so don’t waste any time! ⏰
According to The Smurfs’ Society, the NFTs will allow owners to attend VIP events, get unique rewards, and participate in members-only games.
Some of the bidders appear to be either huge fans of the Smurfs or are speculating that the prices will increase following the mint given the top three bids are for 847 of the NFTs.
Current bids for the NFT collection. Source: The Smurfs’ Society
Among the 250 or more characters available are Papa Smurf, Brainy Smurf, and Smurfette. The collection will have over 350 unique traits according to The Smurfs’ Society.
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