EA Sports is teaming up with Nike’s NFT sneaker project
By Jess Weatherbed, a news writer focused on creative industries, computing, and internet culture. Jess started her career at TechRadar, covering news and hardware reviews.
EA and Nike have just announced a partnership that will bring select virtual assets created by .Swoosh, Nike’s Web3 marketplace platform, to future EA Sports titles. No specific games have been mentioned, and neither company has provided much information regarding what we can expect, though the creations will include virtual footwear and apparel.
But the partnership with EA seems to fulfill promises laid out by Nike back in November when the shoe brand first launched .Swoosh. At that time, Nike suggested that its virtual apparel could eventually be equipped in video games and “other immersive experiences.”
.Swoosh’s first NFT drop of virtual sneakers surpassed $1 million in sales despite various delays and technical issues
A recent NFT drop by .Swoosh sold over $1 million in its virtual goods, despite a series of technical issues and seemingly slow sales, as reported by CoinDesk. The NFT market has otherwise been in steady decline for several months, and previous attempts to integrate blockchain collectibles into video games haven’t been well received by gamers. Notably, EA’s press release does not say the word NFT.
Nike says that it will release additional details regarding how .Swoosh NFTs will integrate into future EA Sports titles “in the coming months.”
“All of us at EA Sports are focused on leading the next evolution in sports fandom, and this new collaboration with our longtime partners at Nike sits directly at the intersection of innovation, sport, and culture,” Andrea Hopelain, EA’s SVP of brand for EA Sports and Racing, said in a press
Read more on theverge.com
