If in our daily life, it is always the same words that come up “war”, “elections”, in the video game industry, certain terms also come up very often and often give rise to questions or even controversy. NFTs and the metaverse have become such important elements that companies are racing for better or for worse (Ubisoft Quartz, for example…). Epic Games had also raised a billion dollars with an investment from Sony to build the Metaverse. It seems to be getting a little more concrete every day for the publisher of Fortnite which announces a long-term partnership with the LEGO group.
This association aims to found a metaverse “for children” in order to provide an immersive “family-friendly” digital experience for children to express all their creativity. This partnership comes to weigh in the balance since between them, the companies have built sacred universes. Indeed, Epic Games with Fortnite continues to develop events such as concerts or strong collaborations with celebrities and other licenses in the video game landscape such as League of Legends.
As for LEGO, this giant of the fun experience in the field of family leisure should not be underestimated. We all know the famous little bricks that we also find with many licenses like Lego Super Mario and Lego Star Wars to name a few. The company also has a solid presence in the gaming world with collaborations with licenses that are part of pop-culture such as, recently, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, Lego Harry Potter and many more. In addition, it should be kept in mind that from a commercial point of view, a virtual world is easier to control than the real life experience, especially at the level of data collection which is not negligible to analyze habits. and the desires of the youngest.
For this project, the two companies have agreed that this metaverse should be a safe place by laying down in particular these three fundamental principles:
- Protecting children’s right to play safely
- Protect children’s privacy by putting their best interests first
- Empower kids and parents with tools to control their digital experience
And Niels B. ChristiansenCEO of the LEGO Group believes that there is ” huge potential so that children develop skills such as creativity, collaboration and communication thanks to this digital experience, we can still raise a reflection around the excesses that this space can cause. Alas, we do not live in the world of Care Bears, and malicious individuals might seize this new space and perpetrate what we already know. It will therefore be interesting to see what actions the two companies will put in place to guarantee a healthy and safe environment.
These actions can in particular go through the young company SuperAwesome acquired in 2020 by Epic Games and which specializes in platforms that affect the youngest and this also goes through targeted .
The case remains to be followed, but one thing is certain, we have not finished learning that large companies are looking into the metaverse where each might set up their own policy, particularly in terms of freedom of expression and creative freedom. This is particularly the case of miHoYo, the Chinese behind Genshin Impact, which wishes to offer an immersive virtual place around the miHoYo ecosystem.
