In a move poised to drive mainstream gamer adoption of crypto, Nike’s nonfungible token (NFT) platform, .Swoosh, is set to be integrated into EA Sports games. This integration will potentially allow Nike's virtual footwear and apparel to appear within these games.
Nike announced on June 1 that its “virtual creations” — a term used by the company to refer to NFTs — will be incorporated into EA Sports games over the coming months. However, neither Nike nor Electronic Arts has specified which game titles will include Nike’s virtual goods. EA Sports' roster includes globally popular titles like FIFA, the Madden NFL series, and the NBA Live series.
It is anticipated that the Nike NFTs will be customizable wearable add-ons that players can purchase to enhance their in-game character avatars. Ron Faris, general manager of Nike Virtual Studios, stated that the partnership would "unlock some incredible new experiences for our .SWOOSH community and the massive EA SPORTS fan base."
EA SPORTS 🤝 @dotSWOOSHhttps://t.co/hNxxdaMgRL pic.twitter.com/NH8vp0fWoQ
— EA SPORTS (@EASPORTS) June 1, 2023
Nike first announced its .swoosh NFT platform in November 2022 but didn't release an NFT collection until early 2023. The first NFT collection, a line of virtual shoes called Our Force 1 — a playful reference to the brand’s iconic Air Force One line of sneakers — was released on May 15. To date, more than 97,000 of the sneaker NFTs have been sold to nearly 53,000 addresses, according to data from Polygonscan.
Nike first ventured into the metaverse in December 2021 with the acquisition of virtual sneakers and collectibles brand RTFKT and the launch of the virtual world Nikeland. Despite .Swoosh using similar tools and technologies to RTFKT and Nikeland, each of these are distinct projects within the company.
