EA has revealed that it’s partnering up with Nike and its Web3-based virtual apparel platform .SWOOSH to “build new immersive experiences and unlock brand-new levels of customisation within the EA Sports ecosystem.”
While the press release from EA doesn’t drop the dreaded three letters, Nike’s .SWOOSH platform is through-and-through dealing in NFTs and other buzzy Web3 tech to facilitate its platform of community-driven virtual apparel.
The tweet publicly announcing the joint venture isn’t exactly subtle about it either, showing off an example of a virtual helmet with unique ownership identifiers along with a handful of different ball designs. It’s easy for an onlooker to glean from this that EA hopes to enable players of its various sports titles to bring across the NFT items they own via Nike’s .SWOOSH platform to use and show off in online gameplay. Theoretically a novel idea, and one that could be driven largely by user-created content in a collaborative and community-focused way but will most definitely actually just be more NFT grifting.
What’s In The Game? Only time will tell…@EASPORTS x .SWOOSH ????? pic.twitter.com/AXgidKX7rd
— .SWOOSH (@dotSWOOSH) June 1, 2023
“Nike and EA SPORTS share a commitment to innovation, creativity, and excellence, and we are thrilled to partner with them,” said Ron Faris, GM of Nike Virtual Studios in the accompanying press release. “This partnership will allow us to unlock some incredible new experiences for our .SWOOSH community and the massive EA SPORTS fan base.”
“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,” said Andrea Hopelain, SVP of Brand for EA SPORTS & Racing. “Working with .SWOOSH, we’ll bring creativity and self-expression to the forefront for fans as they connect, compete, and share their love for sport.”
It stands to reason we could learn more about this when EA fully reveals its first post-FIFA football game in the near future.
