Nike’s non-fungible token (NFT) platform, called .Swoosh, is about to reach a significant milestone in terms of adoption within the gaming community. Soon .Swoosh will be integrated with EA Sports games, which means that Nike’s virtual shoes and clothing can make an appearance in these games. This in turn represents an important step towards gamers embracing cryptocurrency.
“Virtual Creations” coming soon to EA Sports games
In a statement of June 1, Nike announced that its “virtual creations,” the term they use for NFTs, will soon be integrated into EA Sports games. Although the specific game titles in which Nike’s virtual goods will appear have not yet been revealed by both Nike and Electronic Arts.
NFTs may act as customizable portable additions
EA Sports games, with games like FIFA, which was awarded the title of ‘Most Popular Game’ in 2022, as well as the Madden NFL series and the NBA Live series, have a huge fan base and attract millions of gamers. The Nike NFTs are expected to act as customizable wearable additions that players can purchase to customize their character avatars in-game.
Ron Faris, General Manager of Nike Virtual Studios, stated, “This partnership allows us to deliver incredible new experiences to our .SWOOSH community and to EA SPORTS’ massive fanbase.”
Over 97,000 Sneaker NFTs sold through .swoosh platform
In November 2022, Nike first introduced its .swoosh NFT platform, but it did not release an NFT collection until early 2023.
On May 15, .Swoosh’s first NFT collection launched, called Our Force 1, a collection of virtual shoes that nods to the brand’s iconic Air Force One sneaker line. To date, more than 97,000 sneaker NFTs have been sold to nearly 53,000 addresses, according to Polygonscan data.
In December 2021, Nike entered the metaverse by acquiring RTFKT, a virtual sneaker and collectibles brand. It also launched its own virtual world called Nikeland.
While .Swoosh uses similar tools and technologies to RTFKT and Nikeland, they are individual projects within the company.