Lego has teamed up with Fortnite maker Epic Games to create a kid-friendly metaverse, the Danish toymaker said Wednesday (April 6).
The companies refer to this project as “an immersive, creatively inspiring and engaging digital experience for kids of all ages to enjoy together,” and a “family-friendly digital experience will give kids access to tools that will empower them to become confident creators,” but offered little in the way of concrete details in the joint press release.
“Kids enjoy playing in physical and digital worlds and move seamlessly between the two. We believe there is huge potential for them to develop life-long skills such as creativity, collaboration and communication in both,” said Niels B Christiansen, CEO of the LEGO Group.
“We have a responsibility to make digital play safe, inspiring and beneficial for all, and just as we’ve protected children’s rights to safe physical play for generations, we are committed to doing the same for digital play,” he said.
The news comes almost a year after Epic Games announced it had raised $1 billion, money it said it would use to fund its metaverse ambitions.
The company has spoken of building Fortnite, a massive, multiplayer survival game that has hundreds of millions of users, into a proper metaverse. Epic has developed extensive experience in creating immersive and massive user experiences that have propelled the company and its flagship product to the forefront of popular culture where online gaming is concerned.
Epic has also put its money to good use in pursuing this goal, acquiring startup SuperAwesome in 2020, along with its technology for developing safe digital environments and interactions with children.
Lego too has some experience in creating open worlds in the digital realm, not to mention a long history of success with creating products geared towards children.
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