Electronic Arts (EA) CEO Andrew Wilson recently discussed the potential of venturing into the metaverse during an earnings conference call.
In response to an analyst’s question about creating a metaverse space from EA’s sports offerings, Wilson emphasized the opportunity presented by the company’s extensive player base, exceeding 700 million users.
Wilson highlighted the significant engagement of Gen Z and Gen Alpha players with EA Sports products, emphasizing their inclination to connect with friends within and outside the game. He emphasized the opportunity to further develop these relationships within virtual environments.
While Wilson didn’t unveil specific plans for EA’s metaverse, he pointed to existing partnerships as potential indicators of future developments.
This aligns with EA’s existing involvement in the Web3 space, exemplified by its partnership with Nike in 2023 to integrate dotSwoosh NFTs into EA Sports games.
The sports industry at large has embraced technologies like NFTs and the metaverse to enhance fan experiences, with initiatives such as the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games introducing a metaverse initiative for virtual sports, exploration, and streaming.
Notably, Meta released the XTADIUM app in 2022 for its Meta Quest VR headsets, offering sports enthusiasts a 180-degree virtual reality experience.
Projections suggest that the sports metaverse industry could reach $80 billion by 2030, contributing to the broader global metaverse market, which is anticipated to reach $936.6 billion by the same year.
