Innovators in the Sports Metaverse Space
As interest in the expanding Metaverse landscape continues to accelerate, companies are discovering a range of potential use cases for digital environments. In recent years, numerous leading brands have begun to build their own Metaverse strategies, designed to engage customers, support employees with immersive training and improve collaboration.
In the sporting world, the metaverse space allows teams and athletes from every environment to connect with fans in a new, more engaging space. Already, we’ve seen entertainment companies in the sports sector, such as the Fox Corporation, investing in extended reality tools and virtual platforms. Even vendors like Nike have taken part in the transformation, creating a new space for sales and customer service in Roblox.
Here are just some of the companies investing in the evolution of the sports metaverse.
1. Sony
Japanese electronic leaders Sony purchased the Beyond Sports brand in 2022, to assist in taking their sports gaming experiences to the next level. The Beyond Sports company was invested in developing real-world data for 3D animations, designed to assist companies in building immersive experiences.
Alongside this acquisition, Sony has also expanded its footprint in the metaverse in recent years, with the purchase of Hawk-Eye Innovations, helping the brand to build RT3D content for football, basketball, tennis, and baseball events. Elsewhere, the company also acquired Pulselive, to provide live streaming metaverse experiences to audiences worldwide.
2. OKX
OKX is a cryptocurrency and web3-focused business which provides users with access to a range of investment opportunities centered around DeFi and NFTs. Recently, the company partnered with the Manchester City football club, to create a new sports metaverse campaign for the team.
The OKX metaverse experience created for Man City will include appearances from sporting starts like Jack Grealish and Alex Greenwood. It also provides fans with an opportunity to access exclusive content, crypto-style rewards, and NFTs. The partnership builds on OKX’s decision to sponsor Manchester City as an official training kit partner for the 2022-2023 season.
3. Loot Mogul
Widely recognized as one of the world’s top sports metaverse organizations, LootMogul provides sports teams, athletes and brands with the technology required to create virtual cities for fans, and engage customers with real-life rewards. More than 241 professional athletes in the US have already signed up with the brand, creating competitions, training experiences, and games in the metaverse.
Recently, LootMogul partnered with the marketing and commercial rights company Six Sport, to assist in developing its strategy for blockchain development. Working alongside Six Sport, LootMogul aims to build on the Web3 community, creating new innovative experiences for teams and athletes worldwide.
4. Zetly
Zetly offers companies, athletes, and fans access to an extensive all-in-one platform for sports experiences. The Web3-focused ecosystem allows users to collect, earn, and trade digital club tokens, and purchased NFTs. Zetly has its own blockchain technology ecosystem, which companies and teams can leverage to create metaverse, streaming, and gamification experiences.
Recently, Zetly partnered with Haste Arcade, PowChess and Transmira on a pilot program for the “Sports Metaverse”. This initiative will provide a selected number of sports clubs with advanced technology solutions for building their own digital environments. The all-in-one platform supports the creation of crowdfunding campaigns, NFT minting, and loyalty programs.
5. Sports Icon
Sports Icon is another company investing in its own version of the Sports metaverse. The company offers a platform to teams, fans, and athletes, where they can collect and trade unique digital collectables and NFTs. The ecosystem is built on the Flow blockchain for security and verification. Plus, the company has invested in a highly intuitive and user-friendly interface for beginners.
To help increase adoption of their sporting environment among digital brands, Sports Icon have also implemented their own rewards system for community contributors. Users can participate in challenges, refer friends, and engage in other actions to earn tokens which can be used to access exclusive experiences.
6. Tobii and HeadVantage
Leading eye tracking technology vendor Tobii partnered with HeadVantage in 2022, on a new initiative to provide athletes with sensors, cameras, and cutting edge XR technologies. HeadVantage already works with various major sports entertainment firms including Sky Sports and NBC Sports. Following this collaboration, the company plans to create new solutions for fans to view athletes performing at games in the entertainment space.
The solution created by Tobii and HeadVantage can fit under headwear such as helmets and sports caps, to track eye movements quickly and accurately. As part of the Comcast NBCUniversal Sports Accelerator, the firms showcased the benefits of their solution at the PGA Korn Ferry tournament.
7. EE
British telecom provider EE launched a 5G store at the London Wembley Stadium in 2022, allowing fans to pilot a new AR (Augmented Reality) experience in the metaverse. Using smartphones with AR capabilities, fans could incorporate overlays of a superstar athlete into their purchasing experience. The solution builds on EE’s initiatives in the 5G and connectivity space.
Within the 5G store, customers have an opportunity to view live avatars wearing England sportswear. The experience also gave visitors an opportunity to interact with a virtual avatar version of the Liverpool and England FC athlete, Trent Alexander-Arnold.
8. NReal and Immersive
Augmented Reality vendor NReal partnered with the Immersiv XR company in 2022, to create a personalized 3D system for metaverse experiences. The initiative allowed the companies to display augmented reality visualizations during live broadcasts. Following the partnership, the companies even worked with the Devon Football league to create an AR-ready live stream of the SuperCup for 2022, which they defined as the future of TV.
The NReal live video streams include access to virtual screens to view broadcasts, alongside accompanying AR experiences for event analytics and RT3D assets. NReal has also worked with BT Sport to create Premier League metaverse-style broadcasts using 5G and AR.
9. Algorand
During 2022’s World Cup, FIFA announced a series of strategies to launch it into the metaverse landscape, including the introduction of new blockchain NFT collectables. The new iniatitive was created in partnership with Algorand, a web3 company offering access to powerful and sustainable blockchain technologies.
Throughout the lead up to the matches in December 2022, Algorand opened access to the collectibles for fans, and offered customers the opportunities to view exclusive moments from matches throughout the tournament. FIFA Chief Business Officer said they believe the solution offers a new and exciting opportunity for athletes and fans.
10. Insomnia Labs
Ad-tech company Insomnia Labs works with companies and brands to produce immersive campaigns that engage and convert new customers. In 2022, the company joined forces with the National Basketball Association (NBA) to create NFTs for users in the metaverse to collect. The NFTs were created based on Stephen Curry’s Under Armour trainer collection.
The NFT and crypto trading platform also commemorated the NBA finals, as well as major moments from the events with new NFT collections. Partners like Smilesss, Hape, and Chibi all developed digital assets to add to the collection.
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