Epic Games, the developer of Fortnite announced who is associating with Lego to build a metaverse aimed at children. The companies say they're going to shape the future of the metaverse to be safe and fun for kids, while building an immersive digital experience for kids to play.
While the companies did not go into detail about their plans for this virtual world, they outlined three principles that they say will ensure the digital spaces they develop are safe. The two will work together to make children's safety and well-being a priority, safeguard children's privacy, and equip children and adults with tools that give them control over their digital experience.
"The LEGO Group has captured the imagination of kids and adults through creative play for nearly a century, and we're excited to come together to build a space in the metaverse that's fun, entertaining, and made for kids and families," said CEO and CEO of Epic Games Tim Sweeney in a press release.
Sweeney sees the metaverse as a kind of playground online where users could play games, like Fortnite, and watch movies on Netflix together.
In today's announcement, Sweeney said the digital experience will be familiar and empower kids to become confident creators. She noted that two companies will pool their expertise to ensure this next iteration of the internet is designed with children's well-being in mind. It is not known what exactly the virtual world would look like or when the two companies plan to launch it.
"Children enjoy playing in the digital and physical worlds and move seamlessly between the two," said Lego CEO Niels B Christiansen. “We believe there is great potential for them to develop lifelong skills such as creativity, collaboration and communication through digital experiences. But we have a responsibility to make them safe, inspiring and beneficial to all."
There is no clear definition of a "metaverse" yet, mainly because it doesn't necessarily exist, but is largely seen as a network of virtual spaces that will open up new ways for people to connect online. The idea of the metaverse is already proving to be insecure for children, which will force Epic Games y Lego to create extensive security measures around your planned virtual world.
Epic Games y Lego they join many other efforts by companies looking to build their own versions of a metaverse.
Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is primarily focused on building the metaverse and has even changed its corporate branding to outline its plans for the future. Last September, the company announced a $50 million fund dedicated to investing in research to ensure the metaverse is built responsibly. Since then, the company has doubled down on its plans for the metaverse and even canceled its F8 developer conference yesterday, saying it wants to focus its efforts on building the metaverse.
Pokemon Go creator Niantic has also detailed its plans to build what it calls the "real-world metaverse." Last November, the company raised $300 million at a $3 billion valuation and said it would use the money to create a real-world metaverse that uses technology to bring people closer to the outside world.
