Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, has announced a collaboration with Lego to create a metaverse geared at children. The corporations claim they will design the metaverse’s future to make it safe and enjoyable for children while also creating an immersive digital world for them to play in. While the companies did not elaborate on their plans for this virtual world, they did outline three principles that they claim will ensure the safety of the digital spaces they create. The two will collaborate to prioritize children’s safety and well-being, protect children’s privacy, and provide children and adults with tools that offer them control over their digital lives.
In a press release, Epic CEO and founder Tim Sweeney said, “The LEGO Group has captivated the imagination of children and adults through creative play for nearly a century, and we are excited to come together to build a space in the metaverse that is fun, entertaining, and made for kids and families.”
Sweeney has previously stated that he views the metaverse as an online playground where people can play games like Fortnite and watch Netflix movies together. Epic stated in a statement today that the digital experience would be family-friendly and will encourage kids to be confident creators. The companies plan to pool their resources to ensure that the next generation of the internet is built with children’s safety in mind.
There’s no indication yet on how the virtual world will appear or when the two corporations will deploy it. In a news statement, Lego CEO Niels B Christiansen stated, “Kids like playing in both the digital and real worlds and transition smoothly between the two.” “We think that via digital experiences, they may acquire life-long abilities such as creativity, teamwork, and communication.” However, it is our obligation to ensure that they are safe, inspirational, and helpful to everybody.”
There isn’t a precise description of the “metaverse” yet, mostly because it doesn’t exist, but it’s widely regarded as a network of virtual places that will allow people to communicate in new ways online. The concept of the metaverse is already proven to be dangerous to youngsters, forcing Epic and Lego to put in place strong precautions around their envisioned virtual environment. Epic and Lego are joining a slew of other corporations attempting to create their own metaverses.
Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is primarily focused on the development of the metaverse, and has even altered its corporate logo to reflect its future intentions. Last September, the corporation announced the creation of a $50 million research fund to guarantee that the metaverse is constructed properly.
Since then, the corporation has reaffirmed its commitment to the metaverse, canceling its F8 developer conference yesterday in order to focus on the metaverse’s development. Niantic, the company behind Pokémon Go, has also revealed its aspirations to create a “real-world metaverse.” Last November, the firm said that it would fund $300 million at a $3 billion valuation to build a real-life metaverse that would employ technology to bring people closer to the outside world.
