If bullied last weekpopular video game Fortnite has announced a partnership with clothing giant Nike and its .Swoosh Web3 platformthat offers digital clothing and accessories sold as NFTs. The alliance is not integrating NFTs into Fortnite, but the linkage between the companies still includes crypto elements.
Revealed today“Airphoria” is a Nike-branded experience within Fortnite’s creative mode that allows users to go on the “ultimate Nike sneaker hunt” in a Fortnite game world. The experience, which will be live in-game until June 27, can earn players a free in-game “back bling” or avatar accessory in the style of a classic pair of Nike Air Max sneakers.
But the free item is not tokenized as an NFT, nor are there NFTs for clothing or accessories included in this partnership. While the .Swoosh connection suggested a possible move to tokenized digital assets for Fortnite, the reality is that Epic Games is no different from its typical “walled garden” approach digital goods for this collaboration.
Are you ready to experience Airphoria? Find the never-before-seen #AirMax world in @FortniteGame and join the ultimate sneaker hunt before it vanishes into thin air at 6.27 👟 🌏 pic.twitter.com/I0bMiIGWFW
— Nike (@Nike) June 20, 2023
“The connection between Fortnite and Nike does not integrate NFTs or digital item trading markets into the Fortnite world or its economy,” an Epic Games spokesperson told me. Decrypt. “Items recognized in these two ecosystems are purely for the purchaser’s enjoyment and are not tradable, transferable, or resalable, as has always been the case in the Fortnite economy.”
Still, the promotion ties into Nike’s NFT-powered .Swoosh platform, which is built upon PolygonAn Ethereum scalable network. Each .Swoosh user is given a .Swoosh ID to log in, and is represented by an NFT slapped on Polygon.
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In this case, .Swoosh users can earn a special achievement on their NFT-based ID by linking their account to an Epic Games account through this promotion. Furthermore, users who both link an account And Purchasing a pack of non-NFT clothing items in Fortnite will unlock a second .Swoosh achievement.
As an official Fortnite Disclaimer states, users must link both .Swoosh and BitGo accounts to earn the achievement. BitGo is Nike’s crypto wallet provider for .Swoosh, meaning it provides the technology that can hold the .Swoosh ID NFT along with all digital apparel and accessories purchased through .Swoosh.
Nike’s partnership with Fortnite doesn’t bring NFTs into play, but linking .Swoosh and Epic Games accounts still bridges the gap between the “Web2” online battle royale shooter and Nike’s NFT-driven platform.
If anything, the partnership suggests Nike is using .Swoosh as a broader platform for gaming and metaverse digital assets, even if they aren’t tokenized and tradable. But Nike’s plans there remain unclear – and even if so, .Swoosh is built around NFT-based user IDs.
Artwork for one of the .Swoosh achievements associated with the Fortnite collaboration. Image: Nike
In addition, .Swoosh users who connect and unlock the achievement “will be eligible to access a virtual collection on .Swoosh at a later date,” per the disclaimer on the Epic Games website. Nike’s platform calls its NFT assets “virtual creations,” so the achievements may ultimately unlock future access to NFT assets.
Decrypt reached out to Nike and Epic Games representatives for clarification on the role of the .Swoosh ID NFT and BitGo wallet, as well as future NFTs related to the unlocked achievements, but didn’t immediately hear back from either side.