Strategy July 01, 2022
Wimbledon Debuts ‘Meta’ Merch in New ‘WimbleWorld’ Roblox Game
The world’s most prestigious tennis tournament has entered the metaverse, a venture that includes digital swag for gamers.
Professional tennis’ most prestigious major championship now exists in the metaverse – and there’s digital branded merchandise to augment the creation.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club has teamed up with Roblox to debut WimbleWorld, a 3D virtual world that’s based on the Centre Court stadium at Wimbledon.
WimbleWorld exists within the metaverse of Roblox, an online gaming platform and gaming creation system that empowers users to program games and play games created by other users.
In WimbleWorld, gamers can score ‘Wimblebux’ to buy items in a virtual merch store. The swag, which players use to customize their in-game avatars, includes digital branded clothing from Wimbledon sponsor Ralph Lauren, a virtual edition of former champion Andy Murray’s AMC cap, and virtual tennis equipment. Free limited edition digital merch items will also be available. Ralph Lauren has a physical-world Wimbledon-branded collection too, of course.
In celebration of The Championships and the centenary of Centre Court, @Wimbledon and @Roblox have partnered to debut #WimbleWorld
— Ralph Lauren (@RalphLauren) June 30, 2022
Compete with friends on Centre Court and customize your avatar with Polo Ralph Lauren’s spectator styles
Explore more: https://t.co/BTkKB285gU pic.twitter.com/j5cHGY38in
Additionally, gamers are treated to the fun of competing in matches against other avatars and interacting with Murray’s avatar. There’s an objective-reality-world connection too: Certain screens in WimbleWorld show video highlights from actual Wimbledon matches.
The Wimbledon tennis championship is now in its 135th edition. Notably, 2022 marks 100 years of Centre Court being in its current location at Church Road in Wimbledon. The partnership with Roblox is one of the unique ways the All England Lawn Tennis Club is celebrating the centenary occasion. The tournament, already underway, is set to conclude with the men’s singles final on July 10.
The intersection between real-world experiences and products and the digital realm has been growing – an evolution that’s beginning to occur in the promotional products industry, too. Indeed, a handful of promo professionals have been exploring how to turn real-life branded products into lucrative digital assets. Supplier Wendell August Forge (asi/37457) recently launched an NFT collection.