Two of the biggest names in entertainment are coming together to create a virtual space aimed at kids, through a new partnership between Fortnite developer Epic Games and Lego. “We’re eager to work together to create a fun, exciting, and family-friendly area in the metaverse,” Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said in a statement.
Details are few, and the concept of a metaverse remains hazy, but the firms claim that whatever they develop will be built from the start to be a family-friendly virtual place. “The Lego Group and Epic Games will combine their significant knowledge to ensure that this future iteration of the internet is created from the ground up with the wellbeing of children in mind,” the firms said in a statement.
Epic has extensive experience creating virtual worlds
The pairing makes sense to some extent. Epic Games has vast expertise creating virtual worlds, most notably with the enduringly popular Fortnite, but Lego has a growing focus on video games, most recently with the release of Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga this week. Meanwhile, two of the most popular online video games, Minecraft and Roblox, provide a sandbox building experience comparable to that of Lego bricks. Epic has already discussed making the metaverse more kid-friendly.
The new alliance joins a slew of other initiatives by firms to create their own interpretations of the metaverse, including Niantic, the maker of Pokémon Go, as well as the rebranded Facebook and key NFT brands.
There’s no word on what this new Fortnite-meets-Lego universe will look like, when it’ll be released, or which platforms it’ll be available on. The companies did, however, announce a set of three principles that will guide its development: “protect children’s right to play by prioritizing safety and wellbeing; safeguard children’s privacy by prioritizing their best interests; and empower children and adults with tools that give them control over their digital experience.”
Epic said the digital experience will be family-friendly and empower children to become confident creators
Epic said in a statement today that the digital experience will be family-friendly and will encourage kids to be confident creators. The corporations intend to pool their resources to ensure that the future generation of the internet is built with children’s safety in mind. There’s no indication yet on how the virtual world will look or when the two corporations will deploy it.
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