Quick take:
- MTV Video Music Awards is opening a virtual experience on Robox.
- The new experience is part of MTV’s latest product that recognises musical performances in the metaverse.
- MTV is using the Roblox-based service to try to reach young viewers as it assesses the metaverse opportunity.
MTV is beefing up its newly launched product, Video Music Awards with a virtual experience on Roblox. The US cable TV and entertainment giant’s new metaverse hub is created as part of a broader strategy of reaching the younger generation of fans.
The metaverse is broadly described as a 3D virtual space where people can interact immersively through gaming, virtual concerts and other experiences like the one MTV just unveiled.
Roblox is one of the leading metaverse companies that are publicly traded on the US stock exchange. It has played host to technology and entertainment giants looking to have a peek at what the metaverse is all about. Samsung recently revealed its own metaverse hub on the platform, which it plans to use to create more channels of engagement with its customers.
MTV is looking to experiment with the opportunities that the metaverse presents with VMA. commenting on the virtual experience launch, Amy Campbell, chief marketing officer of Paramount Media Networks and MTV Entertainment Studios said: “One of the most exciting things about it is that it brings the VMA experience to people wherever they are in the world.”
According to the announcement, the VMA experience will feature three games, starting with one launched on Aug. 12. The company plans to add one more for each of the next two Fridays, ahead of the Award show on August 28.
The VMA hub will allow players to boost their chances to vote for the best metaverse performance by “collecting MTV-logo tokens throughout the experience and by playing the games.”
MTV teamed up with Superleague Gaming to build its VMA experience, the game publisher’s relationship with MTV and entities associated with Paramount goes back several years.
“This is for that slightly older Roblox gamer who’s starting to identify heavily with music, and is really about to enter that entry point of becoming an MTV viewer,” said Ann Hand, chief executive and chair of Super League Gaming.
The metaverse is seen as a burgeoning industry, whose potential could be worth trillions within the next decade. A recent report by McKinsey predicts that the metaverse could reach $5 trillion by 2030, while Citi previously forecasted a value as high as $13 trillion.
Given the potential of the industry, companies across the world continue to experiment with ways to extend their presence to the virtual world. MTV, Samsung, Forever21 and Chipotle are just among many that are using Roblox to test the experience.
Stay up to date: