LEGO and Epic Games to Create Metaverse Place for Kids

Video Games

LEGO has announced they will be teaming up with Fortnite maker Epic Games “to build a place for kids to play in the metaverse.”

The statement from LEGO says the companies “are entering a long-term partnership to shape the future of the metaverse to make it safe and fun for children and families.”

The metaverse, for those who don’t know, is what some are calling the future of human interaction. It is an online space for people to interact with avatars to communicate, attend music events, and do many other things. Imagine the ground-level system to a real-life Ready Player One. 

Details on what this new LEGO/Epic metaverse space could look like are scarce, but they did outline three principles to ensure engaging and safe play opportunities: 

• Protect children’s right to play by making safety and wellbeing a
  priority.
• Safeguard children’s privacy by putting their best interests first.
• Empower children and adults with tools that give them control over their digital experience. 

Hopefully, LEGO and Epic Games find a way to make it safer for kids than what some adults have experienced in the virtual reality space. 

LEGO has seemingly moved away from their normal games publisher, TT Games, for their move to the metaverse. They will instead be utilizing Epic Games Unreal Engine, something Fortnite already uses.

Kids these days have to be able to navigate both the real and online worlds, and this new partnership will hopefully add to their learning and development capabilities. As Niels B Christiansen, CEO of the LEGO Group, says, “Kids enjoy playing in physical and digital worlds and move seamlessly between the two. We believe there is huge potential for them to develop life-long skills such as creativity, collaboration and communication in both.”