Rise of the Avatars: Their Future in Gaming, Fashion and Music

I recently hosted an industry roundtable on rise of avatars in a variety of entertainment and retail businesses, from trendy games and music. So much creativity on display. Great brand partnerships. A flourishing market. Unprecedented levels of engagement. Yet during this heated conversation, my mind kept returning to one thing … Roblox.

When Roblox, a game once known as Minecraft’s less mundane cousin, recently raised over $ 520 million for a valuation of $ 29.5 billion, it turned more than a few heads. But despite the mind-boggling numbers, savvy followers of the industry were more intrigued by the company’s purchase of digital avatar startup Loom.ai. After all, what would the game known for designing block and lo-res characters want with a company that created some of the most advanced digital avatars in the industry?

Perhaps the Roblox team recognized the recent stratospheric growth of avatars in video games and across multiple digital platforms, and decided that if they were going to compete with the big media and tech companies of the future, they would need to access the most detailed digital. lookalike in space.

Avatars may seem like they came out of nowhere, but in reality, they’ve been a part of our games and digital experiences for decades. Since the early days of role-playing games and sports titles like Madden, avatars have been there to represent our game, even if sometimes in the most rudimentary way. They might not look exactly like us, but improved your warrior or NFL running back stats connected you to the pixel collection as you play on the screen and improved the gaming experience.

Like all things in the digital realm, technology has improved and become more accessible. We were able to create characters that were more realistic and emotional than ever. Yet the tipping point had not yet arrived. Avatars have played a crucial role in games like Second Life and with creative artists like the Gorillaz, but the full adoption of the technology wasn’t there and we couldn’t see what was really possible.

Now, driven by the need for social interaction during Covid, and by innovative startups like Genies taking avatar technology from 2D to 3D, the time is right. The intersection of creative people and forward-thinking brands within the metaverse has resulted in digital avatars, and the corresponding revenues they can generate, that are pushing into another orbit, especially in gaming, music, and more. of fashion.

Welcome to the game Skins

Some 2.5 billion people have spent more than $ 100 billion on digital products, and in-game character skins have become a larger share of the gaming market than even the most optimistic forecasts could have imagined. What started to take off with an array of hats in Team Fortress 2 and knives in CS: GO, cosmetic upgrades that offer no gameplay benefits, has been supercharged, unsurprisingly, by the bigger game. of the world, Fortnite. Even with the loss of mobile versions of the game this year, Fortnite grossed Epic Games around $ 4 billion in 2020, with a significant percentage coming from sales of co-branded skins from Marvel, Sony and other sought-after brands. . While other games may lack Fortnite’s user base or partnerships, we no longer need a proof of concept to determine whether players will pay to customize and dress their avatars in a meaningful way to them. This is already happening in a big way.

Digitally dressed to succeed

You don’t need a psychology degree to recognize that human nature is the same whether you are in the digital world or IRL. Universally, when it comes to how we look and how we are seen by others, we want to be noticed, respected and worshiped.

In the real world, that’s why we buy clothes that flatter us or make us stand out. That’s why we go to the gym or have plastic surgery. Inside the Metaverse, this is the reason why players are willing to spend their money on expensive fashion items and accessories to dress up their avatars. We want our digital identity to be as beautiful as possible.

With traditional retail sales declining during the global pandemic, fashion brands like Gucci and The North Face have recognized this new market and entered the space. The North Face offers gaming gear for Pokemon Go while Gucci has partnered with Genies to bring clothing and accessories to its celebrity avatar clientele, all of which can be purchased by the consumer to accessorize their own alternate character. .

To keep up with the evolution of fashion and avatars, check out the concept of the digital fashion show. Initially new to helping brands promote their lines under Covid, we saw elite fashion brands using avatars to showcase their real-world designs. Then the market for avatars and digital products started to grow. Now we are seeing an influx of clothing brands featuring digital collections similar to before, BUT the clothing on display can be purchased for both a human and an avatar. The circle has come full circle and the paradigm has changed.

The song doesn’t stay the same

Godfathers of the music-avatar convergence, Gorillaz has created a fully fleshed out animated universe built around the band and its music. Each member of the group had a unique avatar and personality and style. The images worked in concert with the music to help sell the group. Years later, Riot Games took it one step further with K / DA, an avatar-only Kpop group built from entire fabric with one goal: to expand the reach of the company’s hit game, League of Legends.

The brilliance of what Riot did with K / DA is how it all fits together. Every member of K / DA is a true legend of the worldwide hit game, reimagined as a modern musical version of themselves. The game promotes the group and vice versa.

The next step for the music industry comes from artists like Teflon Sega, who is an original personality reflecting the artist, his music, videos and public appearances. In a sense, it’s not even technically correct to call it an avatar although it does exist in that digital form. What the avatar offers Teflon Sega, and other artists for whom it leads the way, is freedom. Creative freedom to experiment musically and visually, and to appear in the Metaverse in multiple locations at once, fully customized to reflect this setting. There is a limitless future here, and it will be exciting to see how that plays out.

I dream of geniuses

To understand where we’re headed, it’s worth looking at one of the leading avatar creators, Geniuses, who, in addition to making the leap to 3D avatars, have signed many celebrities and artists seeking to plant their flags in this space. Having a beautiful avatar isn’t just new to someone like Cardi B. It’s a chance for her to make multiple digital appearances simultaneously, or partner with Hermes on a new handbag, and then monetize. its avatar in the digital product space by offering a limited number of digital bags for sale. A new marketplace is emerging thanks to the avatar-brand-consumer relationship.

But there is something Genies is doing that could be the next most essential step in the evolution of the avatar. The company is “appnostic”, so your avatar can be used in different environments and in different settings. This universality is absolutely crucial for continued growth. If we can buy Rihanna’s Fenty Jacket for our avatar, it is all the more valuable because it can be seen virtually anywhere we go. Already providing an SDK for businesses to integrate their avatars and assets into their applications, Genies is on track to unify the digiscap and make our dreams come true.

So where do we go from here? The line between the physical and digital worlds will continue to blur as more and more people become familiar with avatars as artists, influencers, and representations of themselves. More adoption, and if Genies has its way, unification will bring more brands into the space. This will further increase revenue and attract more creative players pushing technology to new places. It’s going to be fun to see where it all goes next. Avatars are not here to replace us, after all they just make life more interesting.