Nike launches virtual sportswear platform ‘.Swoosh’

Sportswear giant Nike has launched a Web3 platform “.Swoosh” where virtual shoes, clothing and other items that can be worn in digital games will be available for sale. 

The site is now open to the public in its beta version, and registration is scheduled to begin at the end of November, according to a November 14 statement. It will first be opened in the U.S. and select European countries. 

After the launch of the first collection, due in 2023, there will be a challenge project for community members to win the opportunity to co-create virtual items with Nike. The winners will receive royalties (creator’s commission) for the virtual products they help co-create.

Nike said the platform seeks to support athletes and contribute to the future of sports. Events will be held to provide opportunities to communicate with athletes and designers of virtual items, as well as access rights to real products.

The new platform would allow community members to play and shop sport and offer a gateway into a new digital arena, said Ron Faris, general manager of Nike Virtual Studios. 

“We are shaping a marketplace of the future with an accessible platform for the web3-curious,” Faris said. “In this new space, the .SWOOSH community and Nike can create, share, and benefit together.”

At the end of 2021, Nike acquired RTFKT, an NFT sneaker brand that includes the popular NFT project “Clone X” in collaboration with contemporary artist Takashi Murakami. It has also applied for trademark registration for Nike-branded virtual items such as clothing and sneakers, and has reportedly expressed its intention to enter the metaverse.