The global gaming market is booming, with 3 billion users expected by 2027. Brands across fashion, film, and food are diving into platforms like Roblox and Fortnite, leveraging gaming to connect with Gen Zalpha and revitalise their image.
Games are being hailed as the social networks of the future. With approximately half of China’s population now being gamers, some luxury brands are already capitalising on this largely untapped opportunity.
Take Versace, who recently launched a limited-time campaign in Fortnite to promote its Mercury sneakers. Within the popular Murder Mystery map, players can wear the sneakers in-game and race to unlock special rewards.
However, gaming is no longer restricted to the home. Saudi Arabia has invested millions in digital theme park start-up HyperSpace, which designs, builds and operates future-forward theme parks in shopping centres.
These next-gen parks merge elements of video games, social media, and Web3 culture, catering to today’s digital lifestyles. Their 40,000-square-foot location in Dubai has attracted nearly half a million visitors, HyperSpace describe the space as “a beautiful vacation to a technicolour dreamstate in an alternate universe” where “guests wander surrealist gardens, make music with light, and play where gravity is reversed, stars sing, and flowers bloom in moon dust.”
HyperSpace’s co-founder and CEO, Alexander Heller, believes that tapping into the growing demand for immersive, gaming-infused attractions can bring a “cool factor” to traditional retail, adding that “in today’s landscape, the focus is much more on creating experience-driven environments.”
As gaming breaks out of the home and into physical spaces, get in touch to explore how we can create experiences that connect with young, digital-first consumers.
