VfL Wolfsburg virtual environment in Decentraland 3D world
Virtual worlds are taking over, with gaming and the Metaverse currently the biggest growth markets in the Blockchain sector. A number of observers see the Metaverse as the logical development of social networks and the current Web 2.0. For a number of years now, VfL Wolfsburg has been a pioneer in terms of basis technologies, including 3D simulations, VR experiences and most notably all of the potential to be found in Blockchain technologies, such as NFTs and Web3.
In addition to various NFT projects, VfL is now launching a ‘walkable website’ in the form of a fan-house in Decentraland. The club has built its own corporate crypto-infrastructure that enables interaction with decentralised applications such as Decentraland. The club has thus created an emotional, interactive community in the virtual space, making the Wolves even easier to experience. The Green-and-Whites are the first football club to be testing and implementing such new possibilities on their own, to enable fans and members to have an even better interaction with VfL. The technologies and possibilities of the Metaverse vision are absolutely ideal for this, and to help their supporters and business partners to separate the hype from the actual substance and added value, the Wolves are determined to be perfect point of contact.
Foundations and infrastructure already in place
“We believe in the future of Web3 and have laid the necessary foundations for taking the next steps,” explained Linus Lebugle, Head of Business Development at VfL Wolfsburg. “We are proud of the fact that VfL – and therefore Volkswagen as well – have built up their own corporate crypto-infrastructure, enabling us to interact with all the decentralised blockchains and their uses. The journey in this case is more important than the destination. With all of the experiences that we have had in this domain, we have been able to acquire knowledge in a number of relevant areas such as legal, tax and even 3D modelling.
“All of this expertise can be carried over to every new decentralised project with just a few simple modifications, since the Decentraland plot of land is by no means the finish line – it is a first step on the way to finding what promises to be an exciting future. The entire ecosystem is developing at an incredible pace. We have our own representation in the Web3 space and see our fan-house in Decentraland as a ‘walkable website‘ and also proof of the fact that we are looking to embody our innovation market value via the efforts that we are making with our partners and sponsors.”
Creating the best experience
Decentraland offers its users an accessible world that is constantly being developed by the owners of land NFTs (in the Decentraland decentralised autonomous organisation, or DAO). The entire Web3 ecosystem is developing at an incredible pace. VfL Wolfsburg has managed to build up a genuine and above all unique representation in the Web3 space, making it one of the most innovative football clubs. For example, there are already the first augmented reality opportunities for fans as well as accessible versions of the Volkswagen Arena (including in Fortnite). The German club is one of the first to have gone live with NFT partnerships and licencing deals.
The next logical step will be combining all of these fascinating technical building blocks to make the Metaverse a reality. As such, the Green-and-Whites are already testing various centralised and also decentralised virtual platforms. VfL will regularly provide new content in its Decentraland plot of land, including press releases, player profiles and new kit launches. “It will be fun to test out this kind of platform together with our fans,” said Juppi Lee, Head of Marketing and Business Development at VfL Wolfsburg. “We are going to try out a lot of 3D content and attempt to put a ‘walkable website’ in place that our fans will enjoy visiting. In addition, we will be able to attract a new target group and provide our business partners with a new marketing platform. We chose Decentraland because it is more or less a barrier-free Metaverse platform that is accessible both with and without what is known as a wallet, and as such we will be accessing it regularly over the coming weeks. We have got plenty of ideas.”
We are going to try out a lot of 3D content and attempt to put a ‘walkable website’ in place that our fans will enjoy visiting. In addition, we will be able to attract a new target group and provide our business partners with a new marketing platform.
Juppi Lee, Head of Marketing and Business Development at VfL WolfsburgWhat the Metaverse is all about
In simple terms, this is a virtual world with the focus on bringing people together in digital spaces, despite any distances there may be in the real world and all in real time. It is a vision of the future as an extension of the Internet, where digital and physical existence blend into one. In the Metaverse, users can create avatars to have a representation of themselves that they can steer through virtual universes, where they can communicate with others, shop, and in the future even work. As is the case with NFTs, the Blockchain technology that forms the basis of it plays an essential role in the Metaverse. “We are very grateful that our partners Deloitte and TheFootballCompany, as well as the Keingarten 3D agency have chosen to follow us down this path,” Lee concluded.
The Decentraland plot of land can be visited at https://vflwolfsburg.dcl.eth or using the coordinates “110” and “-26” on Decentraland.
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