Digital avatars have greatly impacted the gaming landscape, making games more appealing by letting players immerse themselves in virtual places through characters that represent them. With their adoption in various industries like gaming, digital avatars have gained significant traction over the past few years. An article on its market growth shows that the global digital avatar market was valued at $13.5 billion in 2022 and is expected to expand in the succeeding years.
Our previous article on EA Sports FC showcases how digital avatars make the game more compelling by mirroring the spirit of football. From evoking the iconic emotions of a hat trick to hearing the roaring audience at Wembley, avatars make you feel as if you’re actually in the heat of action. But just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, Ready Player Me has launched a collaboration with Sunglass Hut to make digital avatars more appealing. Here’s what you need to know:
What is Ready Player Me?
Founded in 2014, Ready Player Me is a platform for games that lets you create and customize an avatar resembling your features from a selfie or a preset. You can choose from a wide array of customization options and integrate your avatar into more than 10,000 compatible games and applications with the help of software development kits. They previously worked with other gaming platforms such as Omlet Arcade, Hiber, Spatial, and Wink by providing access to premium avatar collections and monetization tools, ultimately helping these developers increase their revenue. Through this initiative, Ready Player Me made it possible for developers to make and sell avatar items and skins in-game. They also have years of experience in custom-building avatar technologies for big brands like Huawei, Verizon, and Wargaming.
Who is Sunglass Hut?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LuduZ8K0IUSunglass Hut started out as a small family business in Miami in 1971 before expanding to become an international retailer notable for selling luxury sunglasses online. Today, it offers countless high-end brands, ranging from Prada and Burberry to Versace, that come in various frame sizes, fits, and options for polarized and prescription lenses. Sunglass Hut isn’t new to collaborating, either. It recently collaborated with musician Dua Saleh to model its HYPEBEAST Curated Selection. And in 2019, it collaborated with actress Sarah Jessica Parker to create an eyewear collection of her preferred type: wraparound sunglasses. As it joins forces with Ready Player Me, Sunglass Hut is expanding its portfolio to the digital landscape.
Elevating avatars with sunglasses
Ready Player Me and Sunglass Hut recently sealed a milestone partnership that paves the way for gamers to accessorize their avatars with digital sunglasses, merging virtual worlds with physical merchandise. You can now visit select Sunglass Hut shops across the United States to get free virtual Ray-Ban and Oakley sunglasses for your avatars by scanning a QR code on their SmartShopper digital in-store screens. This is a pioneering initiative that seeks to elevate virtual fashion further. Similar to their human counterparts, avatars can now sport a flashy pair of sunglasses. This way, gamers can now express their personal aesthetic in the virtual world, making games seem more personalized and appealing. This makes the collaboration an especially smart move now that more gamers and overall consumers alike are buying into digital fashion—particularly Gen Z.
Digital avatars greatly improve user experience when it comes to gaming. From single role-playing to multiplayer online video games, avatars help players engage and interact with others virtually through characters they personally curated. With the recent venture of Ready Player Me and Sunglass Hut, digital avatars will surely add more appeal and style to various games and applications.