Program Designed Lets Developers Tap Into the Growing Market For Online Avatars
By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
The tech company Ready Player Me (RPM) is making a big move in the growing market for online avatars with a new licensing program.
RPM says it’s launching a ‘Premium Skins Catalog’, which will include content from major players like Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group’s merchandise arm Bravado, Rovio’s Angry Birds, McLaren Racing, and ITV Studios’ “The Voice.”
That latter deal with The Voice is being done in collaboration with the metaverse licensing company Virtual Brand Group.
The program will allow players to access avatars based on these brands in thousands of games and apps that are already integrated with the Ready Player Me platform. Through Ready Player Me’s partnerships with leading brands, in addition to new monetization tools, developers can quickly start selling branded skins to their player base to encourage avatar personalization and grow revenue as a result.
“Ready Player Me aims to make it easy for every developer to add avatars to their games, just like big AAA studios can. And, these same game studios, who produce mega-hits like Fortnite and Roblox, earn billions of dollars a year by selling premium branded skins and other assets to their players,” said Ready Player Me CEO and co-founder Timmu Tõke. “Now, with the release of the Premium Skins Catalog, every Developer has the ability to sell skins featuring some of the biggest brands in the world with just a few clicks.”
At the moment, these types of licensing deals would have to be negotiated separately with the licensor, which is a difficult and time consuming task even for larger game developers, let alone small indie developers, but it’s important because the direct-to-avatar economy and in-game purchases is now a multi-billion dollar industry.
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Fortnite alone is estimated to have generated USD $9 billion in its first two years, according to the tech and pop culture publication The Verge.
RPM says the Premium Skins Catalog is a critical step in tapping into this market for every developer, regardless of size. Premium Skins Catalog provides developers with the opportunity to sell premium skins for Ready Player Me avatars from top brands and artists. Developers can easily list these items for sale in their own custom storefronts or utilize the Ready Player Me Avatar Creator to sell items directly to their player base.
“At Warner Music Group, we are committed to enabling our artists and songwriters to connect with their fans wherever they may be, and in the interactive formats they demand,” says Warner’s VP of New Business & Ventures Jillian Rothman. “Through this partnership with Ready Player Me, we’re empowering thousands of developers to offer fans a way to express their unique identities in digital spaces. The creative possibilities are endless, and we look forward to seeing what they build.”
Two of the first skins made available by UMG’s merchandise arm Bravado are by German metal band Electric Callboy and by STOKED, a UMG-owned HipHop lifestyle brand.
“Many music fans are gamers and most gamers are music fans so it feels obvious to make official merchandise available digitally to allow users to express themselves and show off their fandom just like in the real word,” explains Holger Christoph, SVP Digital Business Central Europe.
UMG Germany also recently launched their own interactive fan platform YOUniverse Berlin which is using Ready Player Me avatars.
Presented avatar customization options are not final and are subject to change before the public release to developers and users.
RPM says the Premium Skins Catalog will be available soon. To be among the first to be notified, and to get started integrating Ready Player Me avatars, game developers can sign up for a free Developer account today. The RPM community currently includes more than 10,000 developers building the future of digital gaming experiences.