World Cup 2022: how the metaverse is changing the game

In the closing moments of the 1998 World Cup final Emmanuel Petit added a third goal to the two already scored by Zinedine Zidane – an emphatic confirmation of a French side at the peak of its powers.

France’s 3-0 victory against Brazil made it only the sixth nation (after Uruguay, Italy, England, West Germany and Argentina) to win the tournament on home soil.

The final whistle marked the end of the match, but the start of a historic victory celebration, with a million Parisians marching down the Champs-Elysees, in a moment the French coach called a “national communion”.

As well as allowing fans to witness World Cup matches in ever-greater detail, technology promises to gradually turn viewers into attendees – allowing supporters to feel the excitement of that million-strong march, no matter where they’re based.

The beautiful game

The metaverse – essentially the next iteration of the internet – is at the forefront of the evolution of how technology can connect people in new ways to the experiences they love. Although the metaverse remains at a relatively early stage of development, the World Cup is already providing a rich seam of live events that can potentially be recreated in digital form.

Roblox* is an online gaming platform that soared in popularity during the pandemic.¹ Rather than being based around a single game, Roblox is an environment that can host various user-created and proprietary games. Ahead of the 2022 World Cup kick-off, FIFA and Roblox announced a multi-year partnership² that will allow football fans to interact in social spaces, earn rewards and collect virtual items.

The Roblox partnership is one among many FIFA has struck with companies that are tapping into the metaverse in hopes of further widening the appeal of the World Cup. It includes a four-on-four casual football game played between AI-controlled characters and a social prediction game based on football cards.³

Software’s impact in the real world

Companies providing underlying technology relevant to these early examples of metaverse environments have also played their part in the real-world preparations for the 2022 World Cup.

As well as an obvious lack of rainfall needed for water-intensive projects, Qatar’s geography makes its territory vulnerable to flooding at specific times of year – a major concern amid the construction of new roads to serve stadiums and other facilities.

To mitigate this risk, flood risk assessment firm SEERO* made use of InfoWorks ICM⁴ computer aided design (CAD) software created by Autodesk* to model sewer and drainage systems and how they would fare in various flood scenarios.

Another example of how the latest technology is enhancing the World Cup experience is the partnership between Deutsche Telekom* and content delivery network Akamai*, which is allowing the games to be live streamed across the world.⁵ Given the exceptional demand created by the World Cup matches, the partnership will draw on its expertise supplying dedicated, secured bandwidth to ensure the best possible experience for viewers.

Enabling experiences

Technology – whether radio, television or the internet – has always been a part of the World Cup story.

With the final shape of the metaverse yet to be seen, companies operating in this space could face challenges such as evolving regulations or unexpected technological developments, as well as factors such as the rising cost of capital that could weigh on growth stocks more generally.

But there’s no doubting the appetite for increasingly rich and immersive ways to enjoy the thrill of that gravity-defying goal or nail-biting penalty shootout.

In the meantime, technology will continue to facilitate the more familiar World Cup experiences of live and televised games loved by millions around the world.

*For illustrative purposes only. Reference to a particular security is on a historic basis and does not mean that the security is currently held or will be held within an LGIM portfolio. The above information does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any security.

1. Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/08/roblox-is-seeing-a-surge-during-coronavirus-shelter-in-place.html

2. Source: https://metaverseinsider.tech/2022/10/14/new-metaverse-platform-launched-by-fifa-roblox-ahead-of-football-world-cup-in-qatar/

3. Source: https://www.business2community.com/nft-news/fifa-launches-metaverse-games-ahead-of-world-cup-in-qatar-02570700

4. Source: https://www.autodesk.com/customer-stories/seero-qatar-water-infrastructure

5. Source: https://tvnewscheck.com/tech/article/deutsche-telekom-global-carrier-and-akamai-to-stream-fifa-world-cup-qatar-2022/