The LEGO Group and Epic Games Team Up to Build a Place for Kids to Play in the Metaverse

The LEGO Group and Epic Games today announced they are entering a long-term partnership to shape the future of the metaverse to make it safe and fun for children and families. The two companies will team up to build an immersive, creatively inspiring and engaging digital experience for kids of all ages to enjoy together. Details on the project are still few and far between, but the partners stated in a release that it will be a safe and positive digital space that provides tools for kids to enhance their creative skills.

To achieve this goal, LEGO and Epic are following three key principles: prioritizing safety and wellbeing to protect children’s right to play; putting kids’ best interests first to safeguard their privacy; and providing tools that empower kids and adults to control their digital experience.

With this move, LEGO and Epic have joined a growing group of companies that are currently engaged in the kids metaverse, including Genius Brands International, Roblox and Dubit.

Niels B Christiansen, CEO of The LEGO Group said: “Kids enjoy playing in digital and physical worlds and move seamlessly between the two. We believe there is huge potential for them to develop life-long skills such as creativity, collaboration and communication through digital experiences. But we have a responsibility to make them safe, inspiring and beneficial for all. Just as we’ve protected children’s rights to safe physical play for generations, we are committed to doing the same for digital play. We look forward to working with Epic Games to shape this exciting and playful future.”

Tim Sweeney, CEO & Founder, Epic Games said: “The LEGO Group has captivated the imagination of children and adults through creative play for nearly a century, and we are excited to come together to build a space in the metaverse that’s fun, entertaining, and made for kids and families.”

Their entry aligns with insights from David Kleeman, SVP of metaverse studio and research/strategy consultancy Dubit, who argued that “it’s time for us to build the metaverse we want, not just take the one we get.”

in 2020，Epic acquired UK-based kidtech company SuperAwesome. Since 2013, SuperAwesome has been operating a kid-safe ad platform that connects brands with young audiences, as well as an OTT marketplace linking content creators with COPPA-compliant OTT apps and partners, such as FutureToday, KetchupTV and Ameba.

For its part, LEGO recently launched a range of new resource content (including videos, games and online activities) designed to teach kids positive digital citizenship skills.