Days after Bandai Namco announced plans to develop a new in-house engine, the company has revealed plans to create its own ‘IP Metaverse’ to help bring fans of its games together. The Elden Ring publisher shared plans for what it hopes to accomplish by March 2025 with shareholders on Tuesday, focusing mainly on its ‘IP Axis Strategy,’ which consists of three goals: connect with fans through Bandai Namco IP, enhance IP value, and make projects more international to improve sales outside of Japan.
Part of this ambitious plan is to create an ‘IP Metaverse,’ which will cost the company around $130 million to implement. With the word ‘metaverse’ popping up in gaming and tech news almost daily, it’s hard to say exactly what Bandai Namco is envisioning, but the addition of ‘IP’ makes it seem as though fans could potentially be able to step into their favorite titles–say, Dark Souls, Digimon, or Scarlet Nexus.
This is not a fleeting fancy for the company–in the report, it reiterates over and over that developing this new metaverse is a ‘main strategy’ over the next three years.
“Bandai Namco will develop a metaverse for each IP as a new framework for connecting with fans. In this IP Metaverse, we are anticipating virtual spaces that will enable customers to enjoy a wide range of entertainment on an IP axis, as well as frameworks that leverage Bandai Namco’s distinctive strengths to fuse physical products and venues with digital elements,” the plan reads.
“We are aiming for open frameworks that provide venues for connections with and among fans and business partners. Through the IP Metaverse, we will establish communities among Bandai Namco and fans, as well as among fans themselves. Through these communities and content, we will build deep, broad, multifaceted connections that continue for long periods of time, and we will focus on the quality of those connections. In this way, we will work to maximize IP value over the medium to long term.”
The publisher is about to see plenty of positive press, as the release of Elden Ring is mere weeks away.
