Hip-hop artist Saweetie is performing exclusively in Roblox for the NFL’s Super Bowl LVII pregame on February 10, the National Football League announced today.
\nThe virtual concert will take place at 7:00 pm ET in Warner Music Group’s Rhythm City, a new destination on Roblox that was announced earlier this week. Rhythm City is set to launch on February 4 and offers mini-games and social roleplaying experiences like becoming a musician and owning a house and car.
\nThe NFL claims that Saweetie will give a \u201cfamily-friendly,\u201d fully motion-captured performance and sing her hit songs like \u201cTap-In.\u201d The concert will re-air every hour until Sunday, February 12.
\nFans that virtually attend the Saweetie Super Bowl Concert can also get digital items on the Roblox marketplace or win items by finishing challenges. The digital collection includes wearable hairstyles, hats, boots, headphones and sweatsuits, which are based on Saweetie’s merchandise and her album looks.
\n\u201cI’m really excited to bring this iconic moment to the metaverse and share my music with a whole new audience in such a unique way! As an artist, innovator, and football fan, to be able to perform during Super Bowl LVII weekend in this new world \u2013 Rhythm City on Roblox \u2013 is something I never imagined that I would be involved in. I am very grateful and happy about this opportunity,\u201d Saweetie said in a statement.
\nImage Credits: Roblox\/NFL
\nThe NFL is also launching Super NFL Tycoon within Roblox. The metaverse experience allows users to pretend they’re NFL team owners, draft a team and build a stadium. Super NFL Tycoon will launch on February 4 to coincide with the virtual Super Bowl concert. Users can move between Super NFL Tycoon and Rhythm City through a designated portal.
\nInterestingly, the experience \u2014 which is presented by the global financial technology platform Intuit \u2014 is also an attempt to teach younger users \u201cimportant financial concepts in a fun and engaging manner,\u201d said Lara Balazs, Intuit’s chief marketing officer and general manager of Strategic Partner Group. So, while users fantasize about owning an NFL team, they can also learn how to manage cash flow, payroll, taxes and customer acquisition (because that’s supposed to be fun somehow).
\nThe concert, Super NFL Tycoon and Rhythm City are also developed in partnership with Gamefam, a gaming company across metaverse platforms.
\n\u201cBringing a cultural moment like the Super Bowl to the metaverse with such innovative partners marks a shift in how brands are coming together to create the next generation of metaverse gaming experiences,\u201d said Ricardo Briceno, chief business officer of Gamefam.
\nThis is the second year in a row that NFL and Roblox are offering the NFL Tycoon experience. For the 2022 Super Bowl, Roblox users could attend an interactive event called \u201cDestruction House,\u201d inspired by the Super Bowl LVI commercial. Also, in 2021, Roblox launched a virtual NFL storefront, giving users NFL-themed digital items to dress up their Roblox avatars.
\nThe NFL’s foray into the metaverse highlights how the league tries to cater to a younger demographic.
\n\u201cWorking with Roblox has enabled us to create interactive shared experiences and with the virtual concert and Super NFL Tycoon, we will unlock deeper fan engagement,\u201d said Ed Kiang, VP of Video Gaming at the NFL.
\nRoblox reported that its third quarter saw the fastest year-over-year growth in daily active users that range from 17 to 24 years old, which saw an increase of 41%. Roblox’s daily active users that are older than 13 years old grew by 34% year-over-year and accounted for 54% of all daily active users.
\nThe streaming rights deal with Amazon has proven to attract a younger audience for the NFL. Amazon reported that Thursday Night Football (TNF) on Prime Video delivered an audience eight years younger than last year’s average TNF audience. The NFL also recently struck a deal with YouTube for the Sunday Ticket.
\nSuper Bowl LVII will take place Sunday, February 12, with the Kansas City Chiefs playing the Philadelphia Eagles.
\nIn September, Apple Music announced it is the official sponsor of the Super Bowl Halftime Show.<\/p>\n
Apple Music becomes the official sponsor of the Super Bowl halftime show<\/p>\n