The Sneakerverse’s Affair With the Digiscape

In February, was crowned the first streamer to join the family. This was a whopping acquisition from Team Swoosh, who back in 2021 acquired and took a leap into the metaverse. However, they were years behind , who took onboard popular streamer back in 2019. The digital world, full of streamers, Esports superstars and the once-flourishing NFT market, has always perplexed brands. They’ve all tried to enter the game in one way or another, but as the internet moves fast and popularity fluctuates rapidly, it’s been tough for the sportswear giants to make a real dent. This has never deterred them though, and Nike, adidas and have all made plays, getting out of sporting fields and heading full digital.

Full Ninja Mode

If you can remember the time between late 2018 and early 2019, was the game du jour. It seemed everyone was going Battle Royale in the Titled Towers and streaming their Victory Royale achievements. None were as popular as Ninja the blue-haired headband wearer, who was quick to become a pop-cultural phenomenon around the globe through his supreme skill at the game. It wasn’t long before sportswear brands took notice of his high six digit viewer count, with adidas leaping to make a deal. Back in 2019 Ninja, whose real name is Tyler Blevins, said on Microsoft’s Mixer Stream, ‘I can’t say what is in the works with adidas, but use your imagination’. What did come was a multi-shoe colab that spanned into the 2020s and featured models such as the and .

Esports Mania

Throughout the 2010s, Esports ballooned in size, garnering global fame and seeing an influx of corporate sponsors eager to tap into the new hip competition space. Nike, adidas, , and all entered the market with their own esports-geared releases. The biggest achievement was definitely from Team Swoosh, who cashed in on 2020’s League of Legends World Championship and released a mega collection. Featured was the , , and High, , , Air Max 2X and . On top of that, they also sponsored the whole tournament and in 2023 replaced as the official sponsor of the League of Legends Pro League.

Metaverse Specialists

‘What actually is the metaverse?’ is still a question that gets thrown around in 2024, and only a few fully understand the three dimensional digital world. A company that had grasped the concept and made a name through it was who was acquired by Nike in 2021. Team Swoosh made their first leap into the digital realm with Roblox, followed by an 'Cool Grey' activation in Fortnite. RTFKT, a group of digital artists, designers and more, were set to be their biggest foray yet.

RTFKT Studios are best known in sneakers through their collaboration with Jeff Staple for a 'Meta-Pigeon' NFT that came with a real-life sneaker. Nike had plenty they wanted to do with the collective. According to then-Nike president and CEO John Donahoe in 2021, 'The acquisition of RTFKT is another step that accelerates Nike’s digital transformation and allows us to serve athletes and creators at the intersection of sport, creativity, gaming and culture. We’re acquiring a very talented team of creators with an authentic and connected brand. Our plan is to invest in the RTFKT brand, serve and grow their innovative and creative community and extend Nike’s digital footprint and capabilities'. While in 2024, the energy around the metaverse and NFTs has waned, RTFKT has continued their work crafting releases such as the .

KC3

The latest big digital signing from the sneakerverse was Kai Cenat. The streamer announced his partnership through one of his Twitch where he has over 12 million followers, ‘I would like to announce that we are officially a part of the Nike family. This has been a long time waiting’. KC3 then went on to help debut the ‘Low Poly’ as part of Nike’s imprint. The has rolled out a plethora of special projects with a promise to blend innovation with tradition. In a three-dimensional recreation of his room, Kai gave the world its first look at the new Air Max 1 inspired by gaming.

The Kai Cenat signing seems to be only the start of the relationship between sneakers and streamers. Recently, it was rumoured that ever-popular streamer IShowSpeed could be getting a Nike deal after he said he would stop wearing his iconic . Despite people claiming Esports is dying, the initial boom has now weaned and remained at a consistent pace, making it ripe for more sportswear brands to get involved. While no single brand dominates the digispace right now, the evolution of the internet, especially the increasing popularity of streamers, will see more brands tap further into the matrix.

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