A new metaverse product has been launched by Hockey India to coincide with the organisation’s hosting of the Men’s World Cup from January 13-29 in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela. This year’s Hockey India tournament will mark the first time the national sports federation has launched a social media platform to enhance the tournament experience for fans around the world: ‘Hockeyverse’. Hockey India claims that this is a first for a national sports federation.
Speaking about this new and innovative addition to Hockey India’s efforts of promoting the mega event in the country as well as globally, Bholanath Singh, Secretary General of Hockey India said, “Hockey India has taken a giant leap into the future with this innovative initiative of launching the Hockeyverse which is a great way to get people, particularly youngsters, engaged and excited about hockey. This new metaverse platform is immersive and interactive and those who can’t be here in Rourkela and Bhubaneswar to experience the best of world hockey can use this platform to connect with the event and enjoy it.
About the ‘Hockeyverse’ features:
In the ‘Hockeyverse’ there are unique attractions like a replica of the newly built Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium, as well as the Time Machine, a time travel-themed attraction just outside the main entrance of the stadium. This is a building that has two rooms, one containing a brief history of Indian Hockey’s achievements so far and one containing a brief explanation of their current achievements.
With the introduction of ‘Hockeyverse’, a new virtual experience for hockey fans will allow them to visit their favorite sports from the comfort of their homes, on their personal computers. By entering the ‘Hockeyverse’ URL in their browser, they will be redirected to a virtual world called the ‘hockeyverse’.
There is also a Photo Booth feature where fans can take selfies with players. The fan can have a glimpse of how the team’s room would look like. The fans can then enter their name, their email address, and select the gender of their virtual avatar either male or female, and then they should click on the ‘Enter Hockeyverse’ button, and once they have been logged into the Hockeyverse, the fans can use their keyboard and mouse to explore the Hockeyverse.