Roblox players have already visited the Australian Open’s in-game experience more than 2.4 million times since its launch last week, the gaming platform states, tripling recent real-world attendance numbers as Tennis Australia attempts to turn online gamers into pass-buying fans.
AO Adventure, featuring tennis courts, obstacle courses, and branded stalls modelled on the tournament’s Melbourne grounds, marks Tennis Australia’s latest venture in its growing stable of Web3 and metaverse-adjacent projects.
It was developed by Swedish outfit The Gang, which previously worked on Wimbledon-themed Roblox experience WimbleWorld, FIFA World, and Spotify Island.
In less than a week, the experience has amassed far more visits than the 2019 Australian Open, the last tournament unaffected by COVID-19 restrictions, which drew a record 796,000 fans over its duration.
Speaking to SmartCompany upon AO Adventure‘s release, Ridley Plummer, senior manager metaverse, NFTs, Web3 and cryptocurrency at Tennis Australia, said he hopes the experience will inspire fans to eventually visit the Melbourne event in person.
The game “provides us with a great opportunity to also talk to a new audience who may not be familiar with AO being a sports and entertainment event,” he said.
“Many of the fans experiencing the AO virtually won’t make it to Melbourne for one reason or another. So our ability to use virtual technology to take the event to them is somewhat priceless.”
AO Adventure offers users the chance to purchase in-game passes for the equivalent of $2.50, suggesting organisers may recoup some of the cost of establishing the experience.
The setting serves as another outlet for AO advertisers like Emirates, KIA, and Rolex, whose branding is festooned across the cartoonish arena.
However, the battle for the attention (and money) of young Roblox players is fierce, even for organisations as well-resourced as Tennis Australia.
Some of Roblox’s most popular experiences like Blox Fruits and Brookhaven count visitor numbers in the billions, meaning the sporting body and its advertisers are now competing with finely-polished games commanding dedicated userbases.
While those challenges lay ahead of AO Adventure, Tennis Australia appears committed to its forward-thinking digital strategy, including the rollout of its NFT Art Ball project.
The first round of its NFTs, launched in 2022, sold out in minutes. Although NFT and crypto asset valuations have tumbled since, collectors have acquired nearly half of the second-round allocation since its debut last week.
With its Art Balls valued at the equivalent of $246, the new collection has already amassed more than $300,000 in sales.
Senior Business Journalist
Focused on the small business sector, David’s work covers the political, regulatory, and economic issues facing Australian entrepreneurs. Prior to joining SmartCompany, he was a reporter for Business Insider Australia. You can follow him on LinkedIn.
