WPP and Epic Games, the interactive entertainment company and developer of Fortnite and Unreal Engine, have formed a partnership to help WPP agencies “deliver a new era of digital experiences for brands in the metaverse,” the ad giant said.
The partnership will include a new training program to train thousands of WPP creatives and technologists on how to create custom brand experiences in Fortnite, and how to use Unreal Engine for real-time 3D creation and virtual production. This new metaverse curriculum will consist of three separate tracks for executives, creative practitioners, and media experts and strategists.
WPP teams will work closely with experts at Epic to learn how to build next-generation interactive experiences leveraging Unreal Engine, an advanced real-time 3D creation tool used across a range of industries including games, film, architecture, fashion, automotive, music, and live events.
WPP has previously collaborated with SuperAwesome, an Epic Games company, to produce innovative work such as the immersive Island built for Adidas in Fortnite for its Ozweego sneaker line.
“The collaboration between Epic, WPP, its clients and the creator community will accelerate the building of diverse social entertainment experiences that players across the world will love,” said Matthew Henick, Vice President of Metaverse Development at Epic Games.
“This partnership with WPP bolsters our mission to educate more trailblazing brands and creators on how Epic’s tools across Fortnite, Unreal Engine, and 3D marketplaces like ArtStation and Sketchfab can be used to bring their metaverse visions to life.”
This partnership follows WPP’s recent announcement of The Metaverse Foundry, a new global metaverse offering through Hogarth, its specialist creative content production company.
“We think of WPP as the creative transformation company, one that embraces new environments like the metaverse and sees the potential for clients,” said Nilufar Fowler, Executive Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at WPP.
“Epic’s technology is world-class, and we are delighted to partner with it to raise the bar for social experiences in virtual worlds on behalf of our clients.”
