German footwear giant Puma has launched its new 3D metaverse experience titled Black Station. The experience is for everyone, but Puma pass holders will be eligible for exclusive perks.
Puma has called Black Station an experimental home for product drops, which will give unrestricted access to Puma Pass NFT holders.
Expanding On Initial Launch
Black Station is Puma’s second foray into the world of Web3, following the launch of its first Web3 project, Black Station 1. Black Station 1 was launched in September during the New York Fashion Week as part of the Futrograde fashion show. According to the firm, the latest Web3 experience from the brand can be explored by everyone. However, only users that possess RB tokens airdropped to Puma Pass holders can purchase a digital “Rulebreaker” sneaker and claim two digital wearables. A developer working on the program stated,
“If you do not own an RB token, there is still so much to explore. Unkai, our city in the clouds, and Unter, our exhilarating club below, both are filled with mysteries to explore and collect.”
RB token holders can burn the token on Black Station between the 13th and 20th of June and gain access to product drops in the metaverse. The Black Station roadmap also details several general events and NFT drops scheduled for later this year. Furthermore, events scheduled for 2024 are also in the pipeline.
An Immersive Environment
Black Station allows users to access a highly immersive environment created in collaboration with Unreal Engine. Users can shop for limited-edition digital and physical sneakers. The second edition of Black Station builds on this, expanding into two more digital worlds, each having a unique sneaker tied to it. Head of emerging marketing tech and Web3 at Puma, Ivan Dashkov, stated,
“As we move forward into this second launch, we want to target a broader audience and let anyone come in, experience it and play with it. We’ll iterate from there and continue to broaden our approach.”
Users can access the world through blackstation.puma.com and walk to a Puma elevator. From there, users can choose to go to the Unkai, inspired by Shibuya, or to Unter, inspired by Berlin’s nightlife. Users in Unkai can float between Lego-like blocks in the sky. It also features the Super Puma mascot and giant Puma shoes. In Unter, users can experience an underground red-lit cave and follow neon green footsteps into a Puma rave room or see a giant Fast-RB Puma shoe. Additionally, there are also hidden easter eggs. Dashkov added,
“The two spaces are fun because they’re so different. There are also a couple of easter eggs we’ve hidden throughout the space related to our other NFT project, Super Puma PFP, in both the visuals and the story.”
The launch comes as other competitors such as Nike released its first ever drop on the .Swoosh Web3 community platform. The collection, called “Our Force 1” pays homage to the legendary Nike Air Force 1 sneakers which were launched 41 years ago.
Sticking With Ethereum
The experience will remain open until the 23rd of June. Additionally, Puma had stated that it was also exploring the possibility of alternative chains. However, it eventually decided to stay with Ethereum. It was reported back in February 2022 that Puma had registered an Ethereum Name Service domain. It also changed its Twitter name to Puma.eth. The company had also invested in several feline-inspired NFTs such as Gutter Cat Gang, CatBlox, Lazy Lions, and Cool Cats NFT.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
