Global collegiate esports league Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports has announced the launch of UNIVERSITY World, a new virtual world in the UAE that’s aimed at connecting university students from 16 countries on 4 continents.
The web-based app was launched in UAE in collaboration with MENA Tech Entertainment. Students and individuals who wish to access UNIVERSITY World can interact with each other in a central hall that’s common to all countries and in specific rooms unique to each country.
Users can communicate through the platform’s integrated chat and score points to win prizes through different mini-games as well as other activities, creating a global community in a virtual space.
Mario Pérez, CEO of MENA Tech Entertainment, commented, “In a world that continues to become increasingly digital, the virtual world is becoming an ever more present scenario in our lives. Metaverses will become more accessible over the next few years as more industries begin to explore and invest in them, improving accessibility. This serves as the ripe time to introduce UNIVERSITY World to the UAE, to educate people in preparation for what’s to come.”
Building a digital future
Dubai has been making significant progress towards building its metaverse as it aims to become one of the leading metaverse economies when the nascent space reaches global adoption. After announcing its metaverse strategy last year, Dubai is focused on multiplying its blockchain presence and creating over 40,000 virtual jobs by 2030.
UNIVERSITY World will continue to improve and will be updated with new features driven by the community’s demands on how the world can be better. There are already improvements planned for the app such as adding educational materials like video workshops and news.
The app will help individuals enhance their experience, especially Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports students. It’ll also bridge boundaries by exploring new ways to interact and test new products in virtual environments.
UNIVERSITY World is currently available in seven countries including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Italy, France, Germany and the UK and is being supported by publishers and brands such as Ubisoft, Riot Games and HP Omen.
Isa Muhammad is a writer and video game journalist covering many aspects of entertainment media including the film industry. He's steadily writing his way to the sharp end of journalism and enjoys staying informed. If he's not reading, playing video games or catching up on his favourite TV series, then he's probably writing about them.
