Playboy Will Open a Virtual Mansion in the Metaverse

Playboy's iconic party mansion will soon have a home in the digital realm. The media company is set to launch a virtual version of the real-life building on metaverse platform The Sandbox as it continues to flesh out a strategy around what proponents say is the next iteration of the internet, or web3. The MetaMansion will feature mini-games, social mixers, programmed events and ongoing digital collectible releases that draw upon the brand's nearly 70-year history of publishing. The project builds on Playboy's previous efforts to establish itself in the cryptocurrency-adjacent web3 space with non-fungible token (NFT) collections, metaverse experiences as well as a new creator platform called Centerfold. With Its Third NFT Art Drop, Playboy Exposes Full Crypto Commitment "The world and the lifestyle of the Playboy Mansion is obviously something that was super aspirational," said Rachel Webber, chief brand and strategy officer at Playboy. "And so the opportunity to create that environment in a way that more people can step into now in a virtual space, and to do it in a really contemporary way is something that we're really excited to bring to life." Playboy sees these technologies as a possible next chapter in a history that spans notorious nude photos and in-depth interviews with cultural luminaries. The push comes at a time when the company has been in need of a new direction: Playboy ceased print publication in March 2020 around the start of the pandemic, and a new documentary series—A&E's Secrets of Playboy—has cast renewed scrutiny on the legacy of its late founder, Hugh Hefner. The Hefner family is no longer associated with Playboy, a company spokesperson said. https://vimeo.com/728200258 In its metaverse push, Webber said Playboy is leaning on its long-held status as an iconic cultural force while also letting digital creators build off of its archives and assets with their own twists. "It's a balancing act of providing all of these incredible ideas that come from Playboy DNA and this iconic lifestyle brand and providing access to this incredible archive of art and photography and comics and talent and creators and celebrities that we've worked with, and not wanting to be prescriptive about what that can become," Webber said. Playboy's first foray into web3 technologies came in the spring of 2021 with its first NFT collection called Liquid Summer based on artworks from the company's archives. It followed that with an assortment of NFT takes on its bunny logo called Rabbitars, which will now grant holders access to premium experiences in the virtual mansion. Playboy has also previously hosted metaverse experiences in Decentraland tied to its NFT drops. Playboy isn't the only media company looking to monetize a storied history with digital collectibles. CNN has launched a project called Vault that offers historic moments from its coverage recast as NFTs. Associated Press photography has created a similar marketplace. And Time magazine has launched an NFT arm called TimePieces. Welcome to LIV Golf: Louder, Flashier, and Not Without Controversy