Major gaming studio Electronic Arts (EA) has caught the attention of 20,000 Twitter users after appearing to advise buying cryptocurrency/”crypto”.
EA: ‘Invest in Crypto’
EA, which is America and Europe’s second-biggest gaming studio by revenue and market cap, released what many first thought to be welcome financial advice in a tweet on September 19.
“Invest in Crypto,” the short message read.
invest in Crypto.
— Electronic Arts (@EA) September 19, 2019
Against a backdrop of mounting collaboration between the gaming industry and cryptocurrency projects, interest in EA immediately exploded online.
In the event, however, the seemingly insignificant giveaway of a capital ‘C’ in ‘Crypto’ was to prove essential. Crypto, it turned out, was, in fact, the name of a new character, and not a currency.
EA wasted little time in revealing its true colors, retweeting promotional material for Crypto, who will appear in season three of the battle royale game Apex Legends.
Nevertheless, descriptions of Crypto’s role hint at EA’s acute knowledge that cryptocurrency is a hot topic among its target audience.
“A strange hidden file. A deadly mistake. And a new Legend who is entering the fight, but looking to stay out of the spotlight. Cool, calm, and collected, Crypto has plenty of secrets to keep, and more to uncover,” some of the material for Apex Legends reads.
Cryptocurrency Industry Itches For News
The apparent light trolling of the Twitter community still did not go unnoticed by some of the industry’s biggest names.
“Brother, why do you do this? You will disappoint father,” fellow EA account EA Access responded to the Crypto post, to which exchange Binance then wrote, “It’s okay, we still love you.”
Another major exchange, OkCoin, followed suit, telling EA to “get into” cryptocurrency.
As cryptocurrency markets have picked up dramatically in 2019, corporations are still eyeing the phenomenon as a potentially lucrative addition to their offerings.
In July, it was Fortnite’s World Cup which excited commentators, with one investor forecasting massive investment from the gaming sector in the future.
“Worth noting – this is directionally very bullish crypto,” Travis Kling, founder and CIO of cryptocurrency asset manager Ikigai, summarized at the time.
Current trends focus on areas such as in-game tokens. These can be convertible and even tradeable but have seen limited uptake.
What do you think about EA Games’ crypto strategy? Let us know in the comments below!
Images via Shutterstock, Twitter: @EA