While its stock price continues to recover from some damaging product recalls, Peloton is making a bold move into the gaming space.
It feels like you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a business that’s getting into gaming these days.
Last week it was Netflix and now Peloton (NASDAQ: PTON) wants a slice.
Is Peloton creating video games?
In truth, there’ll be no monster-slaying or riddles to solve, other than the riddle of how Peloton’s ‘the gift that gives back’ ad ever made it to air.
The tentatively named ‘Lanebreak’ game will be opened up for a members-only beta later this year ahead of its full 2022 launch and involves riders changing up their cadence and resistance levels to meet various goals and score rewards.
Users will be able to choose the type of music they want to hear, the length of the track they’ll virtually ride on, and the difficulty. In short: it’s just a Peloton workout with gamification built-in.
This is, of course, just Peloton’s first foray into gaming, and it isn’t exactly building anything groundbreaking in the field. But while this may not be Peloton’s ‘Super Mario Bros’ moment, it is a big deal as it creates an entirely new forum for engagement, adding more value to its often-criticized hardware high price tags.
What’s more, it expands Peloton’s own limited offering, which consists of just classes, recorded or live. By implementing a gamification feature, it opens the door for more diverse subscription models, extended internal app stores, and more.
However, I for one will not be satisfied until I can play a ‘Mario Kart’ style racing simulator on a Peloton, so the R&D department had better get to work.
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