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Samsung will host its Galaxy S22 launch event in the metaverse

Published Feb 8th, 2022 7:07PM EST
Galaxy S22 Unpacked promo image from Samsung's website.
Image: Samsung

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Samsung will launch the Galaxy S22 series on Wednesday during the most important Unpacked event of the year. Samsung can’t host a press conference with a live audience yet, so we will be watching another virtual event for the Galaxy S22 phones. But this is the first year that Samsung will bring the metaverse into play, which means Galaxy S22 fans can score an NFT while watching the show.

Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked comes with NFTs

Samsung announced the metaverse aspect of the Galaxy S22 launch on Tuesday, in what appears to be a complex marketing push that mixes and matches quite a few themes.

Samsung wants to let fans watch the Galaxy S22 event through the metaverse via its Samsung 837X Decentraland portal. At the same time, it intends to focus on the environment. That’s going to be a big topic during the Galaxy S22 event. After all, Samsung just announced that it used recycled ocean fishing nets to manufacture the new Galaxy flagships.

There’s also a quest involved in this metaverse Galaxy S22 experience centered around the environment. But, weirdly enough, the NFT you get for completing the quest will be unveiled on February 14th. Why combine all of these themes? That’s a question for the metaverse.

What you need to know is that Samsung will kick off the Galaxy S22 event on February 9th at 10:00 a.m. EST. That’s when you’ll want to tune into the metaverse to watch the Unpacked press conference from the Connectivity Theater — a digital venue inside Samsung 837X. That’s Samsung’s metaverse in Decentraland that’s modeled after the company’s flagship store in New York City.

Samsung 837x metaverse Galaxy S22 launch quest
Samsung 837X metaverse Galaxy S22 launch quest: A character with a badge in the Sustainability Forest. Image source: Samsung

Galaxy S22 in the metaverse

Samsung will host a scavenger hunt within 837X. A character in the digital world will tell players how to embark on the quest. You will have to hunt for 10 recyclable product boxes in and around the building. Combined them to upcycle them into “something magical.” If you thought the Galaxy S22 metaverse experience would score you a real-life discount for the phone, you’d be wrong.

Complete the quest, and you get a seed that you’ll have to plant in the Sustainability Forest. Again, that’s not a real place, but a digital world in Samsung’s metaverse. That seed will get you a special NFT badge, and this is where things take a strange twist.

You’ll have to return to the Samsung metaverse on February 14th — yes, Valentine’s Day — to finish the quest and get your NFT badge that will show your love for the forest.

The press release says that Samsung will offer other surprises along the way. Expect a second Easter egg hunt that will yield another exclusive NFT badge.

The whole thing sounds like Samsung’s marketing department was tasked with seamlessly mixing the Galaxy S22 Unpacked launch with Samsung’s environmental initiatives, Valentine’s Day, the metaverse, and NFTs. Mission accomplished?

Samsung fans looking for a more traditional Galaxy S22 live stream experience can always tune into YouTube on Wednesday.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.