Wikia Lab built to accelerate fan participation in major releases.
“At SOE, we’re always looking for ways to empower our players and deliver new opportunities that allow them to engage with our games and each other in a meaningful way,” said Laura Naviaux, Senior Vice President of Global Sales & Marketing, Sony Online Entertainment. “As the first game company to partner with Wikia to create a Wikia Official Community, we believe in supporting player communities and see community collaboration as a key pillar in how we’re moving forward as a company. Wikia joined us at this year’s SOE Live event with the debut of The Lab so our players were the first to learn how to best take advantage of the Wikia platform and player community.”
The Lab will serve as the starting place for long lead activations and custom co-development programs and will kick off with members from Wikia’s Stars program. Established in 2012, Wikia Stars are a select group of individuals from around the world who are being acknowledged for their exceptional leadership and influence within their individual communities. Demand for the program is strong; by the end of the year Wikia anticipates involvement from over 100 fan leaders with profound skills in various areas such as content creation, social media, community administration, design, code and overall ingenuity. They will lend their expertise to brands on an array of projects, from the early development stages to the actual product launch. Stars in The Lab will create the foundation for other fans to engage in future phases. In order to do so, Stars will receive access to exclusive assets, information and talent provided by the partnering group. At the outset, the program will focus on Wikia’s avid gaming community, but will eventually extend to its rapidly growing entertainment and lifestyle communities.
