Corporate publicity stunts involving virtual reality are almost always bad, but the new Ikea Roblox The store feels especially silly. The company announced last week that plans to pay 10 people £13.15 or €14.80 per hour to work The co-worker game, an Ikea virtual store in Roblox. the company is taking applications until June 16only from candidates in the UK or Ireland who are aged 18 or over.
Receive payment for being an NPC. What world. Virtual employees will perform tasks such as serving dumplings or helping people find fake furniture or other Ikea items. They can also “be promoted to change departments, just like in the real world.”
I wouldn't assume this is a real job, even if Ikea pays real money for it. The website where you can apply says it's a “limited contract.” The app asks you questions like “How do you feel about becoming pixels?” or “If you were a pixelated IKEA piece of furniture, which one would you be and why?”
Ikea says it requires an updated CV, although it doesn't ask for it up front, and I couldn't get through the form with my US phone number. (If one of our readers across the pond wants to try and send us an update, let me know. would love to read about your experience.) The gig is open to applicants aged 18 or over living in the UK or Republic of Ireland, and is remote, so you can bring your new Ikea gaming chair over to you after you've finished playing with the virtual design tool. Ikea and serve up some virtual meatballs from the comfort of your home.
If you apply and don't receive a callback, don't worry. The company says people who don't get the job can also “work, explore and experience” the Ikea Roblox store. And it says you can earn exclusive Ikea UGC, Roblox's term for user-created items or other content that exists within the game.
I'll be very direct here. I've never played with anything made in Roblox. But I find few things less appealing than pretending to be a retail employee at a virtual version of a real-life furniture dealer. Other companies have tried to showcase their brand in virtual reality: there is the Walmart discovered virtual store to buy digital items with Robloxthe game's Robux currency, and Gucci has made Roblox environments, including Gucci City in 2022.
So that aspect of this is nothing new. And people (often children) earn money on roblox, something critics say is exploitation. But this is the first time I'm aware that a company has offered to pay people real money to work on their Roblox world, and it's strange, but it also seems relatively harmless and less unpleasant than nfts.
The company says it will conduct virtual interviews between June 14 and 18, and The Coworker Game launches June 24.
