Singapore Changi is the world’s seventh busiest airport and has also been named the world’s best for eight consecutive years. At Changi, travelers can explore indoor and outdoor gardens, race go-karts and even zip down a four-story slide.
Changi Airport Group (CAG) saw an opportunity to innovate and strengthen its connections with passengers by creating a digital environment that mirrors the sights and experiences of the real-world airport in the virtual world. Together with Accenture, Changi came up with the perfect way of bringing this vision to life.
For those who love to extend their Changi experience even outside of the airport, we found a way to make the award-winning spaces and activities accessible to everyone, everywhere—regardless of whether they have a ticket to fly. This also helps travelers revisit their favorite airport experiences, creating stickiness that lasts beyond departure.
We built ChangiVerse using the popular online gaming platform Roblox, to create an immersive digital experience in the metaverse. The first step was to recreate Jewel Changi Airport, the airport’s landmark nature and entertainment complex complete with the iconic Rain Vortex and Forest Valley.
Interactive games and experiences mirror the airport’s real-world offerings, including a go-kart racetrack and Jurassic Mile cycling path (complete with dinosaurs). Users can earn tokens redeemable for virtual goods such as customized planes and luggage. They can also interact with non-playable characters (NPCs), who serve as navigation aids, share fun facts, and even unlock access to the VIP room. Through user insights and gamification strategies, we made the ChangiVerse as “sticky” as possible, to keep people coming back eager for more.
Changi Airport is more than just a transport node—it’s a fun and magical destination where memories are created. ChangiVerse is about engaging customers better through innovation and experimentation.
Hung Jean / Group SVP of CAG’s Enterprise Digital Ecosystem & Business Division
With a team spanning nine countries made up of 3D artists, Roblox developers, user experience researchers, gaming experts and more, we worked together quickly to bring to life this innovation from proof of concept to launch in less than a year.
In its first three months, ChangiVerse drew more than 7 million visits, with more than 2.5 million unique visits from all over the world. YouTube global influencers, digital marketing and in-airport promotions are helping to boost interest, augmented by a contest that offers free airline tickets to the fastest go-kart competitors. The goal is to expand the world to include more experiences and test the boundaries of interactions between real and virtual experiences.
Just as the airport has charted new territory by adding entertainment and innovation to its in-person experience, ChangiVerse is a first-class example of how businesses can engage new and existing customers by challenging how and where people interact with destinations.
