Nike readies the physical release of its first metaverse-driven 'Cryptokicks.' Here's how to get a pair of these real-world sneakers.

• Nike's RTFKT on Monday announced the upcoming physical release of "Cryptokicks iRL."
• The sneakers will be the first physical footwear from Nike with roots in the metaverse.

Nike's RTFKT, a buzzy virtual collectibles company, on Monday announced the upcoming release of the sportswear giant's first physical sneakers with roots in the metaverse, "Cryptokicks iRL."

Nike will release 19,000 pairs of the shoes.

The release further cements Nike's commitment to the metaverse. For years, the company has methodically laid the intellectual property groundwork for the push into the new digital reality. Now, products are coming to life and Nike's plans are coming into fuller view.

In November, Nike announced .Swoosh, a store for its virtual goods. The digital store's first collection is expected to drop next year.

The first Cryptokicks will drop sooner. Customers need an RTFKT account to enter a public drawing for the shoes. Existing RTFKT users will have early access. Nike acquired RTFKT roughly a year ago.

The technology in the physical shoe will include auto-lacing, haptic feedback and walk detection, suggesting Nike is working on ways for the shoe to interact with everything from video games to Nike's apps.

Nike's also been aggressively developing its video game business.

A recent Nike patent, which includes a drawing of a shoe that looks like a Cryptokick, describes a sort of scavenger hunt for Nike products among people wearing "intelligent electronic footwear."

(Nike is currently running a daily scavenger hunt on Nike.com.)

The shoes will be sold as digital collectibles, or non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The NFTs can be redeemed for physical shoes. The sneakers will come in four colorways.

The design of the Cryptokick iRL shoe will "pay homage to the Nike Mag," according to an RTFKT press release. The Nike Air Mag is the futuristic Nike shoe worn in the movie "Back to the Future 2."

Nike isn't the first sneaker company to release a physical shoe designed in the metaverse. Boston-based Endstate, whose cofounders include Nike design veteran Stephanie Howard, sell virtual sneakers that come with a physical counterpart.

While Nike and other companies continue developing metaverse platforms, Wall Street stock analysts largely view the efforts as early-stage and not material to top-line growth.

Nike did not immediately return a message about the new shoes.