Nike Is Tapping Gamers To Debut Fashion Collaborations

An unexpected debut platform.

Matt Varga August 7, 2025

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To date, .SWOOSH has been the premier platform with which Nike has tapped into the digital realm, often intersecting with video games via efforts like the “Big Head” Air Max 1 series or one of their most recent endeavors, the “Rage Quit” Total 90 III, honing in more specifically on the soccer genre. However, it would seem that Beaverton is shifting off-platform, taking on a premier gaming event by debuting the next Martine Rose Shox MR4 colorway on the feet of pro esports player, SonicFox.

While the Delaware native’s EVO Mortal Kombat championship is a few days old at the time of writing, tapping into the esports world is a novel development for Nike all the same, particularly given the status of the shoe on-foot. The initial Martine Rose Shox now stand as bellwethers of the sportstyle-meets-fashion movement and command rather serious secondary market premiums in their own right. Sadly for our purposes, Sonicfox paired the Shox with a baggier unreleased piece, an upcoming MR Crimson Pants, keeping this from being a full first look. Yet you can still make out the broadest strokes that define this design, tapping into Y2K aesthetics with a white-dominant profile, bracketed by an ecru eyelet/tongue combo, burgundy heel counters and Shox units, and fire red Swooshes and rear platforms.

At the time of publication, release details for the Martine Rose x Nike Shox MR4 is largely opaque. However, you can get an early sense of what to expect via the images included below.

: Martine Rose x Nike Shox MR4 EVO

: Martine Rose x Nike Shox MR4 EVO

: Martine Rose x Nike Shox MR4 EVO

: Martine Rose x Nike Shox MR4 EVO

: Martine Rose x Nike Shox MR4 EVO

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Written by

Matt Varga, Junior Editor

Matt Varga is an Editor at SneakerNews. Initially earning a degree in Video Arts and Technology, he got his start in video editing and writing in the music world — primarily on hip-hop and electronic. A long-standing interest in sneakers led him to switching over to footwear. An avid collector, his favorite sneaker of all time comes down to either the Air Jordan 1 “Black Toe” and Air Jordan 5 “Laney,” his first ever pick-ups. When he’s not writing, you can find Matt cooking, traveling, attending concerts and when weather permits, on the handball court.