Experts say the ban helped set the course for the development of China’s Metaverse as it separated virtual space from digital assets. “The crucial difference is [in the metaverse] Zhengyuan Bo, partner at China-focused research firm Plenum, said: “And the room for growth is limited. [digital assets] for monetization. “
It’s not just cryptocurrencies that the government is cracking down on. Games, which form the pillars of the metaverse in the West, are also under pressure from the top. State media called the industry “spiritual opium” amid concerns that young people were addicted to online games. From 2018 to 2022, the government has frozen the issuance of new game licenses for 17 months. of total And in 2021, Up to 3 hours for minors game hours per week.
But governments are willing to support parts of the metaverse that they believe will directly benefit the economy. digital twin was included in Beijing’s 14th Five-Year Plana huge economic strategy document that sets the national agenda for 2021-2025. action plan Five ministries, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, pledged to grow the virtual reality industry to 350 billion yuan ($51 billion) late last year.
A rough plan identified innovations they wanted to see more of, including near-eye displays (methods of projecting images into the user’s eyes). Rendering processing (transforming 2D or 3D models into realistic images), sensory interaction, and network migration.
However, government support is subject to conditions. Beijing has a vision of what the Metaverse technology will bring to China. That means the Metaverse needs to serve China’s physical economy, rather than a virtual world where people can interact, work and play.
HiAR marketing director Siri Chen said from the company’s headquarters in Shanghai’s Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park: In the WIRED demo, a HiAR employee pretended to be a factory worker wearing his HiAR headset and was asked to remotely repair a valve.
Other metaverse companies are turning around in anticipation of government investment. For Eric Liu, co-founder and CTO of his twin Digitwin Technologies, a Shanghai-based digital company, the 14th Five-Year Plan marks a shift in his company’s focus on energy and manufacturing. helped support. , he says.
The Chinese government’s desire to shape the metaverse may limit its scope, but state backing may mean it doesn’t fall prey to a fickle tech sector notorious for rapidly shifting from trends. No. Startups often try to be “in the middle of a whirlwind.” This means the right trends with explosive growth potential.
“If something goes viral in China, you’ll see companies flock to the space,” says Jingshu Chen, co-founder of the VR company. VeeR“But if growth isn’t as fast as expected, more companies could turn around.”
