Presented as the new era of the Internet, the metaverse is a major opportunity for Touch players but still has to meet many societal, economic and legal challenges. The vision of Nicolas Parpex, director of the Cultural and Creative Industries (ICC) division at Bpifrance.

We are still in the experimentation time », Explains the content manager of the American firm Meta. contraction of arches et universe, it designates a universe that goes beyond reality. In reality, " it is a plurality of immersive and permanent digital environments or worlds, which can be apprehended according to several approaches explains Nicolas Parpex, director of the ICC division and Plan Touch pilot in the innovation department at Bpifrance. On the one hand, the metaverse refers to an entire ecosystem made up of several environments or platforms. Fortnite, Minecraft, The Sandbox or even Decentraland are some examples. On the other hand, the metaverse is accessible through third-party technologies and tools: from cloud hosting to virtual reality headsets, including augmented reality glasses. Polymorphic, it is all the more attractive as a certain number of companies, brands and consumers have already invested in it.

Universes with multiple uses

« The metaverse should be seen as an accelerator that will promote the hybridization of experiences and content, says the director of the ICC division. At Bpifrance, we will have to coordinate this colossal ecosystem, while financing and supporting companies that gravitate around the metaverse. ". A multitude of uses are emerging with a common denominator: the notion of co-presence, ie a collective experience between several users represented by customizable avatars. The metaverses will be used for entertainment, play and socializing as well as for creating, buying, selling and even working. The Meta group, for example, has created the Horizon Workrooms metaverse to allow its remote workers to meet in virtual reality.

The metaverse represents a unmissable opportunity for the cultural and creative industries. " Le cinema, which already produces visual experiences, has great potential », notes the director of the ICC division. The video game sector, meanwhile, is already one step ahead: the creation of digital universes and their monetization are part of its DNA. For fashion and the creative and design industries, the opportunity lies in creating digital experiences and selling unique digital assets. Some designers like Balenciaga or Jacquemus already imagine collections in NFT. For Nicolas Parpex, the challenge for Touch companies is clear: " you have to experiment, take risks, be bold on the content and the experience part. The gaming sector is more advanced on the subject because it knows how to manage digital platforms such as persistent virtual universes, monetize in this universe and create experiences. That's a long lead, but we mustn't lose it. »

France has a role to play in the development of a metaverse ecosystem. But this involves regulatory and legal issues, as well as economic issues in virtual worlds where transactions are linked. " We must equip people with equipment, develop the appropriate infrastructures, create the appropriate content and experiences, define the economic models but also have a regulatory framework. All of this is a brake to be lifted”, underlines Nicolas Parpex. Even if many players have taken up these subjects such as Meta, Microsoft or Roblox, the articulation of these different issues will take time. Meta, one of the pioneering actors, talks about a 10 to 15 year roadmap.

To learn more, subscribe to the Bpifrance and La French Touch event in the Metaverse Wednesday, June 22 at 17 p.m.!