The giant Baidu, the main Chinese search engine, is in turn conquering the metaverse with XiRang, its own self-developed virtual universe.
The madness of the metaverse, this parallel virtual universe, is not yet turning all heads, but is pushing some digital giants to seize the opportunity. Some do not hesitate to change their name to weigh in the collective imagination, as the Facebook group was able to do, in front of Meta. Now Baidu, the Chinese Google, is also launching into the metaverse and offering its application, which is only in its infancy. Which is visually felt.
A metaverse that can accommodate up to 100,000 users at a time
That’s it, Baidu has plunged into the metaverse. The search engine firm officially opened its application to part of the local public on Monday, December 27. It invites users to dive into this sort of digital lining of our physical world.
Baptized XiRang, for “Land of hope”, the Chinese metaverse has therefore opened its doors and allows users to visit virtual places in 3D, while interacting with others, via an avatar this time full (while on the side Horizon Worlds, Facebook’s metaverse, we focus on the upper body).
To access the XiRang metaverse, all you need to do is download an app and create a Baidu account (or authenticate). The metaverse is accessible either using a Pico virtual reality headset, or by computer, or by using its smartphone, which will clearly help the metaverse to reach a large number of Chinese. Users then have access to a vast city capable, at this stage, of supporting up to 100,000 avatars simultaneously.
Chinese digital giants don’t want to miss the metaverse train
Within XiRang, individuals will have access to various iconic locations on the platform, all while moving using a controller located at the bottom left of the screen. The “City of Creators” for example is intended to host meetings and events. Users will also be able to dive into a digital swimming pool and visit a reproduction of the famous Shaolin Buddhist temple.
Baidu, who has admitted working on his metaverse project for several months, does not want to miss the bandwagon. If, for the moment, the appearance is not visually exceptional, the initial promise is far from catastrophic, as long as one is obviously sensitive to the idea of living in a parallel virtual universe .
For the moment, Baidu has not specified what the economic model of its metaverse would be, but other big names in Chinese digital are already looking into the subject. This is the case with ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, Tencent and Alibaba, each of which thinks about the opportunity in their own way.
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Sources: Nikkei Asia
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