HTC Vive has unveiled its Viverse digital universe at this week’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. The Taiwanese company claims its version of the metaverse to be, “An immersive, boundless universe of fantastic new experiences”.
MWC attendees will be able to enter Viverse via a browser using tablets, PCs, smartphones, and HTC’s Vive Flow VR headset that launched in October last year.
We had our first peek at HTC’s potential metaverse future at around the same time, when the Viveport Verse – as it was called at that time – briefly leaked online.
Now rebranded, Viverse is an open ecosystem that enables users to move between different venues.
Partners and developers include:
- Beatday, the world’s first interactive holographic music platform across PC, VR and mobile devices
- Engage, a virtual communication platform that provides immersive, collaborative environments for live events, meetings, and trainings
- VRChat, a collection of social VR experiences to interact with friends, create lasting relationships and build community
- VIVE Sync, the all-in-one meeting and collaboration solution for VR
- HTC says that Viverse will provide a, “Seamless gateway to other universes in collaboration with our partners from the time you wake up in the morning until the time you go to sleep at night”.
Web3, WebXR and NFTs
Users can enter Viverse through Vive Connect to enter other worlds, apps, games and content, as well as access the internet via the first XR browser to support Web3 login, WebXR and WebAssembly.
It’s supported by new NFT platforms including the VIVE Arts NFT market and VIVE Bytes. HTC claims that Vive Flow is the first VR device to support a cryptowallet. Users can store and manage NFT and digital assets securely using WalletConnect via a smartphone companion app.
Cher Wang, co-founder and chairwoman at HTC said, “Since starting VIVE in 2015, we’ve integrated technology with humanity. Viverse is taking the next step in making our vision a reality by creating a world of possibilities to learn, create, explore, train, play and unwind. We’re working with amazing partners to grow the open ecosystem and making immersive experiences more accessible.”
Privacy and security controls
To help ensure online safety for young people in the Viverse in particular, HTC has also introduced its Vive Guardian, which it claims to be, “The first set of privacy and security controls for parents and kids in the metaverse”.
Parents can grant access to specific apps or pieces of content, as well as remotely see what their child is up to via a companion app for Android smartphones. The system can be enabled for Vive Focus, Focus Plus or Flow VR headsets.
