Decentralised protocol and community-driven organisation of video game and entertainment industry professionals XLA has announced Metasites, a modular 3D internet framework that will leverage metaverse, cloud, and AI technologies.
The company’s chief product officer Alexey Savchenko made the announcement earlier today at the Game Developer Conference (GDC) in San Francisco where he presented a demo of Metasites during a panel called ‘Emerging Approaches: What the Metaverse can teach us about Social and Narrative Design through Synthetic Media’.
The presentation revealed Metasites’ fidelity, graphics, core experience, instant access to the system in the cloud through the browser, OpenAl‘s GPT-3.5 integration powering non-active characters and their behaviour, virtual assistant IVEE, and many other features.
“We call them Metasites, and the idea here is that every one of these locations is part of an infinite network of 3D, explorable spaces. Like hyperlinks, portals connect these worlds, and the core infrastructure operates on a series of open protocols and standards – much like today’s web,” Savchenko said.
“We strongly believe that the future of the internet is in 3D and are looking to partner up with creators and brands from all spheres and industries to build it together.”
Transforming virtual worlds
Funded with an initial $100 million, Metasites will allow users to transform virtual worlds by creating unique content and enable creators to deploy Unreal Engine 5 content and connect to the XLA ecosystem of features and services.
Access to Metasites for individual creators and enterprise clients will be based on a revenue share model, providing every user full control and management of their content. Users can access virtual assets and various tools, including a versatile SDK, experiences editor, inventory and item management system, payment processing, marketing tools, and more.
“What we’re creating,” Savchenko said, “Is an evolution of the internet and new form of storytelling – authors shaping worlds that create their agency, presence, and stories, accessible across multiple platforms. It’s not about bringing games to new audiences. It’s about making it easier to communicate, educate, commerce, play, and create while being justly rewarded for your actions.”
XLA not only aims to provide a seamless and interoperable encounter related to digital items but will also create a bridge between AI and the metaverse with various functionalities connected to inventory objects within different environments.
The framework is set for closed beta this summer, with enterprise and creators programs opening next quarter and full commercial release expected by the end of the year.
Isa Muhammad is a writer and video game journalist covering many aspects of entertainment media including the film industry. He's steadily writing his way to the sharp end of journalism and enjoys staying informed. If he's not reading, playing video games or catching up on his favourite TV series, then he's probably writing about them.
