The Saudi Arabia Ministry of Culture launched a metaverse dedicated to showcasing and preserving the nation’s cultural heritage on the occasion of its founding day.
The Saudi government’s metaverse initiative, Cultural Universe, which takes a user through the long history of Saudi Arabia dating back to 1727, went live on Feb. 22. The metaverse was built on top of Oracle’s Hyperledger Fabric 2.5 blockchain technology and developed by droppGroup’s Generative Media Intelligence (GMI) artificial intelligence (AI) system droppPhygital.
The virtual world takes a first-person shooter (FPS) approach to help users navigate the metaverse. Users are able to walk freely on a common path along with other users and explore the information provided on both sides of the path. Going near the virtual representations of historical events triggers a voice audio explaining the event in detail. However, the audio is limited to Arabic and is not available in English.
The Cultural Universe also includes other sectors dedicated to music, art, history, food and crafts around Saudi heritage, as well as mini video games. The service is free-to-use and can be accessed via website, mobile, virtual reality (VR) headsets and other supported digital devices. The Saudi government’s official announcement read:
The Saudi Ministry of Culture — which is tasked with preserving and promoting the nation’s cultural heritage and nurturing contemporary artistic expression — views the use of metaverse as a “transformative moment” and considers the initiative as a cultural revolution.
