Starting in 2014, the company took a deep dive into the technology, learning about the building of cameras and headsets, experimenting with 360 production and game development. About three years ago, Iconic Engine was spun off from Digital Domain, primarily a service business, to focus on product development. Its initial focus has been helping telcos, like Deutsche Telekom, Orange and PCCW, build a virtual reality presence. In the meantime, Iconic Engine has partnered with almost 400 indie IP owners, who are building 360 videos or VR experiences licensed out to these partners. The need to help people connect during Covid-19 lockdowns inspired the company to develop a social product. Partnering with Deutsche Telekom, it produced Magenta XR in 2020, which allowed customers of the telco provider to interact in multiple environments with different avatars and skins.
Iconic Engine has a big presence in India, and is in a content partnership with Jio, who are building lightweight AR glasses attached directly to a smartphone. Content companies in India know the truism that most of the world gets content primarily – often solely – on mobile. Chopra explains that a successful future metaverse will need to be fully accessible, regardless of platform. Billions of people with VR headsets just isn’t going to happen. Being able to access metaverse content through a simple mobile screen is going to be far more important. “We have been telco-focused for the last seven years,” says Chopra. “We had a statement that was ‘mobile first,’ and said that to all our employees and every customer we interacted with. Whatever solution
you’re tackling, if it doesn’t work on mobile, don’t build it.” GET STARTED EARLY The company has built tools to help companies kick-start their virtual presence, with Metaverse Builder and Metaverse Engine its two main products. The former helps brands create their own metaverse apps, while the latter is a complete tech stack for businesses launching their own white-label metaverse platform. A new WebXR component will allow access to metaverse content for anyone with a web browser. Just as it was essential for every company to have at least a simple web page in the beginning of the internet, Chopra thinks businesses need to think about their interactive 3D offerings now.
A SWIPE AWAY Pricey headsets are not the way: our mobiles will be gateways to virtual lands
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