Metaverse, Ultimately a Game... Focusing on VR Content Enjoyed by Everyone

[Interview] Hwang Jeongseop, CEO of Luxon, and Park Hyunwoo, Chief Strategy Officer
Archery Game to Launch Globally This Year After Efforts to Popularize VR Content

Hwang Jeongseop, CEO of Luxon (right), and Park Hyunwoo, CSO, are holding VR devices and explaining the content.

In the virtual reality world of ‘Oasis,’ anyone can transform into their desired appearance and race motorcycles through the city. They can dance in space or become robots and engage in battles. This is the vision of the year 2045 depicted in Steven Spielberg’s 2018 film Ready Player One. Hyunwoo Park, Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) of Luxon, watched this movie and thought that the metaverse (expanded virtual world) might be an upgraded concept of gaming. This idea became more concrete when he joined Luxon, a startup led by CEO Jeongseop Hwang, who focused on the metaverse last year. Luxon plans to introduce virtual reality (VR) content this year where users can meet and enjoy together in a virtual space, just like in Ready Player One. We spoke with CEO Hwang and CSO Park about the future of the metaverse as envisioned by Luxon.

On the 27th, CEO Hwang said, "Luxon is a VR content specialist developer, and from this year onward, we will focus solely on VR game production," adding, "As we research and produce VR content, all genres tend to converge into ‘games.’" According to CEO Hwang, VR is currently the most effective technology to experience the metaverse, and VR content ultimately leads to games.

This perspective is also reflected in his experience. CEO Hwang worked as a researcher at LG Display for nine years, focusing on user image quality and sound quality research. During that time, he researched and reviewed the first VR display and confirmed the potential of next-generation game content. This led him to establish Luxon in early 2020 through an in-house venture program. CEO Hwang said, "I was convinced that next-generation games would involve diving into games through VR devices." It was on this point that CEO Hwang and CSO Park found common ground. CSO Park emphasized, "True metaverse-type content is not just about watching and feeling; as CEO Hwang said, users must ‘dive into’ the content," adding, "The device that can best realize this is VR."

Although the content created by Luxon is a game, it differs from the ‘games’ users have experienced so far. CSO Park explained, "We have internally considered the concepts of UTA (User to Avatar) and ATA (Avatar to Avatar), and we strive to incorporate aspects into the content that minimize the gap between users and avatars, and between avatars themselves."

This year, Luxon will introduce a VR archery game called ‘Archery Land.’ Considering that the existing VR content market has struggled with popularization due to a lack of user experience, this game was developed with the idea of a ‘VR game that many people can enjoy.’ Since the second half of last year, they have produced a pilot version of this game using VR network-based content development technology and even collaborated with AfreecaTV to hold an e-sports tournament. CEO Hwang said, "We plan to launch the VR archery game in the global market this year," adding, "Through global matchmaking, anyone can easily enjoy archery games anytime and anywhere. It will also be an opportunity to see if Korea’s archery skills, already recognized at the Olympics, show similar trends among ordinary people."

Luxon is also simultaneously developing a communication platform that will serve as the foundation for the metaverse they will unveil in the future. Some services will be released as avatar-based dating programs to actively expand communication with users. They are preparing to target the Japanese market alongside the U.S. market. CSO Park said, "While Luxon’s main target market is the U.S., we are currently partnering with various metaverse-related companies in Japan as well."