After an interview with COVER Corporation CEO Motoaki Tanigo (YAGOO), Final Weapon had the opportunity to follow up and interview Holoearth and hololive Alternative producer Yuuki Oooka.
In our interview, Oooka discusses the main sub-projects of Holoearth, development of the platform, new features in consideration, and its expansion in global markets. The producer also discussed Holoearth’s plans with hololive production and what it could mean for VTuber-related content in the future.
Editor’s note: this interview was conducted in December 2024.
Can you explain the Holoearth platform and its three main sub-projects?
Yuuki Oooka: So far Holoearth has been positioned as a metaverse platform, but the term
“metaverse” is rather loosely defined by the market. We have been searching for a more
appropriate way to convey the idea of Holoearth, and I think we are close.
If I were to describe Holoearth’s identity in a simple way, while maintaining the general idea of it as a metaverse platform, I would say Holoearth is a virtual world wherein players can simulate various aspects of real life in the 3D space with a unique anime aesthetic.
Each of the sub-projects that make up this virtual world is defined by the primary feature it
provides with a view to this lifestyle experience.
The avatar system (“Avatar”) is for players to express their uniqueness with a customized player model and fashion.
The lobby area (“Lobby”) was initially meant to be the place where many players from all over gather together to communicate, and has evolved into subdivided areas or spaces that act both as lifestyle areas for communication and as areas necessary for progressing in this virtual world. So far, Lobby offers the “City” and “My Space” areas, and we recently conducted a playtest for the “Poker Room” as well – all with different aspects of life in Holoearth. Of course, we plan to add more areas in the future with varied activities.
Finally, the sandbox area (known currently as the “Simulation Room”) is where players can
enjoy the free-form survival and crafting aspect of life in this virtual world. It emphasizes the “isekai” element of Holoearth, themed around the idea of adventure and unusual experiences.
In the project’s early stages, for team optimization and other reasons, these were the three pillars of Holoearth development. But, as development has progressed, we plan to release information on our official website in the near future about features being developed behind the scenes that will help us describe Holoearth in a more holistic and sophisticated way.
Holoearth’s development plan was announced back in October 2021 as part of hololive Alternative, so it’s been in the works for quite some time now. As the producer, what are your main responsibilities during the development of Holoearth?
Oooka: I am responsible for the entire production process of the Holoearth project itself, as well as the related media project, hololive Alternative. I also manage the relationship between these two. Holoearth and hololive Alternative are independent projects with separate objectives that share the same setting. Whereas hololive Alternative is focused on a variety of entertainment media that feature hololive talents, such as virtual events, Holoearth is for users to immerse themselves in a virtual world.
In other words, think of hololive Alternative as a collaborative project between the Holoearth service and hololive production in a shared world, and I am responsible for managing the quality of the two projects.
In terms of scale, Holoearth appears to be one of COVER’s biggest projects yet, which includes an integrated open-world sandbox game and the avatar system. What are some of the challenges the Holoearth team faced while developing the platform and its game?
Oooka: The Holoearth project is an ongoing challenge with a lot of complexity since it combines a 3D online survival and crafting game, an avatar system with social elements, virtual events, and other features we have not disclosed yet. We generally develop these features simultaneously and each is released independently.
In addition to this design complexity, we have to consider the differences in technical
architecture, network systems, a unified UI/UX throughout the service, and managing teamwork for a team with a diverse range of technical and design experience and know-how. Most of the team joined since the launch of Holoearth development, and finding the right team members has been one of the more challenging aspects of development. I believe our mission to gather the best will continue to be one of our most important challenges over the long term.
Holoearth aims to bring a more immersive experience between VTubers and fans through gaming, virtual concerts, and other forms of interactive and social content. Also, the team appears to be making progress with a regular stream of new updates and features for Holoearth. What are some of the features that are currently being considered for the platform?
Oooka: We do plan to offer experiences for VTuber fans including meet & greets, more virtual concerts, and other activities after further polishing what we have so far previously offered on a test basis. Additionally, we would like to offer a more diverse range of anime-style virtual experiences not only to VTubers and their fans, but also to a wider audience.
In particular, there is no doubt about the importance an entire ecosystem of passionate creators (such as illustrators and 3D artists), streamers, gamers, and anime fans has had for the advancement of hololive and VTubing. We consider aspects that enable collaboration among influencers, creators, and users to be very important, and something that COVER is uniquely positioned for. That being said, we want to provide features in Holoearth for this purpose, and hope to announce more about our vision in the near future.
Holoearth is primarily in a beta test format for the Japanese market. However, it recently received an update to the launcher, allowing players to choose English as the default option after reinstalling it. Is COVER planning to expand support for Holoearth to other markets soon?
Oooka: We are looking to provide support for overseas users and are working to make it more accessible for them. However, as many of the features we offer and are working on require care from a technical and legal standpoint, we will focus on a more gradual approach to expanding official support to other regions.
Many hololive fans around the world are playing games and watching streams of their favorite VTubers on the latest generation of consoles. Is COVER considering or gauging interest for a PlayStation 5 version of Holoearth?
Oooka: While we have technical validations and development milestones for PC and mobile, at this stage we cannot elaborate on other platforms.
Previously, we discussed the launch of COVER USA and how the company is interested in collaborating with companies and creators in North America for music, animation, and games. Is Holoearth involved in those plans as well?
Oooka: There are no concrete plans right at the moment following the launch of COVER USA. However, more than half of registered Holoearth users right now appear to be overseas, with the majority being in North America. This was a bit surprising given that we are not yet actively promoting overseas at the moment other than releasing our articles and news in English on our official website and social media accounts.
Since we are in the stage of developing support and promotion for the English version of the service, I think there may be the possibility of working with COVER USA in the future in this regard.
What’s next for Holoearth in December 2024 and into 2025?
Oooka: First of all, we are looking to add an expanded map area for the sandbox feature by the end of the year. Until now the sandbox feature has been confined to a small area, so with this update players will be able to enjoy a much larger plains area – with some more gameplay elements added – as part of the “isekai” adventure experience.
We are also planning a series of updates starting with the version 1.0.0 soft launch planned for spring of 2025 that will include new major feature additions. Part of our plans includes hosting virtual concerts and other events as well.
In 2025 Holoearth will evolve into a more expansive virtual experience set in a Japanese
anime-style world.
Any closing thoughts on Holoearth?
Oooka: “Have you ever wanted to visit a place that’s a world apart?” This is the vision that launched development of the Holoearth project.
VTubers stepped into that world ahead of us. If we go there too, we may be able to meet them in some sense. Great new experiences may be waiting for us in this place that exists apart from the “here” where we are now.
Our hope is to continue moving forward and making Holoearth into that other world.
It is an honor to walk this path together with everyone!