Director Peter Jackson sells his special effects studio to a company that wants to develop the metaverse

New Zealander Peter Jackson, director of Lord of the Rings and of King Kong, announced on Wednesday 10 November the sale of its special effects studio, Weta Digital, one of the most renowned in the film industry, to an American software company that wishes to develop the metaverse, the digital universe parallel.

Unity Software, headquartered in San Francisco, explained that the $ 1.6 billion (€ 1.38 billion) acquisition will allow it to“Shaping the future of the metaverse” – contraction of “meta” and “universe”, metaverse in English – a sort of digital backbone of the physical world, accessible via the Internet.

According to this American company, the technology that Weta possesses – used in blockbusters such as the Lord of the Rings and Avatar – must allow its subscribers to create their own ultra-realistic universe of a virtual world.

John Riccitiello, president of Unity, said in a statement:

“We are delighted to democratize these cutting-edge tools [de la technologie] and bring the genius of Sir Peter Jackson and Weta’s incredible engineering talent to life for artists around the world. “

Peter Jackson will remain majority owner of WetaFX

As part of the deal, Unity Software will own the technology and engineering assets of Wellington-based Weta Digital, while Mr. Jackson will remain the majority owner of an independent film effects company called WetaFX.

The director claimed that being able to use Weta Digital’s groundbreaking programs is a game-changer for people working in the creative industry:

“Together, Unity and Weta Digital can pave a way for any artist, regardless of industry, to take advantage of these incredibly creative and powerful tools. “

Considered the next big leap in the evolution of the Internet, the parallel digital universe has become a new horizon of development. Conceived by science fiction for nearly thirty years, it should make it possible to increase human interactions.

Several billion invested by Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg, the boss of Facebook and Instagram platforms, WhatsApp and Messenger, and Oculus virtual reality headsets, announced in October that his company was now called Meta (“Beyond”, in ancient Greek).

According to him, the metaverse represents the future of the Internet, after computers and mobile phones, to which the public will have access to interact, work or have fun thanks to technologies (augmented reality glasses, virtual reality headsets, etc.).

He portrayed his vision of the metaverse, an immersive universe where real people and objects will mix with avatars and virtual images, thanks to cutting-edge technologies.

In July, Mr. Zuckerberg explained on his Facebook profile:

“The essential quality of the metaverse will be the presence – the feeling of really being there with people. “

The billionaire has already announced investments of several billion in the coming years and the recruitment of 10,000 people in Europe for this project.