{"id":54265,"date":"2025-11-25T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=54265"},"modified":"2025-11-25T18:10:27","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T09:10:27","slug":"not-quite-a-game-not-a-typical-metaverse-what-exactly-is-hololive-productions-open-world-virtual-platform-holoearth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/not-quite-a-game-not-a-typical-metaverse-what-exactly-is-hololive-productions-open-world-virtual-platform-holoearth\/","title":{"rendered":"Not quite a game, not a typical metaverse. What exactly is hololive production\u2019s open-world virtual platform Holoearth?\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Earlier this year, COVER Corporation \u2013 the company behind VTuber agency hololive production \u2013 launched its open-world virtual platform <strong>Holoearth<\/strong>. The platform lets players create their own anime avatars, go on adventures, craft, shop and attend various VTuber-related events. COVER describes it not as a game, but as an entirely new space where fans can \u201cfinally step into the world on the other side of the screen\u201d and meet their favorite VTubers face-to-face.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Continuing from our discussions about <a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/how-cover-went-from-walking-the-wrong-path-as-a-vr-startup-to-a-vtuber-powerhouse-we-talk-to-ceo-motoaki-tanigo-yagoo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">COVER\u2019s origins as a game venture<\/a> and its <a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/hololives-indie-publishing-label-was-launched-to-return-the-favor-to-game-creators-we-ask-ceo-motoaki-tanigo-yagoo-about-the-project\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">initiatives to support indie game developers<\/a>, we asked CEO Motoaki Tanigo (YAGOO) and promotion lead Ryota Aomi \u201cwhat exactly is Holoearth?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u3010#\u30db\u30ed\u30a2\u30fc\u30b9\u3011\u30a2\u30cb\u30e1\u30fc\u30b7\u30e7\u30f3PV\u300c\u3055\u3042\u3001\u3042\u306a\u305f\u306e\u3082\u3046\u3072\u3068\u3064\u306e\u30bb\u30ab\u30a4\u3078\u300d\" width=\"1160\" height=\"653\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/D9YTz0anIE8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Aomi, Holoearth wasn\u2019t conceived as a traditional game at all. \u201cAt COVER, we didn\u2019t think of it as a game to begin with,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt was born from our desire to bring VTuber talents and their fans even closer together.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fan interaction with VTubers generally happens mainly through livestream chats or social media posts, which are bound by text and distance. Even \u201cin-person\u201d live concerts, while a step forward, are limited in how much of a connection the viewer can feel with the performing VTuber. According to Aomi, Holoearth was created to change that, by letting fans step into a shared virtual space with their idols using avatars.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1536\" height=\"864\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/cover-b-004-1536x864-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-54270\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/cover-b-004-1536x864-1.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/cover-b-004-1536x864-1-380x214.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/cover-b-004-1536x864-1-768x432.jpg 768w\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Holoearth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>COVER\u2019s CEO Motoaki Tanigo has often emphasized a \u201ccreator-first\u201d philosophy, and Holoearth is likewise meant to inherit that spirit. The platform is designed not just for fans to gush over the idols and buy merch, but to encourage players to create, including the VTubers themselves. \u201cWe see our talents as creators too,\u201d says Aomi. \u201cSo we wanted to build a place where both fans and talents can act freely, without being bound by constraints of the real world.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is realized through Holoearth\u2019s User Generated Content (UGC) features, which let users design and sell their own in-game items, such as clothing or accessories, and even earn real-world money from them. The system links virtual and physical economies, with royalties returning to VTubers whenever fans create and profit from items based on their IP. Some talents, like Natsuiro Matsuri and Shirakami Fubuki, have even taken items which they designed themselves within Holoearth and turned them into real-world merch.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1442\" height=\"1080\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1442px) 100vw, 1442px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/cover-b-003-1442x1080-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-54268\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/cover-b-003-1442x1080-1.jpg 1442w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/cover-b-003-1442x1080-1-380x285.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/cover-b-003-1442x1080-1-768x575.jpg 768w\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Holoearth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>YAGOO and Aomi both stress that Holoearth isn\u2019t meant to be a typical metaverse-style service. \u201cWhen people hear \u2018virtual world,\u2019 they tend to imagine a place,\u201d Aomi says. \u201cBut what we really want to deliver isn\u2019t a place, but rather the experiences emerging from it.\u201d Their goal is to create \u201cdeeper, more meaningful forms of interaction\u201d between fans and talents, using the virtual world as a stage rather than an end in itself.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1536\" height=\"864\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/cover-b-006-1536x864-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-54269\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/cover-b-006-1536x864-1.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/cover-b-006-1536x864-1-380x214.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/cover-b-006-1536x864-1-768x432.jpg 768w\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Holoearth&#8217;s &#8220;Natsuiro Matsuri&#8217;s Arrival&#8221; event <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>As such, COVER\u2019s approach to Holoearth\u2019s development is very community-based. The team bases its roadmap primarily on the opinions and requests of VTubers and users. \u201cIt\u2019s less about what the developers want to make,\u201d says Aomi, \u201cand more about realizing what everyone wants.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>YAGOO adds that COVER isn\u2019t necessarily fixated on owning its own exclusive platform. The primary purpose behind Holoearth is to explore \u201chow to connect with our audience through an online community,\u201d and \u201chow to make both fans and talents happy.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\">[Interviewer, writer: Kousaku Akano]&nbsp;<br>[Editor: Sayoko Narita]&nbsp;<br>\u00a9 COVER&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Interview with COVER CEO Motoaki Tanigo (YAGOO) and promotion lead Ryota Aomi about the origin and objective of Holoearth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54267,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-54265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Not quite a game, not a typical metaverse. What exactly is hololive production\u2019s open-world virtual platform Holoearth?\u00a0\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Interview with COVER CEO Motoaki Tanigo (YAGOO) and promotion lead Ryota Aomi about the origin and objective of Holoearth.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/not-quite-a-game-not-a-typical-metaverse-what-exactly-is-hololive-productions-open-world-virtual-platform-holoearth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Not quite a game, not a typical metaverse. 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