Baidu Cancels XiRang Metaverse Application Launch, Here's Why!

Baidu's Metaverse design, XiRang, hasn't been released yet. (photo: twitter)

JAKARTA - Chinese internet giant Baidu doesn't expect to launch the XiRang metaverse app soon even though the app's initial debut is scheduled for Monday, December 27, according to a senior executive source at the company.

Baidu's vice president, Ma Jie, believes that it's still a "negative six" year for the full launch of XiRang, CNBC reported on Thursday. He noted that the development of the app started in December 2020.

Ma talked about "Make 2021", Baidu's upcoming annual developer event, which the company is promoting as the first Chinese conference to be hosted in the metaverse space via XiRang. The app will reportedly handle up to 100,000 virtual members who interact with each other using metaverse avatars at the three-day conference, which begins on Monday, December 27.

#2021BaiduCreate is China's first-ever conference hosted in the #metaverse platform #XiRang with close to 100 speakers sharing their thoughts on an AI-enabled future. The platform also enables up to 100,000 online attendees to get up close and personal. 👉 https://t.co/msdfor6zOh pic.twitter.com/AC6atIBEXt

— Baidu Inc. (@Baidu_Inc) December 24, 2021

The executive noted that Baidu intends to create an open-source platform that targets metaverse developers, providing building infrastructure in the virtual world.

Despite focusing on digital infrastructure, Baidu's metaverse app will not support digital currency or trading assets associated with virtual properties, Ma said.

That's despite XiRang's use of blockchain-like underlying technology, he added. The plan is in line with China's new ban on cryptocurrencies, announced in September 2021.

One of China's largest internet search engine companies, Baidu officially joined the metaverse industry by filing the trademark "metapp" in October 2021. The company then released its first metaverse app XiRang, translated as "Land of Hope", with some of the first virtual XiRang apparently available to users in early November.

Baidu is not the only company in China that is aggressively developing metaverse technology as local giants like Tencent and Alibaba have been working on projects related to their metaverses.