At Lucca Comics & Games, Futura by Plenitude Takes Center Stage in the Metaverse

It will be an opportunity to explore new digital spaces and discover Plenitude’s virtual planet and its story about the energy transition.

In 1992, the term “metaverse” was used for the first time. More than thirty years later, the metaverse has become a tangible reality, populated by countless ecosystems and projects that explore the potential of virtual worlds. Among them, Plenitude stands out with Futura, a virtual planet where community users can progress through the game while learning about the energy transition, making more conscious and efficient energy choices.

From October 29 to November 2, Futura by Plenitude will take centre stage at Lucca Comics & Games with an immersive experience that blends arcade aesthetics and retro-futurism to present the theme of energy awareness in a fresh, engaging way to thousands of visitors.

The ABCs of the Metaverse

The term metaverse was coined in 1992 to describe an immersive virtual world, accessible through avatars, where users could interact, socialize and shop, going “beyond” the physical universe. What began as an intuition has materialized through the creation of successful virtual platforms, paving the way for increasingly realistic experiences. But what exactly is the metaverse today?

The Extended Reality & Metaverse Observatory of the Politecnico di Milano defines it as “an immersive, persistent, interactive and interoperable ecosystem made up of multiple interconnected virtual worlds where users can socialize, work, make transactions, play and create assets, also accessible through immersive devices”.

In simpler terms, the metaverse represents the evolution of online interaction, shifting from text-based websites and closed ecosystems to shared, interconnected spaces (virtual worlds) where users interact via avatars. These platforms create persistent worlds where users can move freely and meet others in real time. Each world is designed to host virtual communities and specific content, with its own business models and rules.

It is an immersive, interconnected digital ecosystem, enabled by Extended Reality (XR) technologies. Interoperability also allows the sharing of data and resources among virtual worlds, where users can create, own and trade digital assets.
Therefore, it’s not a single world but a network of interconnected worlds, powered by technologies such as Blockchain and NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens).

Futura, the Metaverse by Plenitude

In this context, in 2024 Plenitude launched Futura, a virtual planet designed to explore complex topics such as energy awareness through a universal and engaging language.

The ecosystem is structured into five continents, each hosted on a different platform to reach diverse audiences and interests. Alongside the existing continents on Spatial (Futura HUB), Roblox (Futura Ville) and Fortnite (Futura Tracks), Futura Quest was recently added on the Rec Room platform. The next one, Futura Blocks, will be a creative sandbox where players are invited to build a society based on virtuous energy models. This edutainment approach is generating strong engagement, for instance, Futura Ville on Roblox has recorded nearly 500,000 visits from over 370,000 unique users.

Next Stop: Lucca Comics & Games

A unique opportunity to experience Futura by Plenitude up close will be at Lucca Comics & Games, the most important international festival dedicated to comics, gaming, video games, animation, and cosplay, taking place from October 29 to November 2. During the event, Plenitude will set up its own space at the Loggiato Pretorio, a historic structure located in the central Piazza San Michele.

The installation - featuring fragments of architecture and scenography evoking Futura’s continents - will immerse visitors in the heart of the metaverse.
At its center will be arcade cabinets, designed in the style of classic models from the 1950s and ’60s. Visitors will be able to interact with games developed for the different Futura project platforms, embarking on a virtual journey to discover the various forms of energy and the importance of conscious usage. New this year is the chance to explore Futura Quest, offering users a fully immersive flight experience thanks to XR headsets. That’s not all, at Lucca Comics & Games there will also be the opportunity to join “Mission Buddies!”, the contest inviting participants to design new “Energy Buddies” robots, the protagonists of Futura Ville.