A new show is making it possible to compete with TV contestants in a virtual world

“A new TV experience, a new gaming experience and a new product experience, all in one – on every device,” is how Norway’s The Future Group describe their ambitious new TV game show.

Certainly befitting its name, The Future Universe will be the world’s first interactive live game show pitting in-studio contestants against a potential worldwide group of people playing at home on their phones, tablets, and laptops, all competing for a range of prizes.

The show will incorporate high quality computer generated visual effects, immersive interactivity in a 3D virtual world, motion-capture in live-action filming, real-time mobile apps, all within a global network. The makers claim they’re not simply putting contestants in VR headsets, they’re actually putting them in a virtual world as characters in real time.

“This immersive experiential platform allows anytime access to exciting games and product experiences,” say The Future Group. “It connects consumers with brands in an entirely new way.” The plan is to let users choose the prizes they compete for, which means targeted advertising could become a massive money-spinner for the company.

This isn’t the first example of people at home being able to compete for prizes with contestants on TV in real time (The Million Pound Drop has offered this feature for some time), but The Future Universe is going far beyond the simple Q&A format to games of skill, strategy and technique. Watch this space.