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Game engines were created for video games, but Japan is finding much more interesting ways to exploit them. Commercial entities are using Unreal Engine and Unity to model floods, implement virtual kimonos, and redesign urban environments.
The general situation is as follows: modern game development technologies have reached unprecedented levels of functionality and complexity. Graphics engines and development tools such as Unreal Engine and Unity allow you to design almost anything, and certain Japanese companies are demonstrating truly out-of-the-box thinking in this regard.
A recent report by Nikkei Asia describes several exciting cases where 3D engines are being used for purposes far beyond the development of conventional commercial games. Sources in Japan characterize this as the “long life” of popular development toolkits such as Unity and Unreal Engine, which together hold about 70% of the traditional gaming industry sector.
According to the report, game engines have the tools at their disposal to power highly complex digital twin projects. Taisei Corporation, which is included in the list of so-called Japanese “supercontractors” in the field of civil construction and engineering, started implementing such technologies in 2020. It has recreated copies of specific urban locations in virtual space, using these interactive models to present large-scale urban redevelopment plans to municipalities.
Cluster, a Tokyo-based metaverse startup company, has used game engine technology to create a community-based disaster forecasting platform. This system is designed to simulate flooding and other powerful natural disasters, allowing residents of cities like Sendai to alert about potentially dangerous areas within the virtual environment. According to Naoto Kato, CEO of Cluster, his company mainly focuses its metaverse technologies on industrial applications and other public service initiatives.
Mark Zuckerberg, the head of Meta, made attempts to shape the future of virtual reality and digital communities based on the metaverse through Horizon Worlds VR, but events did not develop exactly as he planned. Other related news is that the new material can significantly reduce the cost of carbon capture by reducing the energy consumption for its functioning, and the Duke Nukem 3D game has received support for path tracing and DLSS thanks to a new modification from fans.
Another option for implementing the concept of metaverse and 3D engines, as reported by Nikkei Asia, is a digital business based on the design of virtual kimonos. The retail giant Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores has used the VRChat virtual reality platform to design and sell three-dimensional kimonos, giving characters in the game the opportunity to show off traditional Japanese clothing. Taisei Corporation uses the game engine to build interactive digital replicas of architectural projects before construction work begins.
VRChat is a Unity-based platform that was first introduced in 2014 for Oculus Rift owners. This service offers VR-enabled users a three-dimensional space where human-created avatars can communicate. In 2025, Daimaru Matsuzakaya reconstructed Iwami Kagura’s theater performance for the city of Gotzu in 3D. This project attracted thousands of viewers in just one week, with about 20% of visitors being foreigners.
According to Louis Okazaki, Head of Metaverse at Daimaru Matsuzakaya, digitally produced goods, including 3D kimonos, can become an alternative revenue channel as digital commerce and other types of online retail gradually replace the classic business of large department stores.
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