Abstract

This article envisages the impact of virtual reality (VR) on the cultural and creative industries (CCIs). Although these innovations have given rise to the production of a huge diversity of immersive content (including a certain number of hits), no creative industry seems to be emerging. Among the explanations is the absence of a business model that clearly differentiates itself from existing CCIs. Our study identifies the main business models of VR in the arts and culture while evaluating their degree of originality. It appears that VR-based cultural productions are clearly in a pre-shakeout phase marked by a diversity of designs and business models located between two major polarities: video games and audiovisual on the one hand, art installations on the other hand. The emergence of a dominant design will have to articulate elements of these two polarities.