The future of books: How XR technology could revolutionize storytelling

For generations, the book publishing industry has been dominated by a tight group of gatekeepers whose primary concern was to sell stories as commodities. The industry favours established forms, often valuing saleable genres and familiar approaches to storytelling over experimentation. Many unconventional stories that blur genre, blend media or play with form have been left in editors’ slush piles as a result.

Self-publishing and digital platforms have started to break through this monopoly, giving independent authors more access to readers than ever. But oversaturation has created quality control issues and, with so many books competing for readers’ attention, even groundbreaking books can get drowned out.

The publishing industry is now more disjointed than ever and so it must evolve. Technology could be the key to its next evolution.

Extended reality (XR) is the term for immersive technology, which covers virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and other immersive tech that blend the digital with the real world.

Through XR technology, books would not necessarily have to be static text on a page. AR, VR and mixed reality technology could provide layering and interactive narratives. Readers could navigate through a virtual space in which things happen in front of them, interact with characters, or uncover divergent storylines that deepen their knowledge of the story.

This merging of literature and technology doesn't simply make reading more interesting, it alters what it is to read. It transforms storytelling from a linear into an interactive experience in which the reader's choices can influence the narrative. The reader would experience the author's story with more senses and could even affect or change the story through role playing gamification. Instead of merely imagining a location, they can walk through it. Rather than being told about a character's emotions, they can stand beside them, watching their struggle firsthand.

The printing press revolutionized literature by making books more widely accessible. Radio and television revolutionized the delivery of stories. E-books introduced convenience and portability. XR technology will push our immersive boundaries a step further, marrying books with interactive media to create a new model for interaction. This patent-pending technology should be accessible to users in the next one to two years.

And this technology would not be limited to novels. In schools, XR textbooks could allow students to dissect virtual cells in biology class, live through turning points in history or view complex mathematics equations in real-time simulations. Abstract concepts could be brought to life, passive learning becoming active.

For businesses, XR books could create new business prospects. Readers could purchase branded goods related to their books such as character clothing or behind-the-scenes content. Authors and publishers could seamlessly integrate this e-commerce, paving the way for more engaging, sellable reading content.

Even journalism and nonfiction have much to be gained. Think of a memoir of a war reporter in which the reader can see the worlds described, watch old archive footage and listen to firsthand testimony integrated into the book.

Despite its potential, XR publishing will face enormous challenges. Interactive books would merge story, game development and coding. As opposed to novels, which are largely produced by an author and an editor, XR books would also involve engineers, designers and software developers. This would push up costs and make the creative process more complicated.

Accessibility is another problem. While digital devices are ubiquitous, not every reader can pay for high-end AR or VR hardware. For XR books to function on a large scale, they must be usable on a wide range of devices – from smartphones to VR headsets.

There are also intellectual property and legal issues to address. Books are not patentable, but the technology that supports XR bookbinding and interaction is currently in patent pending status, limiting who can deploy this new technology.

And what will happen to copyright laws when there are new mediums of storytelling? How will royalties get paid to writers, developers and publishers? Without established guidelines on these issues, mass adoption of XR books will be challenging for the publishing industry.

Despite these challenges, the momentum towards XR storytelling is already happening. How we consume content is evolving. Attention spans are decreasing and social media, streaming services and video games have conditioned audiences to yearn for interactivity. But books can continue to thrive at the same time as publishers adapt to this new environment.

XR technology can provide a new way to tell stories in a digital environment. It can help authors draw out even more participation, deeper emotional attachments and interactivity from their readers. Far from challenging traditional publishing, XR technology should be seen as an opportunity to take literature into the future while preserving its original purpose of telling stories that help us to better understand our world.