Although with its 40,000 daily visitors it is one of the busiest places in the world, the truth is that the San Pedro Basilicain the city of the Vatican, it continues to hide a large number of secrets that few know. Accessing papal tombs, private sacristy, the chapter room or the wind tower is practically impossible for the general public.

To the secrecy generated by these restricted spaces is added the historical importance of the architectural complex. All these reasons have led to Microsoft and the Vatican to collaborate in the creation of the first educational video game on the Basilica of San Pedro. It is titled “Peter Is Here” and is developed in the educational version of Minecraft Educationwith the collaboration of Fabrica Di San Pietro, the institution of the Holy See in charge of the reconstruction and conservation of the Basilica.

“This milestone is a natural and important extension of the collaboration between Microsoft and the Vatican, and a great step forward of the joint work“, explains Brad Smith, president of Microsoft.”We have been able to send the culture, religion and heritage of this wonderful institution to the children of all countries in the world”

The project starts from another previous initiative, “The Basilica Di San Petro”. Last November Microsoft announced a new digital and physical experience that allowed you to enter the building and know it as never before. To develop it, more than 400,000 photographs with drones and other supports were taken, which the Digital Conconm conservation company was responsible for recomposing, and that Microsoft Azure processed.

This huge volume of information obtained is the one that has allowed to create “Peter is here”; A title that will allow students “Explore the history of the monument through key moments in time, participate in restoration challenges, and discover the intersection between cultural heritage and modern innovation”, Says the statement.

In its development, the company has used some your suite tools: Microsoft Copilot in order to investigate and inform about historical experiences within the game; Microsoft Designer to create and mold assets; Microsoft Visual Studio and Github Copilot to support mechanics; and Microsoft Copilot and Azure OpenAi GPT4.0 to adapt the age of the text and accessibility.

In “Peter Is Here”, the student has two game modes before him; one dedicated to restoration in which the Sanpietrini follows, the team of professionals dedicated to the Basilica, to understand what works are done, assimilate the historical context of each area of ​​the building and solve real -time problems; and another of exploration which proposes to move as a historian to collect objects, talk to NPCS and discover secrets. All through Four historical epochs In your construction process.

“Through this immersive trip, they will discover how technology can help protect cultural heritage, while experiencing the issues of history, cooperation and preservation”, Microsoft details about the educational value of the title. Social studies with modern technology. “Students explore simulated tools that reflect the techniques of digital image and 3D modeling used in conservation, medicine, environmental sciences and urban planning.”

In addition to the experience, the educators interested in it also have at their disposal the download of a PowerPoint with which they can reinforce their lessons in the classrooms. And once the adventure is over, each student receives a certificate officialwhich recognizes it as a conservator of honor of cultural heritage.

“Peter is here” is now available For all users in the Minecraft Education Lesson Library. On the other hand, the company offers a trial version for all those who have an Office 365 or Microsoft 365 Education session.

More info: “Peter is here”

Other brand collaborations with the Vatican

Two years ago Samsung He also collaborated with the Holy See, but in this case to digitize part of his processes. The Korean company equipped the Pontifical Swiss Guard with Galaxy Tab Active tablets, and mobiles and Galaxy Xcover Pro tablets. These were rugerized devices prepared to withstand the conditions to which this security body is exposed.

On the other hand, Samsung also endowed the institution of Knox Suitea platform designed to help IT administrators manage smartphones and devices in the area. With it, the guard can restrict at a distance the content of the devices and deactivate certain functions, such as cameras and microphones.