"In the Virtual Reality industry, you must be adaptable and always prepared for external changes."
Vasily Petrenko, Co-Founder of Another World VR -operating more than 80 VR arenas worldwide.
In today's modern world, VR arenas are one of the most popular forms of venue for entertainment and leisure. Innovative, advanced technology allows groups to gather and take part in an expansive range of virtual games-from battling monsters to laser tag and paintball.
Another World VR is one of the most prominent and successful companies in the VR industry. Vasily Petrenko, bioengineer and Another World VR co-founder, is working to open hundreds of VR arenas across the globe.
The company's origin takes place in 2014, when Petrenko and his friends created a workshop for the production of escape rooms. In just a few months, the workshop took off, and their local business turned into an international supplier of escape room scripts, shipping to buyers in Europe and the United States. With this success, the team agreed to further advance their business by entering the field of virtual reality technology.
"VR attractions began to appear locally, such as in shopping malls, where you could put on VR goggles and imagine that you were riding a rollercoaster. We began to test these attractions, but realized that the technology wasn't quite satisfactory. The visuals didn't match up with the physical sensations. When we were analyzing the market in 2016-2017, we recognized the customers' disappointment. The Gartner Curve describes the different stages of maturity within a technological project. When there is an increased consumer interest in technology, expectations become too high, and people end up disappointed," Vasily said.
The solution to the problem was found when the team came to understand that a person in a VR headset should be able to move freely while feeling the same thing that they are visualizing. With this clarity, Another World VR was founded, and a demo of their first game was sold a few months later at a conference in the U.S.
Since 2018, the company has been releasing 1 to 2 new games each year. Thanks to the continuous development of technology, the number of participants who can simultaneously play a game has grown to an outstanding 14 players. The American market is especially successful, as customers come to escape rooms and VR arenas in large groups, usually made up of families and friends. With a range of games for every age group, all are entertained. Adults can save the world from mysterious monsters, or destroy zombies, while children can catch animated ghosts in speed rounds.
Another World VR has developed 3 PvE games, where players play against the computer, and 3 PvP games, where players play against one another. The first launched PvP game is very popular, and the ability to compete with friends is not its only advantage. Wearing VR headsets, players can navigate through 6 play spaces of 2 three-story towers. Though players physically remain in the VR arena, they are being virtually transported from one site to another through teleportation. So that they do not collide with each other, the physical position of the players is displayed in "ghosts of the human" form, therefore increasing the physical space.
"At first, we sold our product as game scripts that can be run on any site. Then, we began to sell a franchise. This simplified business for both us and our partners, especially with the launch of our website and booking system. Through this system, we are able to collect feedback and analyze which games and ads resonate the most. Our markets in the United States, Australia, and Africa are very different, but there are common points that we are implementing everywhere to make the arenas more popular with visitors and more profitable for partners. We are trying to make VR accessible to both business people and gamers. Our model differs from competitors in that a venue can be opened with only $50k-100k."
At the end of the first year of operation, Another World VR's revenue amounted to $70k, and since has doubled every year. By the end of 2022, the company expects to approach $1 million.
"In the Virtual Reality industry, you must be adaptable and always prepared for external changes. The key is to find good specialists who will help you test hypotheses and make a quality product," Vasily said.
The number of new Another World VR locations is constantly increasing, though development was somewhat slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company was forced to cut costs, but was able to recover about nine months after the original hit. To help partners, they developed landing pages and advertising campaigns to stimulate VR headset renting. Since the summer of 2021, several new locations have opened each month.
By the end of 2021, 100 arena-opening contracts had been signed, with 80 sites already in operation. In 2022, Another World VR expects to increase their number of partners to 150, and number of operating arenas to 120.
Petrenko expects that in the next 3 to 4 years, they will approach 500 operating VR arenas. And over time, they will turn into a full-fledged network of VR venues available to visitors around the world.
"Perhaps over time, we will create more than just games. Special project negotiations are already being conducted. I like to bring people into a good mood, and it always seemed important to create something useful. Therefore, we are considering adding educational content to our arenas. We already have partners who work in this direction-children come to them to watch educational films or conduct experiments using virtual reality technologies."
Additionally, Another World VR is considering developing a field of Esports, or electronic sports, with the functions of tournaments, ratings, streaming, and the ability to participate in a game with players from different locations.
