The opening of a virtual reality (VR) gaming destination in Birmingham means that the city has arguably the world’s most advanced place for entering the metaverse. What might this mean for the future of immersive gaming in the city?
All About Sandbox VR
The new venue in Grand Central is the biggest that Sandbox has opened to date, with London their only other British site. They also have around 30 other gaming centres like this dotted across the planet, from Hong Kong and Singapore to Dallas and Las Vegas. Their Birmingham venue has VR games and a robotic bartender.
As many as six players can enter games together, with themes including zombies, pirates, and space exploration. The use of cutting-edge motion capture cameras and bodysuits fitted with sensors means that this is possibly the most immersive gaming experience available anywhere.
Andy Scanlon is the head of Sandbox UK & Ireland’s division. He confirmed that the Birmingham centre is their biggest site so far and that the city’s excellent transport connections make it the ideal destination as their second British location.
How Games Are Becoming More Immersive
The introduction of the metaverse has been one of the biggest news stories of the last few years, but the race towards immersive gaming had already begun long before this. We need to go back to the 1960s to find the first VR headset, but the launch of the Oculus Rift and other models around a decade ago was the start of modern VR technology.
A more immersive feel has also entered online casinos in recent years, with live dealer games such as roulette and blackjack available. Click here now to see a list of sites including Grosvenor and LeoVegas that offer welcome bonuses to new players and fast pay-outs if you win. Live streaming technology is used for those live dealer games, with augmented reality also used in some games to make the experience more immersive.
What Can We Expect to Happen Next?
The Sandbox VR in Birmingham has recently opened, but reviews from the London venue have been generally positive and suggest that it’s an exciting day out. Reviews to date mention the size of the venue as being particularly surprising, which makes us feel that the even bigger venue in Birmingham is going to raise a few eyebrows.
Among the company’s games that can be tried are the zombie-themed Deadwood Valley and Amber Sky 2088, where the players need to fight off an alien invasion. The selection of games should continue to grow to meet demand, but for the moment the list of seven titles should be enough to keep most visitors entertained.
The big question is whether immersive gaming centres like this will become more common, or whether having access to the metaverse on our mobile devices and laptops means that they become redundant. For the moment, the novelty value is sure to cause a lot of people to visit Sandbox VR, but its long-term success is likely to depend on the social aspect it brings to gaming.
