Sandbox VR

Sandbox VR offers location-based 30 minute-long VR gaming experiences for groups of up to six people, and it is equipped with motion capture cameras, 3D precision body trackers, custom hardware including a backpack computer, and haptic suits to run, walk, jump, and interact physically within the environment. The company develops its technology and video games in-house and offers eight titles as of January 2024.

In September 2024, the company announced Deadwood Phobia, the third title in its Deadwood zombie franchise. Previously, in August 2023, the company announced that sales of its most popular experience, Deadwood Valley, surpassed USD 23 million since August 2022, and was projected to make USD 100 million in lifetime sales. In April 2024, the company announced that its franchising program will be available in the US (previously restricted to international markets only).

As of August 2024, the company had 50 locations across the US, Canada, Europe, Australia and Asia. Per person ticket costs ranged from USD 50–60 per session. Further, the company disclosed in September 2024 that it had plans to open 280 new franchise locations in the next four years.

In 2023, the company sold over 1.2 million tickets with its average store generating USD 1.9 million in revenue annually.

Previously, the company faced severe operational difficulties during the height of the pandemic in 2020, and consequently laid off 80% of its employees and filed for bankruptcy. Sandbox VR global offices reopened in April 2021, and, since then, its revenue grew by 20x (as of November 2021).

Key customers and partnerships

In May 2024, the company partnered with UAE-based fashion and lifestyle company Apparel Group to establish 25 new location-based experiences across the Middle East by 2028.

The company also had two partnerships with Netflix:

1) To create a location-based social VR experience in London, based on Zack Synder's Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver movie (April 2024)

2) To create a location-based Squid Game VR experience (launched in September 2023) across all its venues. Revenue from the experience from September 2023 - November 2023 was ~USD 4.6 million.

Funding and financials

In its latest funding round (November 2021), Sandbox VR raised USD 37 million in a Series A funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. The funds were raised to open 10 new retail locations globally, including locations in Paramus, London, and Toronto in 2022, and 2 corporate and 2 franchise locations. The company also plans to scale its internal studio to improve content cadence and develop a software development kit (SDK) to open its platform for third-party development and wireless technology to circumvent the need for a VR backpack that players need to carry.