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The Stinger Report #1255 - Orlando Entertainment Extravaganza! - Part 2
Leading investors should note that IAAPA 2025 highlighted significant shifts in immersive entertainment, with a surge in Chinese VR innovations like gun-visor shooting, free-roaming arena systems, and MR experiences utilizing Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro. The decline of UK-based DNA VR signals challenges in traditional VR arcades, while Valve's new Steam Frame VR headset promises to reshape consumer and LBE VR markets in 2026. Meanwhile, MR is rapidly advancing as a dominant trend, with new spatial and hybrid experiences emerging from Asia and Europe, alongside developments in LED, projection, and immersive enclosure technologies, indicating a transformative era for the immersive attraction sector.
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This is the Stinger Report, issue number 1255, Orlando Entertainment Extravaganza Part 2 by Kevin Williams. We continue our extensive coverage of the Orlando Amusement and Attraction Trade Extravaganza, moving on to cover the VR scene from the Chinese perspective on the show floor and the move towards MR and AR development. Orlando's IAAPA continued XR. Regarding the Chinese contingent of VR providers making the trek to Orlando, and we start with OWatch, Stecky Amusement, the VR Equipment Company had on booth what they call their VR 2.0 series of hardware with VR Beat Star, a two-rider VR headset experience with motion seat and tracked hands that allow the player to grab stars through the VR experience. Like other interactive VR ride systems, we have reported on this system running the DP VR headset, YUTO, Amusement had on their booth their Combat Heroes Co-op, a tether gun visor VR system for four players. Using the Pico headset mounted into a gun controller, the Combat Shooter, the latest version of the Gun Visor approach. The company also had their Street Racer Motion Seat, Amusement Crazy Drift, and a mounted AR-style shooting game, Big Beast Hunter, taking the sniper shooter into the realms of big game hunting. Another of the Gunvisor style VR shooting games on the floor was on the shared fun space and movie power booth. They showed Neon Warrior, a two-rider VR Sim, using the Visor shooting platform. The other showing was fresh from exhibiting at the Tar P 2025 convention in Thailand, was VR Paraglider Game Platform, employing a unique twin-rider suspended motion system and Pico VR headsets. Also on display was the ball throwing amusement piece, Boom Party. Another parachute VR experience was on the Xichuang Culture Media Technology Hero VR booth with their suspended Bungie Adventure platform, offering two riders the chance to experience soaring VR adventures using an automated suspension system to rise and lower. While Infinity Technology VR had an example of their Starship, two-rider VR simulator system. Another example of the Gunvisor approach to VR-style shooting was presented from Oculep Immersive Tech, Yinghua Technology, with the latest version of the Zombie Frenzy platform. Also on the booth was the company's free roaming multiplayer platform, VR LaserTag, all powered by Pico hardware. This is one of the latest examples of the new generation of free roaming VR Arena systems being offered for Western adoption from the Chinese scene. Another exhibitor of a free roaming Chinese solution was BioForce, who had demonstrations of their system on their booth. Though representatives from the Stinger report never saw this system in operation during our visits to the booth during the days of the show, Vart came to Orlando with two major VR showing with their Fantasy Ride, immersive two-seat motion simulation platform, and the big ride in robot simulator, their VR Temporal Warlord system, with its unique, fully enclosing robot body, alongside their children VR Warrior Machine platform, while exhibitors such as KQ Fun Co. promoted their MyXR platforms of XR Infinity Space and Metaverse Theatres using VR headsets, private VR mixers, off the IAAPA 25 show floor, and several private events and mixers were held from prominent VR developers. Companies that decided to focus this year on off-show floor events, addressing the difficulty and expense of getting an exhibition slot. First was the VR Showcase with HTC Vive Event, partnered with the Rabbit Hole VR and others such as Stryker VR, VR Cave, and Spawn Point. The VR Showcase 2025 taking place at Andretti Indoor Karting, next to the convention hall. Speaking of SpawnPoint, the VR Arena specialists announced a partnership with Ubisoft Escape Games. The VR Escape Game Division of the European Software Publisher, the operation will now have SpawnPoint representing their VR experiences based on popular IP on their free roaming platform. Ubisoft also having entered the VR amusement scene with their involvement with the virtual rabbits, and now All-Star VR release with LAI Games. The second private event, VR Happy Hour, had the Rabbit Hole VR partnered with headset manufacturer Pico to hold their showcase, the event held again at Andretti's, and invited presentations from Die VR Labs promoting their Insta-VR arena, along with an example of the VR Free Roaming Arena from Rabbit Hole VR, content providers as well as Striker VR and others. This PICO event follows on from their previous private event during IAAPA Europe in September. The ability to allow FEC and facility operators to attend these private events to get a hands-on chance to see the viability of these platforms, allowed developers a chance to underpin the viability of VR when presented appropriately for the market. Around the time of IAPA 25 and more, news of the changing landscape in the VR arcade scene was revealed. DNA VR, the operation that claimed to be the first VR arcade experience in the UK with four facilities in the country, has been linked to departure of staff and closure of its operations. It was later revealed that the whole four facility chain had fallen into liquidation. This has been one of the first UK attempts at the then popular VR Arcade concept, first opening in London, Camden, in 2017, followed by Manchester and two other London locations. The concept used licensed content and hardware and had been linked to problems in business generation, finding it hard to bounce back after lockdown. End of an era and the beginning of a new one. A few days before IAPA 2025, and one of the worst kept secrets in the consumer VR community finally broke. With the embargoes lifting on Valve Corporate's sequel to their Index VR headset, the new Steam Frame VR headset offered PC VR support and standalone wireless streamed VR capabilities. With the news of the launch of this platform, Valve confirmed the six-year-old Valve Index, and its base stations are now no longer in production. Some VR arcades still use the base stations with their HTC Vive 2, tethered platforms, and will now have to update. The Stinger report knows of only one VR operator still using Valve Index headsets, the rest of the community migrating to either HTC or PICO alternatives. Scheduled for early 2026 availability, we will cover the implications of this move by Valve and the new headset we'll have on the consumer and possible LBE VR scene. XR and MR. While VR seemed to be redefining itself at this year's IA APA, the MR trend seemed to be on the ascendants with several examples of mixed reality passed-through attractions and experiences being promoted, seeming to fill the space of innovation and expectation on what it can achieve in the LBE and attraction realm. This was reflected recently with the launch in May of what was called the world's first MR roller coaster, El Diablo, Tren de la Mina, at Portaventura in Spain. The system is part of a planned rollout of MR attractions across this one park. Exhibiting at IAAPA25 L3DFX are a well-known developer and fabricator of entertainment spaces, known for their work on escape rooms and attractions. Many will remember our coverage from last year's IAAPA of their partnership on the Batman The Dark Knight Challenge escape room with Escapology. This year L3DFX partnered with Steamroller Technologies to create an MR experience, attendees able to use MetaQuest III headsets to see the physical environment overlaid with a virtual space-themed alien experience. In an early stage of development, Steamroller hoped to complete the development for the first facility rollout next year. Moving along the show floor, and Tokyo Dome came to the event with their MR experiences using MetaQuest III headsets to offer a free-roaming MR adventure experience. Using the pass-through capability, along with creating an immersive VR-style experience, what the company has labeled XR. The experience started as a mixed environment, then transforming to a full VR game, Ninja Breaker Demon Battle Shooting Japanese Warriors. Another experience on display was running on the Apple Vision Pro, offering a seated full MR representation of a Moon-based Dome experience, the Moon Cruise. Exhibiting at IAAPA 25 to present the work they have created for the Japanese location and looking at offering this as a turnkey experience for others. Dream Park located in the outside pavilion of this year's show, taking a space to demonstrate their downloadable theme park concept. The company recently announced their theme park as a service, TPAS, promoted as a turnkey solution for venues to license. Powered currently by MetaQuIII, held in the hand rather than using head strap, allows players to immerse themselves in a Mario Escatoise life-size environment. During the show, the company also exhibited their pedal-powered ARXR trike experience. The company was of interest to several operators, offering an opportunity to utilize empty space with an immersive attraction. This year, Dream Park was playing in a field with new competition, also looking towards the MR virtual space attraction option. A station, another MR exhibitor, also taking an outdoor exhibition space, what the company described as blending XR with real-world environments, presented on Apple Vision Pro headsets, offering three different MR experiences synced to the outdoor space. Based on the Enterverse platform that has launched across seven venues in the territory, the first flagship MR Service Boutique opened in Beijing, China. A station is one of the largest commercial users of Apple Vision Pro hardware in China, the experience benefiting on the quality of the MR experience achievable on the hardware. One of the most impressive MR environmental placements for their three different experiences: Zombie, Magic, and Dinosaurs. The company launched at the show their new licensing platform based on their technology, hoping to have over 100 new venues opened in the West in the next 24 months through agreement. IAPA 2025 represented a growing trend towards MR, usurping the more traditional approach to VR. It is expected that we will see several other new entrants move into the market next year. The 2026 show will represent greater investment in this direction. While outside of the Orlando microcosm, and a new attraction based on this technology was launched at Portaventura World in Spain. The park rolling out Expedición Ulum, El Despertar Jurásico, a family mixed reality spatial voyage through a physical setting transformed by virtual imagery and interaction into a Jurassic environment populated by unique creatures. This all achieved through using the Pico 4 Ultra headset. This ambitious attraction hoping to usher in a new era of immersive attractions. The other aspect of MR is that surrounding the non-headset, also meaning immersive interactive projection and LED display technology. At IAPA 25, Exhibitor Ventola Project's VAVR Global Alliance presented their LED display for floor and wall application, and in a unique application of screen technology, they were running their immersive digital character technology, revealing a system that allowed a life-size CGI virtual character able to interact with guests in real time, either from an AI chatbot style system or from a remote operator using motion capture. Breeze Creative had examples of their edutainment projection systems, with their interactive wall and floor systems, as well as their interactive sandpit platform. These interactive projection systems were also seen on the OneCraze multimedia technology. The Chinese exhibitor presented their projection entertainment and physical fitness platform, while the Korea Creative Content Agency, KOCCR, had a selection of leading developers from the territory looking to promote their concepts. This included Iowedu Gym, a projection mapped floor interactive experience. Large screen ball tracked experiences were represented by the likes of Multiball by LYMB.io. The company had their interactive gaming wall platform in action using a large LED screen format. The company was also sharing their booth space with the new concept, PlayCout, powered by Multiball, a pickleball and tennis simulator, offering a ball launching system and screen. The ball throwing and object tracking application was also represented on the Champ Throw LLC booth, with their platform offering a simple ball and object tracking platform for axe throwing and other ball games. The deployment of LED interactive floor applications was prevalent at the show. Along with the previous mentioned Vex solution Party Dash, another interactive LED floor application was presented on the Richco International booth. The flooring and design specialist running an LED floor by LPO Digital that offered an example of the compelling nature of this tech for future fidgetal environments. The display and projection market was also represented from manufacturer Christie's, showing their projector and LED offerings. While Electrasonic presented their display and projection library, the company also presented the latest developments in projection mapping. The latest LED display technology was also shown off the show floor. Kraftwork Living Technologies, KLT, offered a unique opportunity to see the latest screen technology being employed for theatre attraction application with some of the best 3D that we have seen using LED. Their new Magnose range of LED technology, able to offer passive 3D glasses support, and with rich colours, not hampered by the limitations of dual projection applications and unique acoustics transparency. The demonstration held at the Falcon's Attractions Factory also revealed other new technological developments in the media attraction scene. Example of proven immersive enclosure systems using displays and projections back on the show floor included Innerweezy with their successful QBIX platform. Offering a projection-walled enclosure with tracked controllers offering mini immersive game experiences, the company celebrating its ninth new game title at the show, underlining the variety that this system offers. The platform has been installed across over 70 venues, now including new features such as redemption ticketing based on game outcome. Another immersive enclosure system, shown at IAAPA 25, was from XCube, the company presenting their mission room game experience, mixing digital touchscreens and physical buttons used in various game experiences, such as Spy Training. Now including their latest title based on the popular Traitors TV series, licensed and turned into an immersive game experience. The company has over 20 platforms installed in Europe and is looking to grow the installation internationally. New immersive enclosure development that missed IAAP A25 included the launch of the Smart Tracks platform developed from Fusion GAMS, a projection environment that offers interactive immersive experiences for multiple users, with content developed using Unreal Engine. The development team coming from the sector having previously worked on immersive experiences such as MagiQuest. With the announcement of the new system, it was revealed that the first installation of this interactive immersive experience was at Amazing Xcapes in Springfield, Illinois.
