Cineplex has announced a partnership with Seattle-based virtual reality solutions company VRstudios that will see the installation of dozens of new VR attractions across Canada.
Under the agreement, Cineplex will also acquire a significant ownership interest in VRstudios, which will allow for broader expansion opportunities in North America and the rest of the world. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Cineplex currently offers VRstudios’ VRcade Atom game in its South Edmonton Rec Room entertainment centre as part of its Player One Amusement Group arcade game distribution subsidiary. Going forward, the partnership will see an additional 30-40 VRstudios VR attractions opened across a variety of its theatres and entertainment centres by the end of 2021.
It’s unclear what, exactly, these attractions may be. However, it’s worth noting that VRstudios offers untethered multiplayer, free-roaming experiences in both room-scale and warehouse-scale environments around the world. It’s possible that Cineplex could aim to bring more of these attractions to Canada as well.
“We are not just deploying VR across our network, we are strategically investing in the market to create new revenue streams as well as critical mass and scale for growth. We are proud to be leading the way in the burgeoning location-based VR market,” said Ellis Jacob, president and CEO of Cineplex, in a press statement. “VRstudios’ product portfolio base has obvious application opportunities across the Cineplex ecosystem, and we are particularly excited about growth opportunities for Player One Amusement Group.”
“Cineplex is one of the world’s leading entertainment companies and we are honoured to be working in partnership with them to drive further innovation in the location-based VR marketplace,” added Kevin Vitale, CEO of VRstudios. “There is great synergy in our respective visions for scaling VR in commercial entertainment and the enterprise-wide strategy to make it happen.”
Source: Cineplex
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