FundedByMe tries out VREX
“What is VREX?”
I get that question each time I eagerly start telling someone about the experience I recently had when I was running around shooting zombies in a warehouse in an outskirt of Stockholm.
“Everybody’s heard about Virtual Reality but not about VREX. If we ask 10 people what it is we will get 10 different answers”, says Micha Velasco, founder and CEO.
VREX offers virtual reality in 4D, with full body trackers and sense effects like wind, heat and water. It also gives you the possibility to see and interact with your co-players. This definitely brings extra excitement to the game, being able to see your friend standing beside you in a robot suit and a weapon ready to cover you.
The company brought in SEK 3,000,000 through FundedByMe in December last year and opened their doors to a 300 sqm VR Arcade in Stockholm this spring.
“It’s been calmer during the summer but we can tell that visitors are increasing now that vacations are over. We have many companies coming here for kick offs and after works, and we just opened our conference solution that can take up to 40 people”.
But there are many families and friends coming to play as well, and you can play up to 4 people in one game, anyone from your grandfather to your little sister can enjoy it. Me and my colleague wanted to try it out of course, and with our hands tightly gripping the VR striker gun we nervously stepped into the world of flesh eating zombies.
So how was it? Definitely the most fun I’ve had in a long time! I came out with aching arms from having shot (and sometimes chainsawed) my way through mobs of zombies but with a big wide grin on my face. And Olivia, our content marketing manager who’s never really been into gaming of any sorts was surprisingly excited afterwards. “I wasn’t sure if it was anything for me but it was a lot of fun. Now I’m going to recommend it to everyone I know!”.
The future of Virtual Reality is big. The many opportunities that lie ahead can be found within areas such as exercise, education, virtual offices etc. When having experienced VREX I don’t doubt that this will be part of the norm- very soon. Today the company offers two games, Zombie Apocalypse (not for the easily frightened), and Skull Adventure, a game focusing on problem solving. They are currently working together with game developers in Switzerland to release more games, but since the technique is so advanced and needs to be customized to a certain location the development time is a bit longer than for other games.
Micha, who was also one of the founders of the Bodyflight success, believes that crowdfunding was a good suit for VREX as it offers a low threshold for investors interested in the entertainment market who might be looking for something local. “It’s easy and it’s quick”. He’s also received helpful advice from his shareholders in both marketing and sales, with whom he keeps a regular contact with every 6 weeks. “It’s easy to get tunnel vision if you don’t get new insights from others”.
They’re now looking to expand both in Sweden and globally. Today there are only about 10 centers in the world with the same technical advancement. Micha tells us a good fit for the next location would be in a galleria, where people don’t have to make plans to come and visit, but just drop by and play a game like in any arcade hall.
We’d highly recommend you to go and try it out if you’re in the Stockholm area. Book your VREX experience here.
