The future of AR Arcades in a covid world
With news of the Facebook-owned Beat Saber ending it’s commercial licensing to VR arcades, it begs the question if other publishers will follow suit. And what could this mean for the future of VR arcades in a covid world?
Beat Saber is the most popular VR game which regularly tops the Oculus and Steam VR charts. Created by developers Beat Games, it was acquired by Oculus / Facebook in late 2019. The game has been one of few to receive mainstream attention with featuring on The Jimmy Kimmel Show and Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway here in the UK.
As the world begins to find a new normal, shops are beginning to open, as our entertainment facilities like cinemas and bowling alleys. They’ll have to conform to new social distancing rules set by local governments and may change dependent on local health risks.
In many experienced-based leisure activities like Cinema it’s easy to imagine how social distancing and hygiene can be easily enforced. Limit the amount of tickets sold, place out of order on seats to separate guests and provide a deep clean between film showings.
But managing this for VR arcades is difficult. The experience relies on fast-paced movement and interaction between people. Customers are blinded by a headset, so you’re relying on the technology keeping people distant, and the trust of the customers. One bad move and the council could shut you down.
With Facebook pulling the blog on arguably the most popular VR game of all-time, it is likely others will follow suit. Just like a restaurant of bar, they don’t want to be the publisher or developer associated to a VR arcade that is responsible for a covid outbreak.
Facebook own two other VR studios aside from Beat Games. Sanzaru Games, which they purchased earlier this year, and most recently Ready At Dawn — the company behind Lone Echo and Echo Arena. Echo Arena is set to be the first competitive eSports VR game to take off. It’s likely they’ll also stop licensing the games under these studios to avoid bad PR.
There is no doubt that demand for high-end out-of-home VR is high. Arcades prior to covid were popping up in towns across the UK and experiences had long waiting listings. The general public are interested in trying out the technology, especially offering multiplayer between friends.
It mirrors leisure activities such as going to the cinema, or bowling, rock climbing and laser tag. But as we enter the new normal, can these experiences run on limited capacity?
Whereas the public can come to terms with how cinema’s and such can provide a safe experience, unfortunately VR arcades are unfamiliar and the public are likely to trust these new experiences, or they simply aren’t appealing if the content is cut.
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