A virtual reality arena described as "the future of video games" has opened a brand new site in Bristol. MeetspaceVR has launched a 200-sq metre free-roam warehouse scale arena allowing people to play immersive games with up to eight people.
Launched by Zero Latency - a social VR gaming company - it's said to be the world’s first free-roaming, multiplayer VR entertainment experience. Founded in 2013 in Australia, the technology company specialises in 'free-roam' VR, allowing users to move freely in an open space and not be constrained by cables.
The new site in Bristol was selected by CEO John Lilley, who has been involved in teaching children code in Bristol through his business Junior Game Creators. He said: “We’re delighted to bring Zero Latency to Bristol, one of the UK’s cultural hubs for creative arts and culture.
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"I’ve been promising our Junior Game Creators we would arrive in Bristol soon and it’s been my ambition to open a store in the city as promised. There’s a growing appetite for cutting-edge socially engaging VR experiences and the games we offer cater to a wide audience from avid-gamers to first time visitors, but at the heart of every game is the key aspect that gaming is better when played together."
Bristol is the seventh UK city in the company's portfolio, with other sites in Birmingham, London and Manchester. There are seven games to choose from at the Bristol arena where players are transported to other worlds, including battling zombies in a survival game, intergalactic firefights in space and solving puzzles in fantastical alien worlds.
Players enter the arena equipped with headsets, headphones, and a gun (for shooter games) to navigate their full-motion avatars through the Ready Player One-like worlds. Senses are heightened as gamers manoeuvre through the hyper-realistic virtually generated world, all while set in a free-roam VR arena.
Forbes described the "surreal multiple player experience" used at MeetspaceVR as "the world’s most advanced, free-roaming virtual reality". Product review site CNET said it was "the future of video games, arcades and amusement thrills all in one". Tickets for Zero Latency are available to be pre-booked at www.meetspacevr.co.uk from £19.95 per person (who must be aged 12 or over) with off-peak pricing available during the week.
MeetspaceVR, Dixon Road Studio, Unit 1&2 Bonville Business Estate, Dixon Rd, Bristol, BS4 5QQ. Open Thursday to Friday (2 PM - 8 PM), Saturday (11 AM - 9 PM) and Sunday (11 AM - 6 PM).
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