CA-SANDBOX-VR
3.9.2024 15:01:35 CEST | Business Wire | Press release
Sandbox VR, the world's premier destination for premium location-based virtual reality experiences, is announcing significant growth milestones of its franchise program. The company saw 60% growth in franchise deals in Q2 with plans to open 280 new franchise locations in the next four years. This announcement comes on the heels of opening their 50th store on August 15. Located on the Gold Coast, the new location is the first Sandbox VR in Australia, expanding its global presence to four continents and nine countries.
Since opening its first store in Hong Kong in 2017, Sandbox VR has rapidly grown its global footprint with thriving corporate-owned locations and a robust franchising program. Today, its global locations see over 100k players monthly. In 2023, the company topped 1.2M tickets sold and has seen a 33% year-over-year increase in 2024 ticket sales. Sandbox VR’s corporate locations—37 in total—hit a revenue milestone with an average store topping $1.9M annually.
Sandbox VR's franchise program launched in 2019 for international markets and opened up for US territories in April of this year. In those four months, 33% of available Sandbox VR US franchise territories have been claimed by new and existing franchise partners. Franchising has been instrumental in making Sandbox VR the fastest growing location-based VR startup globally, and this US momentum signals continued rapid growth. Limited opportunities for prime locations and territory exclusivity are still available in the US.
“When I started building Sandbox VR, I set out to build the future of entertainment. I never would have succeeded without the right team of people helping me build the world's most immersive experiences using bleeding edge virtual reality technology,” said Steve Zhao, CEO and founder of Sandbox VR. “As we set our sights on expanding globally, we know it’s critical to work with the right partners. We are thrilled to announce the 50th Sandbox VR location in collaboration with our franchise partners, Bao Phung and Keith Le, and look forward to working with passionate franchise partners from around the globe to open hundreds more in the next four years.”
“We considered a different location-based virtual reality company when it came to exploring our franchise opportunities but ultimately determined that we wanted to partner with Sandbox VR, the leader in the category,” said Bao Phung, Owner of Sandbox VR Gold Coast. “Partnering with Sandbox VR was the most advantageous and strategic decision for our business, allowing us to introduce Australia to immersive games you can’t play anywhere else on the world’s most immersive full-body VR platform. The Gold Coast, which attracts 13 million visitors annually, is the natural choice for our first location. We look forward to introducing locals and visitors alike to a whole new reality.”
Sandbox VR’s UK and Ireland franchise partners, VR Entertainment Group, are proof of the strength of the Sandbox VR franchise program. Since launching their first store in London in July 2022—and their second in Birmingham a year later—they have surpassed the $10M revenue milestone. In London alone, VR Entertainment Group has seen a 16.8% increase in guests year-to-date and projects their 2024 revenue to top $5M.
“I believe our success is due to the strength of our partnership with Sandbox VR,” said Andy Scanlon, co-founder and CEO of VR Entertainment Group. “Their world class VR, brand, and wider corporate team, with our local expertise and determination to build Sandbox VR into the leading immersive entertainment brand in the UK & Ireland, has led to a nexus delivering truly amazing experiences for our guests.”
Sandbox VR is creating the future of entertainment by building the world’s most immersive experiences using proprietary virtual reality technology. Their patented motion-tracking system, which captures the movements of a player’s entire body, combines with high-quality haptics to provide players with unprecedented realism and complete immersion that’s not possible with home VR or other location-based VR platforms. Guests’ own bodies act as their game controllers; all they have to do is step into the virtual world and participate in the action unfolding all around them.
All Sandbox VR experiences—eight in total—are developed by in-house AAA gaming studios in Hong Kong and Vancouver, led by game industry veterans and are specifically designed for groups to play as social experiences. Teams of up to six freely roam and explore virtual worlds together, while relying on each other to succeed.
For more information and to make reservations, please visit sandboxvr.com. To learn more about Sandbox VR franchise opportunities, please visit https://franchise.sandboxvr.com/.
ABOUT SANDBOX VR
Sandbox VR is the world's premier destination for premium, location-based virtual reality games. The company has created the world’s most immersive full-body VR platform and boasts exclusive games, including original and branded experiences, such as Squid Game Virtuals, created in collaboration with Netflix. Now operating in 50 locations and attracting over 100k players monthly, Sandbox VR is rapidly growing its global footprint with thriving corporate-owned locations and a robust franchising program. The company has been recognized as one of Fast Company’s 2024 Most Innovative Companies and is the 129th fastest growing company in America on the 2024 Inc. 5000 list. Sandbox VR is headquartered in San Francisco, California with offices in Hong Kong and Vancouver. The company’s latest round raised over $37 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, Gobi Partners, and Craft. Individual investors include Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry, Kevin Durant and Will Smith.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240903348064/en/
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Takeda’s Zasocitinib Demonstrates Consistent, High Rates of Skin Clearance Across the Body, Including Hard-to-Treat and High-Impact Sites, in Phase 3 Psoriasis Studies17.7.2026 00:00:00 CEST | Press release
On average, about 75% of patients with scalp psoriasis treated with zasocitinib achieved clear or almost clear skin at week 16 Approximately 70% of patients with palmoplantar disease treated with zasocitinib achieved clear or almost clear skin at week 16 Zasocitinib demonstrated statistically significant improvements in Nail Psoriasis Severity Index (NAPSI) versus placebo Results reinforce the potential of zasocitinib to deliver rapid and durable skin clearance, including in the hardest-to-treat areas, in a convenient once-daily pill Takeda (TSE:4502/NYSE:TAK) announced new data from the two pivotal Phase 3 studies of zasocitinib (TAK-279), a next-generation, highly selective and potent oral tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor, in adults with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis (PsO).1 Presented at the 2026 American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Innovation Academy, these secondary endpoint data show that zasocitinib demonstrated consistent and high rates of skin clearance across hard-to-
Merz Completes Inaugural €450 Million Schuldschein Loan Issuance16.7.2026 23:36:00 CEST | Press release
Debut transaction more than three times oversubscribed The Merz Group has successfully completed its first-ever Schuldschein loan issuance, placing a total volume of €450 million in the debt capital market – a multiple of three relating to the launch volume. The debut transaction was significantly oversubscribed and attracted strong interest from all investor groups. The proceeds were settled and paid out today. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260716926041/en/ Dr. Almuth Steinkühler, Chief Financial Officer Merz Group The transaction comprises both fixed- and floating-rate tranches with maturities of three, five, seven, and ten years. Around 50 German and international investors participated, representing a broad range of institutions, including private banks, German federal state-owned banks, public savings banks, cooperative banks, pension funds and occupational pension institutions. With the successful plac
The Estée Lauder Companies Appoints Madeleine Boyd as Senior Vice President, Global Brand Communications16.7.2026 22:22:00 CEST | Press release
The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) today announced the appointment of Madeleine Boyd as Senior Vice President, Global Brand Communications, effective July 20, 2026. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260716738393/en/ Photo by Esteban La Tessa As part of the company’s continued efforts to strengthen how its brands better connect with consumers, Ms. Boyd will establish and lead a newly integrated Global Brand Communications team. In this role, she will ensure the company’s diverse portfolio is anchored by a cohesive enterprise communications strategy, while accelerating bold, consumer-first storytelling that drives earned media, cultural relevance, and brand desirability. She will also strengthen creator engagement, helping the company’s brands gain attention where culture is being shaped. Ms. Boyd brings extensive experience spanning brand strategy, communications, consumer engagement, and cultural insight
Grid Dynamics Enters Strategic Partnership with Doosan Robotics to Accelerate Physical AI Adoption Across Manufacturing and Logistics16.7.2026 22:05:00 CEST | Press release
Key Takeaways: Grid Dynamics partners with Doosan Robotics to provide industrial cobot users with a turnkey software stack for physical AI and corresponding integration services. Grid Dynamics offerings enable Doosan cobot users to solve advanced robotic automation use cases such as processing and inspection of complex-geometry objects, assembly with variability, and packaging of unseen and deformable items. This partnership positions Grid Dynamics to address the fast-growing physical AI market with applied end-to-end solutions including foundational AI components, software platforms, integration services, and hardware for a broad range of manufacturing and logistics companies. Grid Dynamics Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: GDYN) (Grid Dynamics), a premier AI transformation partner for the Fortune 1000, announced today it has entered into a strategic partnership with Doosan Robotics, a global leader in collaborative robot solutions, delivering cutting-edge AI robotics to 45 countries worldwide.
NetApp Acquires DataPelago, Making Data AI-Ready at the Infrastructure Layer16.7.2026 18:30:00 CEST | Press release
Embedding GPU-accelerated intelligence enables enterprises to easily discover, govern, and activate data for AI and analytics at the source NetApp® (NASDAQ: NTAP), the Intelligent Data Infrastructure company, today announced it has acquired DataPelago, a California-based AI data infrastructure company recognized for its innovative approach to eliminating data processing bottlenecks for AI and analytics workloads. The acquisition marks a foundational expansion of NetApp's portfolio, enabling GPU-accelerated data processing aligned directly with the storage layer. With this acquisition, NetApp establishes itself as the company that makes zero-copy activation of enterprise data for AI real. AI is the defining platform shift of our era, but enterprises are discovering that their greatest bottleneck is preparing, governing, and activating their data fast enough to put AI into production. The key to accomplishing this objective is to enable accelerated computing where the data is created and
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom