The Park is looking to supersize location-based VR
‘Scaling our footprint to hundreds of locations globally is the key to success’
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ocation-based VR has huge potential. The Park is looking to fulfil that potential and with 13 locations open already, it’s set to spread right across Europe and beyond. We talk to CEO Philippe De Schutter about its approach, content, IP and development pipeline.
Philippe De Schutter , CEO, The Park Playground
You’ve grown to 13 locations in just 3 years (with a pandemic). What’s behind that success? The Park was launched in June 2018 and market data has deemed it a success. There are three reasons for that. First, The Park doesn’t emphasize technology; we focus on experience. It’s inherent in our design. Other VR franchises use cold colors and surfaces, going for the sci-fi look. We build large open venues with soft colours and natural light, abundant wood and plants, and a low-tech presence. This opens us up to a larger demographic audience interested in location-based social entertainment, not just virtual reality. We further that approach with story-driven games based on the longest-running, most popular shows
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on television. Fans are no longer satisfied with movies coming out every three years. They want more opportunities to connect with their favorite characters and storylines. Being owned by Telenet, the largest media company in Belgium, and part of Liberty Global, we have the opportunity to activate and engage audiences by immersing them in the stories they are passionate about. Our audience shows that this approach worked. Our customers are now 43% female, 40% company team builders and over 31-years of age on average. The Park isn’t just for kids and gamers, though we attract them as well. Tell us about your plans to expand the brand beyond Europe? With Liberty Global as our main investor, The Park was envisioned as a global brand. Since the success of its first venue we started to build a structure that would scale internationally and gained the trust of brands like Vodafone and Kinepolis. While we focus on growing to 30 owned venues in Western Europe very soon,
