February 26, 2024 - LAS VEGAS, NV -- Organizers of the VR Arcade Summit, being held for the seventh time,  unveiled the initial sponsor roster for its upcoming conference, along with some groundbreaking new activities for arcade owners and operators. 

The 7th annual VR Arcade Summit is held every year in cooperation with Amusement Expo International in Las Vegas and is North America’s largest conference dedicated to the business of

location-based virtual reality entertainment. Over 500 arcade operators, suppliers and developers will join almost 4,000 amusement industry attendees to learn about the latest trends, innovations, and best practices in the growing out-of-home entertainment industry. 

HTC VIVE is this year’s presenting sponsor, marking the first official participation from the world’s leading B2B VR headset manufacturer. In collaboration with arcade management platform SynthesisVR and escape game developer vrCAVE, HTC will hold its first VR arcade operator user group. Operators from around the world will convene to learn how to best utilize HTC VIVE products and software to streamline their operations. Executives from HTC, SynthesisVR and vrCAVE will be offering insights into their latest product features, and will be answering questions from audience members. All current and future operators are welcome to attend. 

Another new feature of this year’s VR Arcade Game Summit is the Free Roam Pavilion at the Amusement Expo International trade show. Organizers are constructing a special area dedicated to larger, free-roam VR experiences.. All new games will be demonstrated, many for the first time ever at a trade show. One of the highlights will be the SynthesisVR arena showcasing high-end PCVR games, streaming via WiFi 6e technology to HTC VIVE Focus 3 headsets. This setup brings the highest quality games previously only available with cumbersome and unreliable backpacks. 

“Operators who attend the Do-It-Yourself Free Roam session will learn how to build their own free-roam arenas for a fraction of what it cost just last year, said Bob Cooney, VR Arcade Game Summit organizer “New technology has made it the most affordable way to bring virtual reality experiences to the public. Beyond the price advantages, free-roam, multiplayer VR is the answer to the isolation problem inherent in early VR arcades, where players would enter a booth by themselves and play for up to an hour. Free-roam VR puts all the players together in a shared physical space where they experience the joy of social gameplay,” Cooney said.

Sponsoring organization, the American Arcade Machine Association, will also present an Industry Standardization Workshop. Arcade operators, distributors, and suppliers will inform a new model to help bring standards to headsets, cables, hygiene, and game operations. These standards will help reduce operational costs for operators, make it easier to cross train employees, and reduce downtime for attractions. 

Organizers invite the entire location-based VR ecosystem to attend the VR Arcade Game Summit. Game publishers and developers, real estate developers, amusement operators, entertainment studios, technology providers, and anyone interested in playing a role in this exploding industry is welcome. The VR Game Summit at Amusement Expo will take place at the Westgate Hotel in Las Vegas March 18 and 19, 2024, followed by the Amusement Expo International trade show at the Las Vegas Convention Center South Hall March 20-21. For the latest information, go to www.vrarcadesummit.com