Location-based VR remains a potential growth area

Executive summary

Welcome to your weekly briefing on the metaverse and spatial computing. Here are your snippets to sound smarter in meetings this week:

• Top stories: Let’s talk about location-based VR (more below).

• This week’s stories: JPL Flavours has opened a new 75,000-square-foot innovation and manufacturing facility in Bromborough, UK, following an £11 million investment to expand its automated production, flavour labs, and digital innovation capabilities.

Main story

This year has been relatively bleak for VR, particularly as major players like Meta have been shutting down studios and pivoting toward the broader “metaverse.” Yet, one segment that has continued to show promise, and has garnered increasing attention, is location-based VR.

Some companies are thriving in this space. Sandbox VR, for example, is steadily expanding worldwide, with its latest location set to open in Houston next month. Meanwhile, more artistic experiences are also holding strong. The Last Days of Pompeii: The Immersive Exhibition offers a historical, family-friendly VR experience that has attracted a steady audience. Industry figures underline this growth; Market Research Future projects the sector could reach $5.94bn, while Fortune Business Insights - taking a broader view of location-based entertainment - estimates it could hit $7bn by 2026. (While statistics like these should always be approached cautiously, they do offer a useful benchmark for the market’s potential).

The picture isn’t entirely rosy, however. Some operators have struggled: DNA VR, for instance, closed all of its locations last year.

Personally, I remain invested in this space. There’s a simple thrill in shooting zombies with friends or landing headshots; a kind of experience that sits somewhere between laser tag and a fun day at the pool.

That enduring appeal is what gives me hope. Location-based VR is remarkably resilient, offering experiences that people want to revisit time and time again. It’s a space I’ll be watching closely throughout 2026.

This week’s stories

• JPL Flavours has opened a new 75,000-square-foot innovation and manufacturing facility in Bromborough, UK, following an £11 million investment to expand its automated production, flavour labs, and digital innovation capabilities.

• Resilience, a UK government scheme, is investing £4.3 million to use VR training to address a projected skills gap in medicine manufacturing, aiming to inspire over 140,000 new entrants over the next decade.

• Sandbox VR plans to open its first location in Houston next month.

• XR AI Spotlight has launched on Product Hunt, offering a weekly curated shortlist of XR and AI tools, news and updates, alongside in-depth interviews with founders and makers.

Note: The Immersive Wire is run by Tom Ffiske, who also works at Accenture. The contents of the newsletter should not be regarded as Accenture’s views.

All spelling mistakes are deliberate, actually.