By Riley Kaminer
Get ready to trade your consumer virtual reality headset for a professional VR turnout at a new immersive gaming experience in Wynwood.
Chilean startup in battle has moved to Miami to launch its free roaming gaming experience in a new VR arena.
The idea is that players can team up with friends and compete on the digital battlefield. About 3,000 square feet of the 5,000-square-foot Miami site will be dedicated to an open space where users can run around and fight each other, all without any cables attached.
Players book 45-minute sessions, including 30 minutes of gameplay. There is enough space for up to two teams of four players each. Users have the option to come and play with their friends or meet new friends at the location.
“Those 30 minutes of gameplay will be very, very intense,” founder and CEO Cristobal Baixas told me Miami refresh† “You’re going to end the 30 minutes because you want to play more, but tired enough not to want to play again right away.”
The game developers will sit in an area next to the arena. While the development team currently consists of two full-time employees, Baixas expects to grow the team to 15 within a year or so. To manage the game itself, InBattle has already hired a manager and needs another full-time employee, plus about four part-time team members.
InBattle has partnered with Miami Dade College’s MAGIC program (Miami Animation & Gaming International Complex) to secure a pipeline of talent. “We aim to engage with the local community, so we immediately thought of partnering with the college,” Baixas said.
“Working with the MAGIC program was a great fit,” Baixas continued, noting that the InBattle team is mentoring the program. “We hope to allow students to test their projects in our facilities so that they can share them with the world. And we hope to be able to hire students from this group as well.”
Baixas has always had an affinity for Miami. But for a while, Miami didn’t seem like an obvious place for a VR gaming startup. The pandemic has changed that.
“Originally, the game community in Miami wasn’t that developed and the internet connection wasn’t that great,” Baixas says. “But Mayor Suarez’s initiatives to bring techs to Miami have made this the right time to move to Miami.” Baixas also noted that Miami is known as a nightlife city — and InBattle is just another great option.
Miami is just the beginning of InBattle’s ambitious expansion plans. Baixas plans to expand the company to 10 other US cities. “That way we can start generating a network of arenas that can compete against each other,” he said. They are also developing an in-home version of the experience. Baixas said he is interested in raising external funds to boost this growth later this year.
Key details
Where: 2818 NW 5th Ave, Miami, FL 33127
When: Opening July 7
Cost: $45 per person, per session during the week; $50 during the weekend
How long: 45 minute session with 30 minutes of gameplay
Learn more: InBattle.com
READ MORE ABOUT REFRESH MIAMI: