The Year in Review - 2021
As the year is quickly drawing to a close, the SPREE Interactive team wanted to have a look back at what was achieved in 2021. The last two years have not been the easiest time for the location-based entertainment industry, however despite that SPREE has grown from strength to strength. Now it seems the world has a route back to normality and there is only room for more success.
With most FEC’s and venue spaces returning to pre-pandemic levels, we’ve experienced a record 250% revenue growth in the last two consecutive years. People are enthusiastic to try in-person family-friendly experiences and this was the driving force behind the average SPREE client selling 3,500 weekly plays on one of their attractions this last summer (2021), which is even higher than in 2019.
The year 2021 has been a hive of activity within SPREE Interactive, despite covid restrictions. VR has become and is forecast to continue being the fast-growing entertainment market segment. This revenue-driving sector has enabled SPREE to release a record number of game titles, upgrade headsets, attend multiple trade shows and grow the team further.
Trade Shows
After a long-awaited two years, we were all allowed to return to in-person tradeshows and SPREE Interactive certainly made the most of this opportunity. The SPREE team has been on a global tour, attending multiple expos and conferences across Europe, North America and the Middle East.
This was a great opportunity for SPREE to present the latest SPREE Arena with all the new games. SPREE received a great reception at IAAPA and other shows, being mentioned most recently in Forbes.
At IAAPA Orlando, the VR Bumper Car attraction, Cyber Blaster (licensed by VR Coaster) was officially released globally. SPREE Interactive’s VR Bumper Cars enable venues to transform their spaces, either as an upgrade to existing bumper car systems or as a complete turnkey solution. VR Bumper Cars, which is licensed by VR Coaster, allows location-based entertainment centres a quick return on investment and offer high-throughput sci-fi adventure that guarantees return visits.
“ The highlights of the year for me was being able to show product again at the trade shows. It was great to see potential customers really enjoying the system and receiving verbal feedback” – Paul Collimore – Commercial Director
Growing Team
As SPREE Interactive has innovated location-based VR and developed new family-friendly games in 2021 the team has also naturally grown, almost doubling in size. The larger team allows SPREE Interactive to stay focused on its core purpose and vision allowing players to have unique and emotional experiences with others each time they play.
“I have been at SPREE for under a year but it has been an exciting period with a lot of developments. This year has included a multitude of successes whether releasing Grannies Alien Invasion, VR Bumper Cars and other releases, featuring in Forbes or having a series of popular trade shows and press releases. At SPREE we are a team that all work closely together and listen to our customers closely ensuring our products are tailored for location-based entertainment and that the fun for the whole family” – Etienne Oppl
New Headsets
SPREE Interactive upgrade the Arena system to incorporate the powerful Pico Neo 3’s. The Pico Neo 3 VR Headset boasts a stunning 4K display running at a 90Hz framerate. This firmly places the headset at the top of its field. The upgraded specifications are utilised to full effect within the SPREE Arena VR Laser Tag game bundle of the popular eSports title “CvR”, accommodating up to 10 players at the same time and benefit from more responsive hand movement. The addition of the Pico Neo 3 headsets and the five original VR games shows SPREE’s commitment to providing high-quality family-friendly games that are pioneering in the field of location-based entertainment.
New Releases
SPREE Interactive have outdone themselves this year developing and releasing 5 new titles! SPREE guarantees 2 new titles per year in the Family-Friendly subscription package, but this year have released a multitude of games for all the family both young and old.
Granny’s Alien Invasion
In this collaborative game for the whole family, players have to stop the aliens from abducting the cake in Granny’s Alien Invasion! The latest game from SPREE Interactive sees players take on the role of a granny with a hand-held vacuum cleaner to defend Granny’s Kitchen the hungry attackers from outer space.
Robo Raiders
Laser tag arenas have always proved popular attractions for location-based entertainment centers. Robo Raiders utilizes modern VR technology to magically create virtual environments which can be changed with the touch of a button! SPREE Interactive has enabled areas as small as 6 square meters to be transformed into VR Laser Tag arenas with multiple maps. We collaborated with our partners at Reality on Demand Studios and Knuckleheads Studios to enable the whole family to play a ‘cops vs robbers’ style game.
Dynablaster
Based on the iconic original, Dynablaster is back for location-based entertainment centers! This classic game has been developed to be as interactive and energetic as possible, utilizing modern VR technology to magically transport players to the Dynablaster maze. Players lay bombs by simply squatting down, like laying an egg! The longer you squat, the bigger the bomb! But be careful, staying in one position too long makes you an easy target for other players! If you want to add some extra spice, try to roll your bomb in your opponent’s direction by jumping after laying it down!
Firefighter Christmas Edition
The latest festive fun from SPREE Interactive, you can now play the Christmas edition of our family-friendly game, Firefighter! Players have fun in the snow with the whole family as a firefighter during the holiday season and put out the flames as quickly as possible. A great add-on and a way for venues and FEC centers to draw in new players during this holiday season.
Conclusion
SPREE Interactive have had a dynamic and successful year during challenging covid restrictions, the SPREE team has grown in size and developed a series of successful new game titles that have received a great reception globally. The team plan to develop existing titles further and extend the family-friendly game library helping SPREE to continue delivering the highest throughput VR and an experience that is Social. Active. Fun.
Stay tuned in 2022 for more exciting news!