UK first as VR game experience centre set to launch in Leeds

The UK’s first virtual reality-powered game experience is set to launch in Leeds next month by escape game company, Tick Tock Unlock.

On 22nd April Tick Tock Unlock, which has six sites in four cities, will unveil the Hyper Reality Experience, which is the first in a series of centres to be launched across the UK.

The company has merged virtual reality technology with physical sets and multisensory effects to create a fully immersive, multiplayer entertainment attraction.

The Hyper Reality Experience, which will launch in Trinity Leeds, has been developed by former J.P. Morgan executive, Ali Khan, who worked in credit derivatives at the bank and was an expert in trading technology.

Mr Khan, now a director at Tick Tock Unlock, said: “Our Hyper Reality Experience centres will provide a new form of entertainment that is part video game, part virtual reality, part real-world, part theatrical production.

“The centres will allow players to experience a free-roaming, live action challenge which has to be physically completed but which takes place in the playground of a virtual world.

“This will be the first real taste of virtual reality for the British public in a gaming, live action environment and I am confident that Hyper Reality Experience will prove to be a leader and pioneer in virtual reality entertainment.

“Participants have to interact with objects which, in the real world are dummy props, but when viewing through VR headsets become, say, an elevator door, a laser gun or a fuel cell. Players might feel the heat from a virtual fire or the draft from a mineshaft so that it will be difficult to distinguish reality from virtual reality.

“Just like our successful Tick Tock Unlock sites, the games within our Hyper Reality Experience centres are designed for groups of friends, work colleagues and family members.

“We are hugely excited that our first UK centre will launch in Trinity Leeds next month, in the city where our company is headquartered and where we have enjoyed a huge amount of success with live action games.

“Our first Hyper Reality Experience centre has been optimised for a retail environment, but future sites will also include larger, out-of-town retail centres and theme parks and we are in talks with partners about our next locations.”

Andrew Cooper, chair of Leeds International Festival and Chief Executive of LeedsBID, added: “We are delighted that Tick Tock Unlock’s new Hyper Reality Experience centre is launching on the first day of the Leeds International Festival, showcasing the city’s strength in leading the way in tech development.

“As a first for the UK, this will be an exciting and innovative attraction which LeedsBID is supporting by helping promote to local and national audiences as part of the city centre’s diverse entertainment offer.”

The Hyper Reality Experience centre launches in Trinity Leeds on 22 April to coincide with the start of the Leeds International Festival.