Tickets are now available for location-based VR company The VOID’s latest experience, Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire. The collaboration between Lucasfilm, ILMxLAB, and The VOID debuts on December 16th at Disney World, Florida and opens at Disneyland, California on January 5th.
Described as a “first of its kind hyper-reality experience”, The VOID uses customised VR headsets, props, backpack PCs, and commercial tracking technology in large, interactive sets to create an immersive environment for groups of players to enjoy simultaneously. The combination of dedicated props, interactive sets with real-time effects, and multiple tracked users in a single space takes VR gaming beyond what is normally possible at home.
First announced in August, Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire is the result of Disney’s investment in The VOID as part of their tech-startup incubator program, Disney Accelerator. The VOID had already proven its technology to be highly effective and commercially viable with their first major production, Ghostbusters: Dimension, which opened at Madame Tussauds in New York, The Rec Room in Toronto, and the company’s headquarters in Lindon, Utah.
As described on the official website, the Star Wars experience involves groups of four players travelling to the molten planet of Mustafar, infiltrating the enemy base disguised as Stormtroopers with “danger at every turn”, tasked with recovering “Imperial intelligence vital to the rebellion’s survival.”
“We are so excited about this magical collaboration between three boundary-pushing companies in the burgeoning out-of-home VR entertainment sector,” says Curtis Hickman, co-founder and chief creative officer at The VOID. “We can’t wait to share the experience of hyper-reality with everyone.”
“People have longed for a chance to step into the Star Wars universe and this incredible new hyper-reality experience will allow them to do just that in a totally unique way,” notes Vicki Dobbs Beck, executive in charge, ILMxLAB. “It’s a group experience that evokes the senses in bold new ways.”
Though the experience doesn’t open until the end of the year, tickets for the 30 minute experience can already be pre-ordered at The VOID website, priced at $30.
