Europe's largest 'permanent VR facility' now open in Paris

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With Assassin's Creed Experience, The Climb and Rogue One among other games.

Image credit: Benoit Florençon

Although not without promise, virtual reality in its current guise is expensive. It's also a tricky medium to design games for, so says DayZ creator Dean Hall, however French cinema operator mk2 has now opened a public VR centre in a bid to capture public interest. 

Billed as a "permanent, premium space dedicated to experiencing the best of Virtual Reality", the mk2 VR in collaboration with BNP Paribas is located in Paris' new tech district, and is part of France's third largest movie theatre—the mk2 Bibliothèque—which welcomes almost two million attendees each year. A combination of Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, MSI, and PS VR hardware features on the showfloor, as do the following games/interactive experiences:

  • Birdly by SOMNIACS: (dubbed "the best VR flight simulator", an mk2 exclusive)
  • Assassin's Creed Experience VR by Twentieth Century Fox
  • Star Wars Battlefront Rogue One X-Wing VR Mission by Electronic Arts
  • The Climb by Crytek
  • Homebound Joyride by Quixel
  • Introduction to VR by Felix & Paul Studios
  • The Walk by smartVR Studio
  • Eagle Flight by Ubisoft
  • Ocean Descent by Sony London Studio
  • Space Pirate by I-illusion
  • Holofit by Holodia

Having secured a €1.5million investment, the space itself is spread over 300 square meters and features 12 VR 'pods' for "individual experiences". Price-wise, 20 minutes on the floor costs €12, while 40 minutes comes in at €20. According to a statement from mk2 itself, 100,000 visitors are expected over the course of 2017.

Joe Donnelly
Deputy Editor, PC Gaming Show