Sandbox VR Launches New San Jose Venue at Westfield Valley Fair
Sandbox VR, widely recognised as a leading destination for premium location-based virtual reality entertainment, has opened a new venue in San Jose, California. The site is located inside the Westfield Valley Fair mall, one of the region’s best-known shopping and leisure centres. The company continues to scale its global presence, supported by a growing network of corporate-owned venues alongside an expanding franchising programme. With close to 150,000 players taking part each month across its locations, Sandbox VR has positioned itself as a major player in the fast-growing immersive entertainment market.
The company’s format centres on socially interactive group gameplay, combining advanced full-body motion capture with high-quality haptic feedback. The approach is designed to deliver a level of realism and physical immersion that is difficult to match using home virtual reality systems. Unlike traditional solo VR experiences, the Sandbox VR model focuses heavily on shared play, encouraging groups to work together while remaining physically active. The experience has been built to make players feel as though they are stepping into a living world, rather than simply observing a digital environment.
The new San Jose venue has been introduced as an additional entertainment option for visitors to Westfield Valley Fair, where shopping, dining, and leisure attractions already draw high footfall. The decision to locate the site in a prominent retail and entertainment destination reflects the company’s aim to make immersive virtual reality accessible as a casual group activity, whether for families, friends, or organised events. The location is also intended to align with the wider Bay Area reputation for innovation and early adoption of new technology-driven experiences.
Inside the venue, Sandbox VR has developed a dedicated entertainment space that includes four private virtual reality rooms. Each room is designed to host groups of up to six players at once, ensuring that teams can participate together in a shared adventure. Participants are equipped with a headset, a haptic vest, and motion sensors placed on wrists and ankles. This configuration enables precise tracking and a coordinated group experience where players can see each other’s movements within the virtual environment. The technology supports physical interaction and teamwork, helping participants feel as if they are acting together in the centre of an action-driven storyline.
The equipment and system design has been described as focusing on comfort and performance, providing strong visuals, enhanced audio, ergonomic improvements, and inside-out tracking with controllers. These features allow groups to coordinate in real time while moving freely, which is intended to strengthen the sense of realism. The overall effect is positioned as closer to taking part in a blockbuster-style experience than simply playing a standard video game, with the added element of genuine social engagement in a physical space.
The opening in San Jose also comes as Sandbox VR continues to widen its content offering. The company recently launched Stranger Things: Catalyst, a fully immersive virtual reality title now available at Sandbox VR locations worldwide. The experience places players into the Stranger Things universe, presenting them as test subjects within the story world. Players explore settings including Hawkins National Laboratory, the Rainbow Room, the woods of Mirkwood, and the Upside Down, with the experience structured around tension, discovery, and cooperative progression.
Across its venues, Sandbox VR offers a selection of ten exclusive immersive experiences developed by an in-house team made up of video game industry veterans. These experiences include Stranger Things: Catalyst, created in partnership with Netflix, which places players into a fresh storyline connected to the wider franchise. Rebel Moon: The Descent, also developed in partnership with Netflix and director Zack Snyder, is designed around exploration and combat in the world of Daggus, moving through skyscrapers, city streets, and underground locations.
The venue line-up also includes Deadwood PHOBIA, set in a derelict medical facility where players face horror-driven scenarios, and Squid Game Virtuals, which delivers mini-games inspired by the Netflix series in a competitive group format. Seekers of the Shard: Dragonfire is built around a fantasy quest across multiple environments, including a ruined fortress, an underground river, a haunted tomb, and a dragon tower. Deadwood Valley and Deadwood Mansion extend the zombie-themed content range, offering action-focused survival challenges.
Additional options include Curse of Davy Jones, a supernatural pirate-themed experience involving high-seas battles and treasure hunting, and Amber Sky 2088, where players take on futuristic roles defending Earth from alien threats while travelling through sky-based environments. UFL: Unbound Fighting League adds a duelling format, featuring competitive gladiator-style encounters in a futuristic arena designed for head-to-head gameplay.
Following each session, guests receive personalised highlight videos edited in a style similar to film trailers. These videos are designed to capture key moments from the gameplay, including reactions, teamwork, high-intensity sequences, and overall group enjoyment, giving participants a shareable recap of their experience.
Sandbox VR has continued to market itself as a destination for group events, positioning the venues as suitable for birthday celebrations, corporate gatherings, and social outings. The company reports that it has accumulated more than 200,000 five-star guest reviews worldwide, reflecting a strong focus on customer experience and repeat engagement.
The business is backed by major investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, Gobi Partners, Craft, and Stanford University, alongside high-profile individual supporters such as Kevin Durant, Justin Timberlake, and Katy Perry.
