Location-based Multiplayer VR: from Solo Experience to Shared Adventure
What is Multiplayer VR on Location?
Virtual reality is often used as an individual experience: you put on the headset and disappear into your own world. What struck us from the very beginning is that this is actually a missed opportunity. The real magic happens when you experience VR together.
Location-based multiplayer VR experiences break that isolation. Instead of stepping into a virtual world alone, you enter it with others. You see each other move, collaborate, touch each other’s virtual and digital hands, and share the same sense of wonder. That makes the experience more memorable — you create a shared memory with the entire group.
At Studio Vrij, we have been developing shared VR installations for over five years, where multiple people actively participate at the same time. This turns VR from a solitary activity into a collective experience that stays with visitors. Perfect for museums, festivals, interactive exhibitions, pop-ups, educational programs, and events where community and connection are at the center.
Why Location-based VR Installations Are Irreplaceable
Location-based multiplayer VR offers something that simply isn’t possible at home. Together you step into the same virtual world, see each other move, and share the same emotions. When you touch each other’s hands in the physical space, you also see it happen in VR — often a funny and special moment that strengthens the sense of togetherness.
Because the virtual experience aligns with the physical space, movements feel more natural. This makes VR installations for festivals and events ideal, since even visitors without prior VR experience can easily step in and enjoy something unique together.
Project Examples
The unique impact of location-based multiplayer VR becomes clear every time we present our projects.
A Place So Far – During Festival of the Future and Down The Rabbit Hole we welcomed over 500 visitors per day. People who didn’t know each other when they arrived left with a shared story. A powerful proof that VR is not only individual, but also creates connection.
VR Silent Disco – Show Me the Light – Our most recent audiovisual multiplayer experience, developed together with Brass Rave Unit. Ten people dance simultaneously in a virtual world, with sessions lasting fifteen minutes. That means forty visitors per hour — an unprecedented scale in the immersive world. Because you dance as avatars without knowing who is behind them, appearances and prejudices disappear. What remains is a playful, liberating group dynamic that is rarely achieved otherwise.
These projects show that multiplayer VR is not only visually spectacular, but also socially meaningful. It opens up new forms of encounter and togetherness and offers diverse groups an accessible way to explore new technology.
Where Can You Use Multiplayer VR?
Pop-up VR experiences are surprisingly versatile and fit in far more places than you might think. In recent years we have worked at:
- Festivals, events and museums – With interactive exhibitions and pop-up VR experiences, visitors are instantly drawn into a new world. We have been featured at Paradiso, ADE, Down The Rabbit Hole, the Stedelijk Museum, and various clubs and events in Amsterdam. Everywhere that experience is central, VR adds an extra dimension.
- Companies & organizations – For training, onboarding, and team building, multiplayer VR sessions are not only educational, but also social and memorable. Also for virtual reality at corporate parties and brand activations, this has proven to be a powerful tool. We have worked with the City of Amsterdam and Ahold during innovation days and corporate events.
Hassle-free Implementation for Organizers
The multiplayer VR installations are designed to run reliably, even in locations where conditions are unpredictable. They are fully standalone and portable, requiring no heavy computers or cables. Since Wi-Fi at events is often unstable, the systems run on their own network. This makes them independent and ensures a constant connection.
Setup is like a pop-up: quick to place and immediately ready to use. During the event, experienced hosts guide visitors, ensuring both the technology and the experience run smoothly.
This allows installations to be used without hassle, giving participants an experience that feels natural and seamless.
Large Reach with Multiplayer VR
A common problem with VR installations is that a lot of staff is needed, while only one visitor can use the headset at a time. The result: high effort, but limited reach.
Location-based multiplayer VR approaches this fundamentally differently. Because multiple people step into the same virtual world at once, far more visitors can participate in a short time. The impact becomes larger and more widely felt: friends, strangers, and colleagues share a moment together that lasts.
During A Place So Far at De Helling in Utrecht, eight visitors joined each session. At the VR Silent Disco, it’s even ten per session — a scale rarely seen in the multiplayer VR world.
Because the installations are designed as pop-up VR experiences, they can be quickly set up and appear in a wide range of places: from festivals and museums to unexpected urban locations. This makes multiplayer VR not only a powerful experience, but also an accessible one. The experience comes to the visitors, instead of the other way around.
Conclusion: the Future of XR is Location-based and Social
Location-based multiplayer VR shows that virtual worlds don’t have to be solitary playgrounds. They can be places where people meet, collaborate, and create shared memories.
More and more, we see this becoming a trend within the immersive and arts sector, but also in entertainment, interactive exhibitions and pop-ups. Experiencing together simply proves to be more impactful than experiencing alone.
Interested in collaborating on a multiplayer VR project, or bringing one of our projects as a pop-up VR experience or VR installation for your festival or event?
Let us know, we’d love to think along!
