Entertainment Social Arena #12 – Retail Embraces Competition – Part 2

AI Constructed Brief

In our second part, this report highlights key trends in retailtainment, focusing on immersive and social experiences within retail spaces. Notable developments include Immersive Gamebox’s expansion across the GCC via a franchise deal, and large-scale venues like Texas’s upcoming 150,000 sq. ft. entertainment center, opening in 2026. Growth is driven by repurposing retail spaces for attractions like trampoline parks, golf simulators, and XR experiences, exemplified by Inspired Entertainment’s sale of UK leisure assets and Little Lion’s immersive ‘Arcade Arena’ venues. These initiatives aim to boost customer engagement, diversify offerings, and capitalize on the retail sector’s evolving entertainment landscape.

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Retailtainment Growth in Leisure – Part 2

Continuing our look at the retail sectors embrace of the leisure entertainment and social experience. The industry looks at a greater investment in retail venue-based entertainment towards maximizing their customer hold.

Name of the Game

The placement of immersive entertainment into the Retail venue landscape is a bold move towards growing property numbers but is also a strategy that needs careful stewardship as entertainment within this space is dependent on focused representation.

Immersive Gamebox announced their move into the Retailtainment sector in signing a multi-million-dollar master franchise agreement with Apparel Group. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GGC) region agreement will see Apparel Group open the interactive social gaming experience in high-profile mall and shopping destinations throughout the region. The group currently runs 2,300 stores, representing some 85 brands, in UAE, Saudi Arabia, and India. This franchise agreement is the latest high profile deal we have reported on regarding the continued landgrab for immersive social entertainment brands looking at wider placement. Immersive Gamebox has also expanded their relationship with Gravity Entertainment Group by now including a ‘Gambox’ installation at their Bluewater mall Gravity Active venue – previously supporting the Gravity MAX mixed-use entertainment leisure space, the pivot to the active entertainment sector is a new line for the immersive experience operation.

Following on from our extensive coverage of the “Sportainment” scene in a recent report, we have seen continued investment with a slew towards the retail sphere, with news of plans to open an even larger space, again in Texas, at the site of a 150,000-sq.,ft., former SEARS in North Houston at the Humble Deerbrook Mall. This time the concept is from Score Entertainment and has been claimed as “the biggest entertainment center in the state of Texas!” A venue concept comprising a trampoline park, laser tag, karting, bowling, axe-throwing, sports simulators, VR attractions and amusement – supported by F&B with a unique bar and grill. Ground broken on construction in June, for a summer 2026 opening.

Texas has proven an important launch pad for leisure and social entertainment venues. We recently saw the announcement of the plan to launch NRG Adventure Park in a previously abandoned Conn’s department store in the North Star Mall in San Antonio. This 52,000-sq.,ft., facility project sees an estimated $200,000 invested in renovation of the space. Comprising trampoline, soft play zone, rope course, ball pit and amusement. The venue scheduled for a Q2 2026 opening. This is soon to be followed by a new venue in Austin and in Planto, cementing the growth of development of MULE’s (Mixed-Use Leisure Entertainment) in Texas. The use of an existing retail space offered a faster turnround compared to a unique build and is in a location already attracting families. Retailtainment offering rich pickings for operators.

Sportainment seen through the crowded and popular golf simulator lounge business saw the latest investment in the scene from one of the largest providers of Sports Simulator training systems. It was revealed that the fourth in the GolfZon Social venue chain would be opening in Oak Brok, Illinois. The 18,000-sq.,ft., facility will comprise 16 of the company’s latest ‘TwoVision NX’ simulator bays, while supported with entertainment and F&B. As with many of the entrants into this sector, Korean traded GolfZon comes from an established training and coaching perspective to their technology deployed in over two hundred golf stores and unique lounges. With the new GolfZon Social chain, the corporation takes on the likes of X-Golf, TopGolf Swing Suites and Five Iron Golf in a redefining market.

Growing Operation Base

Speaking of retail locations, and Inspired Entertainment – known for their gaming, betting, lottery, social and leisure operations, had entered into a definitive agreement with GENDA, towards selling 225 of their UK holiday parks business and certain associated leisure assets, (such as under the ‘Playnation’ brand), including 100-percent of the Indigo NewCo business. The deal for approximately £18.6m ($25.1m) in cash, subject to customary adjustments and closing conditions. As part of the agreement Inspired proposes to supply gaming content and platforms to GENDA through the Indigo business. This will also see Japanese IP made available for deployment into this content from the operation.

Inspired Entertainment will be known to longtime readers of our sister publication, The Stinger Report. The mergers of groups such as those NTG companies Bell-Fruit Games and Astra Games, merged into the conglomerate, along with advancements in the PC gaming scene as well as virtual gaming sector. The eventual pivoting of the business into Virtual Sports products (such as their ‘V-Play’ line), currently sees Inspired supply approximately 50,000 gaming machines located in betting shops, pubs, and gaming halls. Representing a major part of the adult gaming retail estate business in the UK and Europe. Not to mention their motorway service station, bingo, and family entertainment center end-to-end management solutions. GENDA has invested heavily into the location-based entertainment space, from their Japanese operation to acquiring locations and corporations such as National Entertainment Network (NEN) and Player One Entertainment Gorup in North America.

We recently reported on the Westfield mall opening of the F1 BOX concept, partnered with the F1 Arcade chain. And following this, news was released regarding the expansion of the franchise. An agreement penned between F1 Arcade and Top Racing Iberia to see a roll out across Spain and Portugal. The operation will debut the first site in Madrid for 2027. This comes on the back of the 2024 conclusion of a $130m investment round spearheaded by Cheyne Capital, which backs various structures encompassing credit and corporate equity. F1 Arcade currently operating in London, Birmingham, Boston, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia with roll out plans from now to 2027. Formula 1 estimating a total global fan base of 827m, with the operation looking at maximizing their transmedia coverage – from the opening of the F1 BOX concept, along with their exhibition and karting investment. Sources speak of other major sports brands looking at a bricks-n-mortar presence in the social entertainment landscape. Venues that could also live alongside retail venues.

The ability to develop experiences that can populate the new generation of MULE and standalone venues that will inhabit many of the abandoned mall locations was touched upon in a recent event held at an immersive entertainment site. Taking place in Manchester’s Little Lion Entertainment space – their ‘Arcade Arena’ opened in 2023. The ExperienceUK organized ‘Experience On Main Street Conference’ assembled stage presentations and an attentive audience, seated within the 15,000-sq.,ft., arenas projection environment converted into a conference space. Comprising 23-projectors, this venue normally has been utilized to offer the ‘PAC-MAN LIVE’ attraction, developed in partnership with BANDAI NAMCO, having guests running round wearing special vests playing what the company calls a “live video-game attraction”.

The ‘Arcade Arena’ offering a real-life version of the arcade maze game with the projection representing the virtual environment. The same technology that the company has also utilized in their ‘Chaos Kart’ projection mapped karting experience. In 2024 the company opened a second site in Dubai based on the concept. Little Lion Entertainment revealed during the event that they had raised new funding from HSBC UK, towards a new plan to roll out three new UK based facilities. These new ‘Arcade Arena’ venues will comprise of two sites based in London. The first being scheduled for late 2025 opening – while a second will be a larger flagship site planned for a 2026 launch. With the North of England planned for the third of these venues. All comprising the multiple projection environment for operation of both the ‘PAC-MAN LIVE’ experience and ‘Chaos Karts’ – as well as a coming announcement of a new IP based immersive experience.

Speaking of XR karting and the iconic PAC-MAN mascot, and it is interesting to see how many times the character has been deployed in XR tech-based attractions over the last few years. We have seen VR experience based on the character deployed in venues as well as the first deployments of AR glasses used in gaming. Most recently we have seen the AR based ‘FunVe x PAC-MAN’ installation in 2024 – employing the Toyota Technical Association developed omni-directional karts, and Microsoft HoloLens 2 glasses. Players steering round a virtual maze and chasing ghosts from their kart. BANDAI NAMCO developed another AR glasses based electric kart PAC-MAN experience such as the 2017 ‘PAC In Town’ experience. Regarding the FunVe concept karting vehicle from the Toyota design team. It has been rolled out recently and installed at a ‘VS. Park’ in Tokyo with the non-XR game – players having to steer their kart round obstacles avoiding dropping their load of balls.

The applying of the latest XR technology into the retail environment can also be seen from new startup DreamPark. Following raising some $1.1 million in seed funding after appearing in 2025 on the ‘Shark Tank’ television show. This Mixed Reality theme park project, driven by some of those behind the Two Bit Circus concept has rolled out their first pop-up installations. Using Meta Quest 3 headset hardware in a unique strapless configuration – the team have gone on to open at the Samanea Mall in Long Island, New York. Offering guests the chance to explore a virtual environment via the hardware’s pass-through immersive technology. A concept, if the content is compelling, could be rolled out across retail venues that have the audience and the space to deploy.

Ending this latest reporting from the retail space scene as pertaining to entertainment applications. We have at the end of the year several conferences and exhibitions that are dedicated to the attraction and shopping mall sector.  Where we expect to report on further developments, entrants of new players, along with M&A developments that will see the continued expansion of the reach of this interesting business far beyond conventional entertainment.