Virtual reality tech company xReality Group (ASX: XRG) is set to open its fifth FREAK Entertainment gaming venue with their newest addition to be located in Surfers Paradise on Cavill Avenue, one of the biggest tourist hot spots on Gold Coast, just in time for the busy holiday season.

Opening in December 2022, FREAK on Cavill is a 195m² venue that will include two of FREAK’s flagship free roam areas—VR Escape Rooms and FREAK Drive racing simulators—along with a VR arcade.

XRG has entered into agreements with the centre owner Challenger for a five-year lease of the retail site, located within the brand new redevelopment of the Paradise Centre on Cavill Avenue, in Surfers Paradise.

FREAK is a virtual reality gaming arcade present in four locations across Sydney, including Macquarie, Penrith, Bondi and Gold Coast. Its new venue in Paradise Centre, the largest shopping centre in Surfers Paradise attracting over 13 million tourists per year, is expected to boost foot traffic in the arcade. The shopping centre is undergoing a transformational redevelopment, with a central focus on dining and entertainment. 

FREAK on Cavill will be located just 50m from the beach. It will be surrounded by other entertainment venues, including Timezone, Zone Bowling, Maniax Axe throwing and a Tex Mex restaurant, El Camino Mexican Cantina. All tenants include new fit-outs in line with the redevelopment of the centre. 

CEO Wayne Jones commented, “This is one of the best sites we have seen to date, it suits our market and entertainment offering perfectly. [The] timing couldn’t be better as tourism in the Gold Coast has returned to normal levels and the summer holidays are expected to see record tourism numbers in the region.”

The avant garde VR technology is being delivered by HP and HTC Vive with whom FREAK has established strategic partnerships in the last three years. 

The new venue will supplement FREAK’s existing Gold Coast site in terms of promotional activity. The existing arcade is co-located inside iFLY Gold Coast (an indoor skydiving venue) which will continue operations and create efficiencies with staffing, sales and marketing. The new Cavill Avenue location will also create cross-promotional opportunities for iFLY Gold Coast. This follows a successful tactic in the region where tourism companies sell tickets to multiple Gold Coast theme parks as discounted packages.

As per their quarterly report ending in June 2022, xReality has a positive outlook to FREAK’s new venue as the retail market has returned and the shopping centres are back to pre-COVID capacities. This has resulted in a successful quarter for FREAK Entertainment. The VR arcade’s first in-house built game, Androids & Outlaws, continues to perform well and has been rolled out to all venues. The Company continues to develop new games for its corporate clients that utilise the tech for situational training, and its general population customers.

Cash receipts for the quarter totalled $2.34 million with $68k in positive operating cash flow.