Sandbox VR Announces Opening for First Permanent Arizona Location
SanTan Village Location in Gilbert to Open Friday, May 22
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Sandbox VR, the world's premier venue for virtual reality experiences, is excited to announce it will open its first permanent Arizona location in Gilbert at SanTan Village (1835 S. San Tan Village Pkwy) on Friday, May 22 at 12 p.m. To celebrate the grand opening, guests who pre-book their experience online prior to the 22nd will receive 30% off their total price.
“We’ve been working hard to bring Sandbox VR to the Valley and are thrilled to finally welcome Arizonans to this next-level experience,” said Andrew Perkinson, Sandbox VR Gilbert co-franchisee. “Sandbox VR is the leader in immersive, social entertainment with its world-class technology, intuitive design, and cutting-edge experiences that are accessible to everyone. With the Arizona summer rapidly approaching, this will be the ultimate destination for friends, families, corporate teams and more to escape the heat.”
Sandbox VR’s socially immersive experience combines full-body motion capture and high-quality haptics to provide unprecedented realism and complete immersion that’s not possible with home VR systems or other location-based VR venues, taking group socialization to another world.
Guests will have the opportunity to try 11 different experiences, including:
- Age of Dinosaurs
- Walk among dinosaurs and experience a world 65 million years in the making. Travel back in time and come face-to-face with dinosaurs in an immersive adventure for all ages.
- Stranger Things: Catalyst
- Sandbox VR’s most recent partnership with Netflix, Stranger Things: Catalyst allows fans to step inside the global phenomenon in an all-new immersive chapter that puts you at the heart of Hawkins’ darkest secrets.
- Rebel Moon: The Descent
- The second partnership with Netflix, Rebel Moon: The Descent allows you to enter the thrilling sci-fi franchise that’s taken the world by storm.
- Squid Game Virtuals
- Sandbox VR’s inaugural partnership with Netflix, Squid Game Virtuals allows you to be fully immersed in the action of the most-watched Netflix show of all time.
- UFL: Unbound Fighting League
- Transform into a futuristic gladiator and compete against your friends in thrilling duels in a breathtaking arena beyond the limits of reality.
- Seekers of the Shard: Dragonfire
- Journey through a world of fantasy and explore a ruined fortress, an underground river, a haunted tomb and the dragon's tower as you become Seekers of the Shard.
- Curse of Davy Jones
- Battle on the high seas against a variety of supernatural creatures and hunt for the long-lost treasure of Davy Jones.
- Amber Sky 2088
- Become heroic Androids equipped with futuristic weapons and soar through the clouds on a space elevator while defending Earth from an alien invasion.
- Deadwood PHOBIA
- Deadwood PHOBIA takes players into a derelict medical facility crawling with unprecedented, mind-bending horrors.
- Deadwood Valley
- Engage in an adrenaline-pumping thrill-ride through a town overrun by zombies. YOU decide how the story ends. Your squad could stop the zombie menace forever - or die trying!
- Deadwood Mansion
- Do you have what it takes to survive a zombie apocalypse? Work with your team to protect Deadwood Mansion from a terrifying horde of undead. The experience that started it all and still brings the screams today.
“Gilbert has seen incredible growth in dining, retail and live experiences, and Sandbox VR represents the next evolution of entertainment for the East Valley,” said Tylor Hardy, co‑franchisee of Sandbox VR Gilbert. “We’re excited to introduce something truly special to the area: an experience that raises the bar for how people connect and have fun.”
The new Gilbert location is more than four thousand square feet of entertainment space featuring four private rooms, called “holodecks,” for virtual reality gameplay. Each holodeck enables groups of two to six participants to have a truly shared experience, exploring virtual worlds and relying on each other to succeed in games designed to be social experiences. Together with friends, family or co-workers, participants are equipped with a VR headset, a haptic vest, and motion sensors on their wrists and ankles. This technology allows participants to see and physically interact with one another while feeling like they are in the middle of an action movie, with the heightened emotions that come from not just watching a film, but from actually becoming the stars of the action. Guests at the Gilbert location can also enjoy a 1,000-square-foot patio, ideal for gathering before their experience or relaxing afterward. Additionally, the patio will be available for private rentals, including birthday parties and corporate events, with optional food and beverage service packages.
The expansion into Arizona has been led by franchisees Andrew Perkinson and Tylor Hardy, childhood friends and college roommates who, after decade long careers in institutional real estate, reunited to bring Sandbox VR to the Valley.
Sandbox VR Gilbert will be open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to midnight. For more information and to book an experience, please visit sandboxvr.com/gilbert.
About Sandbox VR:
Sandbox VR is the world's premier destination for location-based virtual reality experiences. Operating across 70+ venues around the globe through a robust franchise and corporate-owned model, Sandbox VR attracts nearly 150,000 guests each month. Sandbox VR provides guests the opportunity to step out of everyday reality into unforgettable adventures through exhilarating, group-play immersive experiences. Using a proprietary full-body VR platform, the company develops original and licensed content, including exclusive experiences like Stranger Things: Catalyst and Squid Game Virtuals in collaboration with Netflix, and the Sandbox VR original Deadwood series. With over 5 million tickets sold worldwide, Sandbox VR has become the leader in immersive entertainment, combining premium technology with emotionally engaging storytelling. Recognized as one of Fast Company's 2024 Most Innovative Companies and the 129th fastest-growing company on the 2024 Inc. 5000 list, Sandbox VR is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Hong Kong and Vancouver. The company has raised over $138 million from investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, Gobi Partners, and Craft, with individual backers including Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry, Kevin Durant, and Will Smith.
About Andrew Perkinson
Andrew brings a unique blend of real estate development, hospitality operations, and experiential entertainment to the Sandbox VR platform. He has led acquisitions and operations for institutional-quality hotel assets under globally recognized brands including Marriott and Hilton, with a consistent focus on elevating the experience for guests, teams, and stakeholders.
