A room with a few people and a large white floor.

Virsona Retail Concept and Portal Prototype, New York

Gaming reimagined

Startup Virsona tapped Gensler to build out a new retail experience for digital interaction with community and social gaming at the center.

A person standing in a room with a white table and white walls.

A couple of people sitting on a couch in a room with a large screen.

A room with a few people and a large screen.

A high angle view of a building.

A group of people in a room.

A hallway with white walls.

A bathroom with white walls.

A group of people sitting in a room with a large round table.

Challenge

Social gaming venture Virsona wanted to validate and implement their concept for a new category of communal entertainment activity spaces geared toward cross-locational digital experience and video gaming.

Purpose

Virsona's forthcoming retail concepts and portal prototypes transcend traditional entertainment venues. Spatial and digital experience design contribute to Virsona's core value of facilitating memorable personal interactions and connected experience.

Experience

Virsona's spaces blend comfort, experiential entertainment, cutting edge technology, and social interaction. Gensler studied user expectations and behaviors, product-market fit, and leveraged custom technology to create a unique and enjoyable experience for gamers and spectators alike. To demonstrate the company's value proposition to investors, media, and gamers, Gensler built proof of concept pop-up "portals" for launch in NYC.

"To meet demand evident in social and behavioral trends, Virsona developed a new category of hybrid entertainment by integrating physical and digital in a manner that you can't get in the market today.”

Grant Kimmerling
CEO, Virsona

Portals

200 sq. ft

size of portal

12

users per pop-up portal

Connected

communication and engagement between portals

1

easy to use custom interface, customer controlled

Venues

7000-12000 sq. ft

Initial venue size

8-14

portals per venue

Fully Integrated

digital experience throughout and between venues

2025

Retail locations begin launching

People sitting at a table.

A group of people sitting on a bench in a room with blue walls.

People sitting at a table.

A group of people sitting in a room with a large screen.

A person walking in a large room.

A person standing next to a table.

A white table with a laptop on it.

Virsona pop-up portals and early working prototype models

Services Provided

Architectural Design
Digital Experience Design
Experience Strategy
Interior Design
Software Development

Media

Retail Touchpoints, Virsona Teases Experiential Gaming Concept with NYC Pop-Up

Related Work

A person standing in a large room.

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A few people sitting in a stadium.

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A person walking in a hallway.

Cadillac House, Shanghai

Additional Reading

Designing with Intention: Creating Emotional Connections Through Immersive Experiences

Worldbuilding: Creating Transformative Experiences With Narrative Design

The 5 Attributes That Define an Immersive Experience