How to Start a VR Gaming Business in 2025: Step-by-Step Guide and Tips From the Major VR Arena Chain Owner

Entrepreneurs start a VR business to provide modern tech fans with unforgettable experiences or useful services that are built in virtual environments. They design single-player or multi-player games, rent spaces in shopping malls, launch VR clubs, and supply education, healthcare, and real estate industries with immersive content.

Virtual reality provides a computer-generated or simulated environment that either mimics real life or transports users to fully imagined 3D worlds. Its primary purpose is to engage all the senses—sight, hearing, and touch—to create a deeply realistic experience. When using a headset or multi-projection environment, users experience VR games, videos, and educational programs as reality.

While VR businesses vary widely in focus, they all rely on a set of essential components to operate. These are:

• Hardware devices (headsets, controllers, and motion sensors provided by Oculus, Sony, HTC, etc.);
• Software environments that run VR apps (Oculus OS, SteamVR);
• Apps (games, experiential services, simulations);
• Corporate platforms (ERP, CRM, websites);
• Staff (content creation studio, managers, QA and tech specialists, marketers);
• Training (onboarding materials, text, and video guides).

Ready to offer compelling VR sessions and manage a multidisciplinary team of engineers and artists? Then choose a business model. As a VR company, you may serve individual consumers (B2C) or cater to other companies (B2B).

In the first case, you will deal with immersive games and attractions, making users’ days brighter. In the second case, you will have to offer tools for employee training, collaboration, or product demonstrations. The scope extends to educational and healthcare companies that use VR for learning or therapy.

Virtual reality provides a simulated experience that either mimics real life or represents an entirely new world. The purpose of VR is to create sensory stimulation for the user, including sight, touch, and hearing.

The short answer is yes. But let's break down why.

1. The market is growing and evolving. And the demand for gaming is rising, too. Games are becoming more interesting and engaging. Developments are moving beyond the PC into reality. Virtual reality, of course. Numerous studies from Statista and Fortune Business Insights predict annual market growth of 20–45% or more. If you want a profitable business, VR is a good option.
2. VR is not that expensive. Virtual reality is quite an affordable technology. When launching a VR company, you’ll spend about the same amount as you would when opening a computer club or programmer’s office. The average initial investment with Another World is $40,000 to $45,000, while the payback period is a few months.
3. Adoption is increasing. Growth drivers include expanding apps in healthcare for surgical training, pain management, and mental health, as well as enterprise training in manufacturing, agriculture, and food tech. VR training delivers up to a 20% boost in ROI within one year, so the audience is definitely there. Plus, immersive gaming and entertainment are preferred by Gen Z and Gen Alpha, who are increasingly mature, solvent, and tech-savvy.

Of course, not all is serene. The VR sphere has some challenges, such as:

• High game development costs if you want to make custom ones.
• High equipment prices if you want to furnish larger locations.
• Technical complexity, steep learning curves, and the need to get out of the comfort zone.
• High competition and a crowded market require differentiation.

Expert note

When you define a core strategy for profitability, you should consider the services you will sell, target customer segments, scalability options, and anticipated expenses. Creating a brand from scratch will be harder than opening an established franchise venue and relying on its expertise and support. To make things easier, partner with Another World!

Virtual reality transforms many industries, from engineering to healthcare and beyond. If you deliver immersive, interactive simulations, professionals engaging with VR environments work 40% better and learn 85% faster. Let’s explore the main types of VR businesses and the unique advantages each one offers.

Gaming is the dominant area for the application of VR technology. People primarily see virtual reality headsets and motion controllers as a way to get into a virtual world or 3D game. They come to clubs to join a virtual battle with zombies or soldiers, a jungle adventure, or immersive quests. Top VR games include Gorilla Tag, Beat Saber, Animal Company, and Half-Life: Alyx.

The second most popular area for VR is healthcare. It allows medical students to explore biological processes in 360 degrees and study the human body across areas like anatomy and ophthalmology.

Doctors are using VR for cognitive behavioral therapy, surgical training, diagnostics, and treating mental health conditions like PTSD. A notable example: in 2021, the FDA approved EaseVRx, a VR system designed to help manage chronic pain.

A promising area for VR applications is training. According to forecasts, the VR education market is expected to grow 6 times and reach $28.70 billion by 2030. VR teaching improves learning outcomes, increasing efficiency by 76% and improving memorability: people retain up to 80% of knowledge even after a year. Education with VR is fun: students can explore the ocean depths or historical places without leaving the classroom.

Engineering is another popular field. Imagine a giant virtual model of a bridge, car, or machine. Instead of looking at flat blueprints, engineers walk around their prototypes and check how the parts connect, with no need to build anything physical. This helps identify errors, save money on materials, and create designs faster. For example, Boeing engineers used VR to define the best way to make the Boeing 737 MAX 10.

VR startup success doesn't just depend on cool headsets and content. Even the most promising idea can fail. To help you avoid common mistakes, we’ve identified five errors that novice founders stumble upon.

Don’t expand your business before it's stable, and don’t be afraid to grow when there's clear demand. We recommend watching your numbers. If your booking rate is consistently high, it’s time to scale. If you’re troubleshooting operations, hold off. The advice is not to hire full-timers when part-timers might make more sense.

Expert note

We've seen founders spend budgets on cheap hardware because no one told them that their equipment couldn’t handle daily commercial use. Yes, they could have prevented that.

Try not to operate on verbal agreements or handshake deals with landlords and contractors. Some founders avoid paperwork because it feels faster, and they prefer to work on trust, but that trust disappears when it comes to money. Always have contracts in place and state clear terms for payments, responsibilities, and penalties.

Relying on paid ads while ignoring SEO, content creation is a poor decision. PPC marketing works, but 70% of clicks go to organic Google search results. You’re in virtual reality—it’s exciting and relevant to create content for your niche. The key is to hire a team that knows how to do it.

Trying to do everything yourself means burning out fast. Many founders wear many hats to save money. In reality, this slows down growth. As we see it, it’s nice to build a small, reliable team early on. Delegate repetitive tasks like booking management or SMM.

New founders underestimate VR-related complexities. From licensing software to building a tracking-safe play area, you may miss many details unless you’ve done it before. So, bring in experts early on or join a franchise that already has systems in place.

Although VR businesses are promising, some individuals may face challenges in launching them, and the tech industry may not be the right fit. This checklist can help you determine whether you should give up the idea of launching your own VR business:

• You lack time and money. If you are too busy with family, health, and important personal matters, and you don't have enough spare money to manage business risks, any venture, including a VR club, is not a good idea.
• You don't want to be involved in the business. An entrepreneur should be ready to run a company and explore new technologies, as well as have a passion for immersive gaming and a desire to test things out. If this seems hard, consider something more conservative.
• You start with paperwork. If you like taking a very formal approach to things, VR may be too uncertain, risky, and oddly organized for you. We advise starting with an idea test, finding a niche, USP, partners, locations with high demand, and a reliable franchisor.

VR is not a good business for those who want a quick profit without engagement, tech experience, or initial investment. Plus, many people favor retail, restaurants, production, and other conventional business types. However, the niche is definitely worth investigating, and if you want to dive into it, industry experts are here to help.

Starting a VR business has its pitfalls. From underestimating expert help to scaling issues, the common mistakes derail even passionate entrepreneurs. But now that you've explored the business models and gone through the 9 basic steps, you're already ahead of the curve.

With a turnkey solution for opening a virtual reality arena by Another World, you'll start with a competitive advantage. We deliver a proven business model with 350+ partners globally. Our VR arenas offer quality service and 13 unique VR games that appeal to over 100,000 users. From launch to growth, we handle technical and operational issues while you enjoy marketing support and use a ready-made website for booking with CRM.

Whether you're aiming for a $10,000/month income or want to make six figures in a big city, we'll help you get there without mistakes. Enter this profitable industry — leave a request with Another World!