Hartlepool’s NEVRlabs has kicked off the New Year by allowing National Health Services (NHS) employees to attend an hour-long round of free virtual reality (VR) games at the new facility.
The invitation comes as NHS frontline workers continue to face the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The VR venue has offered the free hour of gameplay to thank NHS staff for their hard work and dedication.
Alice House Hospice operates the massive VR complex, which is the only venue in Hartlepool to offer guests such services along with other esports gaming activities.
Thank you NHS! This month NHS staff can book a full hour free of charge for themselves and their families here at NEVRlabs.
Call 01429 855540 to book; you will need to present your NHS or Systmone ID Card on arrival.
(VR ages 13+) Other experiences available for under 13s! pic.twitter.com/l6ZDbk7cKU
— NEVRlabs (@NEVRlabs) January 6, 2022
Greg Hildreth, Senior Communications Manager for Alice House, said in a statement as quoted by the Hartlepool Mail,
“We fully appreciate the outstanding effort from our frontline NHS staff throughout the pandemic and want to offer them and their families the chance to have some time together at the centre”
The charity serves patients affected by debilitating illnesses or end-of-life support in the Hartlepool and East Durham regions by providing them with numerous services to accommodate their needs.
What’s On at NEVRlabs
The huge venue offers cutting-edge VR gaming and esports technologies such as driving and flight simulators, VR escape rooms, and others.
Using HP REVERB G2 headsets, attendees can access tethered, top-rated VR headsets complete with 4K LCD displays at 2160 x 2160 per eye, 90 Hz refresh rates, and a 114-degree field of view (FoV).
Gamers can join either standalone titles or link up in multiplayer activities for group events. Additional facility perks include VR motorsports and flying simulators from Munich-based VR fitness firm Icaros.
A NEVRlabs attendee plays a flight simulation game using the ICAROS Flight. PHOTO: NEVRlabs
The company, founded in 2015, has built an impressive lineup of VR e-sports devices used for training at fitness clubs and hotels, neurological and orthopaedic therapy facilities, and other places.
Hartlepool’s NEVRlabs uses ICAROS R and Flight devices for gameplay.
NEVRlabs also accommodates large team-building exercises for businesses, using VR to boost communication and cooperation among companies and organisations.
The Future of Gaming
The developments come as numerous businesses invest in VR gaming amid the rise of the Metaverse, the platform set to succeed the Internet and reshape communications across the world.
Several key platforms have launched VR gaming ventures in recent years from both major tech giants and startups, including Meta, HTC VIVE, NVIDIA, Huawei, Epic Games, Decentraland, and Sandbox.
The companies aim to connect people across the Metaverse with socialised gaming, connected remote experiences, and monetise the Metaverse as users adopt non-fungible tokens (NFTs), cryptocurrencies, the blockchain, and other digital assets vital to building virtual spaces.
Research from Grand View Research shows the global VR gaming market reached $11.56 billion USD in 2019 and was set to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 30.2 percent up to 2027.
