Holybots Rising

Next-gen laser-game

Holybots Rising reinvents laser-game by integrating virtual reality. Designed to be deployed directly into existing laser-game mazes, the game overlays a virtual universe onto the real walls and obstacles. Players wear VR headsets and move freely in the physical space while a futuristic world comes alive around them.

The philosophy: easy to learn, hard to master. You grasp the mechanics in seconds, but mastering special abilities and teamwork takes practice — exactly what keeps players coming back.

The experience

Holybots Rising drops players into a large cyber-futuristic arena where they embody robots with cybernetic abilities. You physically move, walk, run and crouch for real. The real walls of the arena merge with the virtual walls visible in the headset — you can touch them and lean on them for cover.

Three game modes are available for sessions of 2 to 8 players. And after the match, players can relive their best moments through a replay displayed on the lounge area screens.

A free-roam VR hero-shooter

The game takes the codes of competitive online hero-shooters (Overwatch, Valorant) and brings them into a full-scale physical experience. Each player picks an archetype with unique abilities, and teams clash in intense matches where real movement, communication and strategy make the difference.

Features

Up to 8 players per arena
Accessible from age 11, designed to appeal to casual players and competitors alike
No violence: no blood or gore — "deactivated" players see their energy bar hit zero and must recharge
English and French

A B2B model built for profitability

Holybots Rising is first and foremost a B2B solution, designed for laser-game venue operators. By adding a VR dimension to their existing infrastructure, operators increase the perceived value of their offering and attract a new esports-oriented audience, without having to rethink their spaces.

My contribution

As lead developer and co-founder of Bigger Inside, I designed and built most of the technical stack behind Holybots Rising: the networking architecture that synchronizes free-roam players with minimal latency, the VR rendering engine, gameplay systems, and the 3D environment design tools that map virtual worlds onto real physical mazes. I also developed the game master companion app.