EVA VR promises immersive esports experience to thrill-seekers in Bucharest

French-born virtual reality esports center EVA VR has recently opened its Bucharest location, promising a realistic and immersive combat esports experience suitable for corporate team-building events, birthday parties, and various other events.

Inaugurated on June 7, the new location is part of an international network, Esports Virtual Arenas, which was established roughly 5 years ago. Currently, the franchise operates 58 VR arenas in nine countries, including the United States, France, Belgium, Germany, Bahrain, Spain, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia. The Bucharest center is the most recent expansion, the 58th, with two more to come in the Romanian capital and one each in Cluj, Iași, and Timișoara.

“The feedback has been very good since opening,” says Andrei Moisa, manager of EVA VR. “We have a high player return rate, around 70%. A lot of people come in to try the game, and they immediately want another session, which is not always possible,” he adds.

EVA VR Bucharest is housed in the former Metav industrial building, where airplane engines were built, in the north of the Romanian capital. Remodelled and modernized with the help of interior designer Floriana Sandu, the EVA VR building is located next to a padel center and near several corporate buildings.

Once inside, visitors are met with a steampunk setting, complete with a bar and restaurant. See-through panels allow them to watch games unfold in the two 500-square-meter arenas, while wall-mounted screens show the in-game perspective.

Evenings are and weekends are generally fully booked, while teambuilding events take place during weekdays.

Game sessions are straightforward. You book the session in advance with friends, and you come 10 minutes beforehand. A maximum of 10 players can take part, and others may join your session if it is not full, but as the one who did the booking, you choose what is played. A session lasts 40 minutes, out of which 30 minutes are effective gameplay and 10 minutes are reserved for equipping. Before that, players are taken to a briefing area, where players leave their possessions in the locker room area and watch a video that teaches them the basics. There is a game master with them to answer questions, who will also set up the matches.

Equipped with the headset and armed, players are sent to the opposite sides of the map and given a few moments to get used to the VR environment. One of the 13 maps then materializes around them, such as the Martian prison map “The Rock,” or the underwater base “Atlantis.” Crates, walls, elevators, and other features make the environment an integral part of every match. Some maps allow players to make use of vantage points, shooting at opponents from above.