Are Metaverse Rooms the future of real estate?

Have you ever used an Oculus Rift – or another virtual reality (VR) headset – and accidentally stumbled upon a coffee table, sofa, or even someone else in the room? If so, you’re not alone, according to recent industry reports.

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With VR sales up 70% in 2021 versus 2020, according to the international data company, the odds of VR-related injuries and household damages have also gone up, according to the Wall Street Journal. The losses, according to the Wall Street Journal, include everything from broken vases to a broken knee.

While one obvious solution is to find a relatively empty space to play, home builders have taken this concept to the next level with the addition of “metaverse rooms” in today’s homes. Designed minimally with minimal furniture, these rooms include lined walls to allow users to safely traverse the metaverse and other virtual reality worlds.

Some of the VR rooms designed by architecture firm Fine Homes by Hearthstone include surround speakers and vibration sensors in the floor to create a more immersive experience for each WSJ.

The price for retrofitting a so-called metaverse room in your home, or to include a room in a new build, varies based on the technology and design features you want to include, as well as the size of the room.

Metaverse room construction cost

Lifewire recommends a safe space of at least 3 feet by 3 feet for interaction in a virtual environment – but for a full room VR experience you’ll need at least 9 feet by 9 feet.

You may want to have a big screen TV in the room for friends to watch and interact with in the VR experience. If you have the space, you can put a soft sofa (no metal or hard wood surfaces) next to the room to sit and watch or play.

Let’s divide the costs for a 10 x 10 room, which could be a spare bedroom, space in a basement, or even space in a garage.

• Foam Tiles for Flooring: $1.99 per square foot, or $200 per room, based on pricing from FoamTiles.com.
• Wall filler: 2-foot by 6-foot rugs $62 to $145. You’ll need 5 for a 10-foot room. Expect to spend $1,000 or more to cover two walls.
• Surround sound system: A Vizio 5.1 surround sound home theater system costs $299 at Costco, but you can also spend thousands more on a high-end system.
• LED TV: Like surround sound, the price of an LED TV or display system can vary greatly. Samsung’s 65-inch 4K Smart TV from Costco costs $549, plus an extra $150 or so for the TV stand.
• VR Game Setup: Prices for VR game sets also vary widely, from the Meta Quest 2 (Oculus) for $299 at Walmart or the PlayStation VR bundle for $349 at GameStop (a new arrival PS VR targets PS5). The Valve Index and HTC Vive Pro 2 can approach $1,000 or more.
• Game console or PC: You can buy or build a gaming PC for your VR system, but you don’t have to. Meta Quest 2 works with a smartphone only, which is required for some game applications. PS VR requires a PlayStation 4 or PS5 controller, which can run anywhere from $289 for a PS4 refurbished at GameStop up to $799 for a PS5.

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Of course, extras like professional installation, floor vibrating features, and furniture will increase your costs. But as the desire to develop your presence in the metaverse grows, you may find this room gets a lot of use. And if that’s the case, you can’t put a price on the peace of mind that comes with creating a safe space for your family to interact in a virtual environment.

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