Virtual reality creates three-dimensional simulations using computer-generated data. VR can be highly immersive, using goggles and haptic devices to fully simulate the embodied experience of reality. It is being used and tested for applications across healthcare, education, entertainment and other industries. VR is a massive global industry that is rapidly growing in size — including in Toronto, where VR usership is predicted to reach 31 million by 2030. Check out the Canadian VR teams that are leading the Toronto scene.
Toronto VR Companies
- Sandbox VR Toronto
- Zazz
- ZeMind Studios
- Whimsy Games
- VR Vision
VR Companies in Toronto to Know
ZeMind Studios is a small but mighty gaming studio that develops mobile apps and gaming products, using augmented and virtual reality to bring them fully to life in the players’ experience. Its projects include a virtual driving experience for Volkswagen’s app, interactive videos for Corvette and an augmented reality app for Coca-Cola.
Lucky VR is a gaming development and virtual reality studio that makes multiplayer casino games. It partners with leading global online poker site PokerStars to embed VR features into social games. This partnership, which led to the breakaway hit title PokerStars VR, draws on the company’s R&D in virtual reality to provide mixed-reality experiences in which players can engage virtually as they play.
Technology enterprise Meta has spent the decades since its 2004 founding developing a diverse portfolio of social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. Its contemporary mission is focused on developing the metaverse, which is a mixed reality ecosystem in which all the Meta products are integrated into a single user experience. The goal of the metaverse is for virtual reality to mix with traditional reality. Users will transact with real-world assets while navigating an optimized and digitized universe largely made possible by VR technology.
Nagarro is an information technology and software company. Its work focuses on engineering digital assets that are designed to weather innovations in technology. This is accomplished by using emerging technology to update legacy systems and install automations. Nagarro uses virtual reality technology to embed its clients’ assets with immersive experiences for the end user. VR applications within the Nagarro workflow include immersive training experiences that employ mixed reality in product demonstrations.
Zazz is an app development company that uses blockchain to create decentralized digital applications. One of the features it offers as part of its app-building service is virtual reality, which brings interactive elements to digital assets. The Zazz team uses Unity 3D, Unreal Engine 4 and Oculus technology to supply client app projects with immersive VR capacity.
Sandbox VR Toronto is a retail VR entertainment studio where customers pay to experience various virtual reality ecosystems and technologies. It offers haptic “full-body VR,” which players can experience solo or in groups of up to six people in diverse universes that range from branded Star Trek VR sets and the Unbound Fighting League combat universe to the animated pirate space Curse of Davy Jones.
Bluewrist Inc. is an industrial automation company. It works with manufacturing clients to engineer automated facilities that use robots, cobots and machine vision to create low-touch factories and other industrial sites. Its robots perform critical tasks like weld inspections, using AI to process observational data. These material performance metrics can then be shared with human workers through a VR overlay.
Promise Robotics is a robotics technology company that serves the building and construction industry. Its robotic systems are engineered using emerging technology, including virtual reality, to provide fast training protocols. This, and other deep tech applications, support the company’s production of prefabricated homes, which are constructed off-site according to automation protocols and then installed by humans in the field.
VR Vision offers training programs for corporate teams that are powered by virtual reality experiences. Using immersive digital twins to allow learners to practice techniques and explore ideas in real time, VR Vision creates collaborative multiplayer learning contexts where teams can roll their sleeves up and engage in process-based learning. Clients including Siemens and Toyota rely on these services to keep their teams engaged and upskilled.
Whimsy Games is a video game company that offers full-cycle game development services, working with creators from idea to launch. Its virtual reality app and game process includes work with Web 3.0 ecosystems, Unreal Engine, Unity and VR kits that pair in-game activities with VR headsets for a fully immersive gaming experience.
