< OUR WORK
/// Blizzard Entertainment
4D VR Darkride: Escape from Dalaran
Year: 2024
Soar through the skies of Azeroth on the back of Invincible. For the first time, for real.
That’s exactly what happened at Gamescom 2024, where Escape from Dalaran, a groundbreaking 4D VR experience, became the most talked-about exhibit on the floor.
Blizzard set out to move World of Warcraft beyond the screen. Our task was to turn an iconic location, Dalaran, into a physically immersive, first-person VR experience — without breaking the lore, the tech, or the timeline.
BUILT IN UNREAL ENGINE 5. OPTIMIZED FOR 120 FPS. SYNCHRONIZED WITH REAL MOTION.
For a project like Escape from Dalaran, there was no room for compromise on fluidity. To eliminate motion sickness and deliver a truly visceral flight on the back of Invincible, we optimized the entire Unreal Engine 5 experience to run at a rock-solid 120 FPS.
"Our goal was to bridge the gap between 20 years of lore and cutting-edge XR technology. We used custom optimization tricks to make the 'impossible' flight feel absolutely real." — Tomas Barvik, Lead Developer
Asset Remastering
Every model and texture from the original World of Warcraft world had to be re-modeled and re-textured in-house to meet AAA cinematic standards for first-person VR.
Real-time Realism
We integrated our animation output with a custom Apex Reality six-axis motion rig to simulate g-force, tilts, and vibrations in real-time.
Haptic Sync
To heighten the senses, we synchronized high-powered fans to trigger realistic air gusts based on the creature's flight speed and dive angles.
Blind Development
One of our biggest technical hurdles was developing the entire software pipeline without access to the physical hardware, which was being built simultaneously in the US.
Legacy Meets Next-Gen
We combined "old-school" optimization methods with Unreal Engine 5’s power to ensure high-fidelity visuals remained performant throughout the 360° experience.
Every stone, every spell effect, every detail was rebuilt to feel real — and to keep the immersion unbroken as the city erupted in battle.
We rebuilt and optimized World of Warcraft assets in Unreal Engine 5 and directed the entire audiovisual experience. The visuals were precisely synced with a six-axis motion rig by Apex Reality — delivering real-time flight, vibration, and airflow in perfect alignment.
GAMESCOM 2024’S MOST VISITED EXPERIENCE. GLOBAL MEDIA ATTENTION.
Escape from Dalaran became the most visited activation at Blizzard’s booth.
Covered by IGN, featured by The Wall Street Journal, and awarded across XR platforms — the project proved that VR can deliver cinematic, large-scale experiences at AAA level.
When Los Angeles Sleeps, Prague Innovates: Leveraging a Seamless Global Hand-off to Beat an Impossible Three-Month Deadline.
We operated as a synchronized global engine across three time zones: Los Angeles, London, and Prague. Working with Blizzard and Apex Reality meant coordinating a team of over 70 people.
We leveraged the time difference to maximize productivity. While our US partners were offline, our team in Prague pushed the boundaries of the Unreal Engine 5 pipeline. By the time the LA team started their day, fresh updates, optimized assets, and technical revisions were ready for review.
This seamless hand-off ensured that despite the "impossible" three-month deadline, the project never hit a standstill. It’s a testament to how transparent communication and a 24-hour development cycle can bring a AAA vision to life with speed and precision.
Selected Works