Meltdown is the world’s first eSports bar chain, and attracts 40,000 gamers each month. The selected bars will be running a series of ‘VIVE Nights’ for a month-long period, where gamers can get hands on with the cutting edge of virtual reality technology for free. The first night took place on Wednesday 9th November, simultaneously at Meltdown bars across London, Cologne and Paris. In each bar, gamers will get the chance to compete against each other while experiencing the fully walkable and immersive virtual world that VIVE’s unique room scale capabilities allow.

The decision to collaborate with Meltdown highlights the possibilities for VIVE and VR in the eSports industry, and is perhaps no surprise given HTC’s partnership with Valve. Owner of ‘DOTA II’, the most lucrative eSport in the world, Valve has already begun integrating VR into the game, with a much applauded Spectator mode available. This latest partnership will offer a unique opportunity for VIVE and Meltdown to assess the popularity of potential VR eSports with the eSports community itself.

“We’re really excited about our partnership with Meltdown, which will allow even more people to experience Vive” said Jon Goddard, Marketing Director, VR (Europe) at HTC. “We understand that Vive is an expensive purchase, and to truly convince people of the possibilities that room-scale VR allows, they have to try it. Not everyone can get to the big gaming conferences, so by partnerships such as this, we’re continuing our mission to make VIVE accessible to everyone - from gamers, to tech and entertainment enthusiasts alike.”

Sophia Metz, Founder of Meltdown commented, “Virtual reality is the future of gaming, and we are thrilled to be able to offer this immersive experience to our customers thanks to the HTC VIVE.”