The Minecraft Experience Makes Worldwide Debut In DFW's Growing Immersive Retail Mecca
One of the world's most popular and enduring video games can now be experienced live, in person and right in the heart of Texas with the opening of Minecraft Experience: Villager Rescue, the first-ever interactive and immersive Minecraft adventure.
The just-opened attraction along U.S. Highway 75 in Plano brings the best-selling video game of all time to life, sending players on a collective quest to explore new dimensions, interact with mobs, and use wits and creativity to save villagers from what game designers call “a grim fate.”
It is also the latest example of Dallas-Fort Worth becoming a major testing ground for experiential concepts of all stripes.
The world’s first live-action Minecraft Experience joins immersive entertainment venue Cosm in The Colony and the Netflix House experience opening next year at the Galleria Dallas among a growing list of experiential retailers testing the waters in the Metroplex.
“We have developed, over the past 40 years, networks of presenters that work with us in different countries,” Minecraft Experience: Villager Rescue Executive Producer John Mulcahy said of the decision to debut in Plano. “It's accommodating for us to be able to invite them to come here to Plano, the world premiere, and then see how they picture how it would work in their locale.”
Plano's Minecraft Experience is set in a transformed former Buybuy Baby, a 28K space at 2712 N. Central Expressway, where it will remain until early January before opening in its next city.
Mulcahy declined to identify where that might be, though he listed locations throughout the U.S., Europe, South America, Southeast Asia and Australia as possible future destinations and didn’t rule out multiple locations popping up simultaneously.
Minecraft Experience chose Plano to host its first immersive game venue because of the number of gamers and families in the region, Oliver Goulet of creative and producing team Supply + Demand told Community Impact. Others are tapping into the area's demographics, too, and the concepts are getting increasingly elaborate.
With its 87-foot diameter, 12K LED dome screen, Cosm was an instant hit with sports fans when it opened its second location this summer at Grandscape in The Colony.
Cosm has official partnerships with the NBA, UFC, ESPN, NBC Sports, TNT Sports and FOX Sports, allowing patrons to see live productions of college football, UFC matches, English Premier League soccer, college and professional basketball and NHL games as well as art and entertainment experiences from Cirque du Soleil and new media artists.
Meanwhile, Netflix House Dallas, opening next year, will offer up a “fan fever dream” that gives visitors the opportunity to engage with their favorite content from the streaming service, including Squid Games and Stranger Things.
“We know that our guests are looking for experiences as part of the shopping journey and there is no better partner than Netflix to offer a best-in-class experience,” Galleria Dallas General Manager Angie Freed said via email. “Offering experiences which align with Netflix’s popular programming is an obvious win.”
The end of pandemic lockdowns brought a flood of retailtainment concepts to the Metroplex, including competitive socializing businesses like Topgolf and Chicken N Pickle.
But instead of fading away, experiential retail concepts have grown increasingly popular. Grandscape also offers Andretti Indoor Karting & Games, the Fireside Surf surfing experience and Tiger Woods' Popstroke.
The Stonebriar Centre mall in Frisco hosted the World of Barbie last year, and interactive art experience Meow Wolf celebrated its first anniversary in Grapevine this summer.
“DFW is a magical place when you think about the cost of living compared to wages, and there’s not a whole lot else to do,” Lagniappe Capital Partners co-founder and Managing Director Zach Shor said at a Bisnow event late last year. “There’s no mountains, no ocean, so you’ve got a really special environment in DFW for these projects.”
Freed said the Galleria Dallas has a history of creating experiences for its guests, even turning its annual visit with Santa Claus into a multisensory train ride to the North Pole.
“Experiential retail is a must for bringing new customers and also delighting existing customers,” Freed said. “For the younger generations, in particular, they prefer to shop IRL (in Real Life) and are definitely experiential customers.”
The Minecraft Experience’s future stops could be larger than its current square footage, allowing for expanded gift shops or small cafes, Mulcahy said.
Buybuy Baby and the similarly structured former Bed Bath and Beyond stores across the nation provide opportunities for a giant Minecraft creeper to emblazon the front of the venue as it does in Plano. But Mulcahy is open to other configurations, adding the venue got turned down a number of times before securing its Plano location.
“[Owners of empty big box storefronts] don't want to commit to somebody a year out,” Mulcahy said, adding limited rental runs can be hard to secure. “To them, their biggest fear is that as soon as they say yes to us, even though it's good terms, the 10-year commitment is going to come in and they'll miss out on it.”
