AEXLAB, the creative minds behind the VR shooter Vail (2024), have exciting news. They’ve launched a crowd-investment campaign aimed at bolstering the ongoing development of their game. Since its introduction, the multiplayer shooter has raked in over $5.5 million, thanks to more than 300,000 unique players on both PC VR and Quest platforms.
Unlike traditional crowdfunding, where backers might receive a product or reward for their support, this Miami-based studio is opting for an equity crowd-investment approach. This means they’re inviting people to invest in the company itself. Taking a leaf out of Virtuix’s book, which used a similar strategy to fund its Omni One VR treadmill in 2023, AEXLAB is now welcoming individual investors to buy common stock in the company. According to their investment page, you can now dive in with a minimum investment of $1,000, and each share is currently priced at $36.52.
There’s a catch, though. Shares in private companies like AEXLAB are often illiquid, meaning they can’t be readily bought and sold like public stocks. To see returns, investors might need to wait either for the company to be acquired by a larger entity or for it to go public via an initial public offering (IPO). Both scenarios are long-term prospects, with the studio estimating a wait time of “approximately 5–10 years” or even longer.
While predicting the growth trajectory of XR tech is tricky, AEXLAB clearly believes that the future holds impressive opportunities. They’re reaching out mainly to individuals who are betting on significant growth in the XR industry, as well as on the studio’s ability to harness that potential effectively.
“We’ve built something extraordinary with your support,” the studio enthuses, “and it’s important to us to give longstanding community members like you the chance to be part of this next chapter. This is your opportunity to join us as we scale VAIL VR to heights previously only dreamed of.”
So, where might Vail head next? Since debuting on SteamVR and Quest earlier this year, the game has embraced a distinctive free-to-play/paid hybrid model. Players can access the Citadel location for free—which includes 1v1 battles and a sandbox for trying out different systems and weapons—while the full spectrum of multiplayer modes is available for purchase. By the looks of it, this strategy is paying off.
As of now, Vail boasts a strong [4.8/5] rating on the Horizon Store for Quest, drawn from over 13,000 user reviews, and enjoys a ‘Very Positive’ overall score from more than 2,300 reviews on Steam.
