I. Debut at WAIC: A Mixed-Reality Showcase

At the 2024 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), the Metaverse Experience Zone played host to a live public showcase of the MRLBE concept. Sight+, together with partners including PICO, Rokid, and Goertek, unveiled multiple interactive mixed-reality experiences. The star of the show was “Astral Gate: Snow Battle”, an MRLBE-powered attraction that became the centerpiece of the zone. Visitors donned MR glasses and dove into team-based snow fights in the actual exhibition space, getting a firsthand taste of multiplayer MR social entertainment in a public setting, marking the first large-scale public showcase of the MRLBE model.

II. Product Deep Dive: Astral Gate – The Commercial Blueprint of the MRLBE Model

2.1 What is MRLBE? Breaking Free from the Constraints of Traditional LBE

Traditional LBE (Location‑Based Entertainment) typically requires an enclosed indoor venue of 100–1,000 m², relying on visual marker stickers plastered on walls for positioning. Flagship titles like Horizon of Khufu and Tang Palace Night Banquet depend on exclusive, closed-off spaces, which come with high rental costs, limited foot traffic, and a heavy reliance on online promotion to draw crowds.

MRLBE, short for Mixed Reality Location‑Based Entertainment, is the MR evolution of the LBE model. Coined by Zhang Xiaojun, CEO of Sight+, at the 2024 WVRIC conference, it ditches the need for large enclosed venues. Instead, it transforms public spaces – shopping mall atriums, city squares, parks, and scenic areas – into immersive playgrounds. Centered on social MR interactions between people, it seamlessly blends users, virtual content, and the physical environment, working equally well indoors and outdoors.

2.2 Astral Gate: The Flagship Product of the MRLBE Model

Astral Gate is the benchmark implementation of the MRLBE model. “Snow Battle”, showcased at WAIC, is just one of its game offerings. Other multiplayer competitive titles include Earth Guardians and Live PvP Battle, with offline stores already operating at Beijing’s 798 Art District and Shanghai Global Harbor.

The unique shared‑space operation model rents only a small kiosk or storefront of about 10 m² for device maintenance, yet turns the surrounding 1,000 m² of public area into the actual gaming zone. It effectively delivers a 100‑fold increase in floor‑area efficiency, while eliminating costly large‑space leases. By tapping into the natural foot traffic of malls and attractions, the model solves the “pay‑to‑acquire‑traffic” headache of traditional LBE. It supports group play with friends and families, reinforcing social engagement and boosting repeat visits. Existing LBE venues can also repurpose their current MR hardware for a low‑cost transition to MRLBE projects.

In practice, the Astral Gate store at Shanghai Global Harbor, operating since October 2023, has remained profitable, with a 4.6+ rating on Dianping. Its Live PvP Battle game won first prize in the “Yuanmengshanhai” China VR Content Ecosystem Competitiony at WVRIC 2024 and was named among the Top 20 finalists of the “Large-Space LBE Innovative Application Pioneer List” – solid proof of the MRLBE business model’s viability.

III. EasyAR Mega: The Engine Behind MRLBE

EasyAR Mega, Sight+’s proprietary spatial computing platform, is the fundamental enabler behind Astral Gate’s open-space MR gaming, powering everything from positioning to multiplayer sync.

3.1 VPS Positioning: No More Stickers

Traditional LBE relies on visual markers plastered across walls for positioning. EasyAR Mega, powered by its VPS (Visual Positioning Service), eliminates the need for physical markers. By performing 3D reconstruction of real‑world environments, it achieves centimeter‑level accuracy and sub‑second response times, maintaining stable tracking even in crowded, dynamically lit open spaces. It supports seamless indoor‑outdoor switching, ensuring that virtual objects stay firmly anchored to the physical world as MR glasses users run freely through plazas and commercial streets – no drift, no glitches.

3.2 Full‑Stack Toolchain: Lowering the Barrier to MRLBE Deployment

The platform offers a complete toolchain covering spatial capture, 3D mapping, content editing, testing, and live operations. No expensive professional equipment is needed – standard 360‑degree capture devices suffice for large‑scene modeling. It supports city‑scale mapping with incremental local updates. Developers can rapidly create MR game content tailored to malls and scenic spots, compatible with mainstream MR headsets like PICO and Vision Pro, and capable of supporting simultaneous multiplayer MR interactions in the same physical space.

3.3 Open Ecosystem: Empowering Industry Expansion

EasyAR Mega boasts over 200,000 developers worldwide, with 40% based overseas. Beyond MRLBE, the technology powers AR guided tours in cultural tourism, digital concierge navigation in malls, and indoor wayfinding in airports and hospitals. For the MRLBE sector, the platform enables content interoperability – a single game can be deployed across multiple malls and attractions nationwide, laying the technical groundwork for future industry alliances and scalable content distribution.

IV. Value Insights: How MRLBE Transforms the Industry

Commercial – The shift from renting vast enclosed venues to “small‑footprint kiosks + repurposed public spaces” dramatically cuts overhead for offline MR entertainment. Malls and tourist sites can quickly onboard MR attractions, accelerating ROI.

Experiential – Traditional LBE leans toward solo or weakly interactive narrative experiences. MRLBE focuses on real‑time multiplayer social competition, where friends and families play together, turning MR from a one‑off novelty into a go‑to group activity and driving repeat engagement.

Industrial – For scenic areas, the model enables “one IP, multiple MR experiences”, directly developing MR content atop actual landmarks without building new enclosed halls. The blend of virtual and real lets visitors experience digital storytelling amid authentic historical settings, expanding the “AI + cultural tourism” product portfolio.

V. Looking Ahead: The MR Entertainment Era in Public Spaces

As traditional enclosed LBE reaches a crossroads, MRLBE opens an exciting new direction for large‑space XR. Sight+ has taken the lead in forming the Large‑Space LBE Industry Alliance, promoting content interoperability and shared venue resources, akin to the cinema model where creators focus on game IPs while venues quickly roll out MRLBE projects.

In the future, as MR hardware becomes more pervasive, the MRLBE model – represented by Astral Gate and powered by the EasyAR Mega spatial computing platform – will move beyond pilot showcases to large‑scale deployment in commercial districts, city parks, and tourist attractions. Consumers won’t need to step into enclosed pods; they’ll just put on MR glasses during routine shopping or sightseeing trips, and jump into multiplayer MR entertainment right there – transforming the real world into a living playground. This is how the metaverse steps out of the exhibition hall and into everyday life.