Fabricator - Entertainment Development

Competitive socializing has a repeatability problem. For the sector to succeed in the long term, operators need to solve one critical challenge: giving guests a reason to come back As I've spent more time thinking about competitive socialization, and listening to people building businesses in this space, I keep coming back to a slightly uncomfortable conclusion. We have proven that people want these experiences, but I'm not sure we've proven that we know how to make them last. There is a lot to be excited about in this category. The growth signals are there, and they are not insignificant. JLL 2026 Entertainment Tenant Study indicates competitive socialization venues are growing at 84% annually, almost eight times the growth of FEC venues in the same 2023-26 period in the US. New concepts are appearing at pace, capital is starting to move in (for example, Level99 announced a growth financing round of $100M in July), and the format itself is beginning to feel more recognisable - all signs that something real is happening. But that is precisely the point at which it becomes important to ask a different question. Not "is this working?" but "will it keep working?" In my conversation with Rick Briggs, CEO of FuzionGamz, and Matt DuPlessie, founder and CEO of Level99, Matt answered that question more directly than I expected. He didn't talk about creativity, or storytelling, or even guest experience first. He said that in location-based entertainment there are two things you have to solve: throughput and repeat And then he made the point that matters commercially: if people only come once, there is a limit to how long any concept can last. Creativity and guest experience are mechanisms, and the proof of good design choices is the repeat rate. Throughput and repeat. That's a troubling thought because it reframes the entire category. It shifts the focus away from how compelling something is on first exposure to what happens after that. And when you start looking at competitive socialization through that lens, there are indicators of concern. Rick Briggs described many concepts as feeling like a collection of individual games without a real sense of continuity. You move from one activity to another, enjoying each in isolation, but without a thread that pulls the experience together into something that evolves, or accumulates, or carries forward. The result, even if well executed, doesn't yet add up to something people feel compelled to return to. That in itself is not a problem if your goal is to deliver a great day out. It becomes a problem when your business model depends on people coming back. Matt made a similar observation, but from a different angle. He talked about the number of concepts in the market that are essentially reimagined versions of familiar social games- bowling, darts, minigolf but enhanced with technology, better design, and more polished environments. There is nothing inherently wrong with that, but he questioned whether it is genuinely creating something new. At one point he described it as adding digital scoring and LEDs to existing formats, and that phrase landed because it captures the tension very well. It is improvement, but is it transformation? That distinction matters when it comes to repeat behaviour. Something that is easy to understand and satisfying to participate in can still be something you feel you have "done." And once you have done it, the question becomes: why would you go back? Many of these venues perform extremely well as occasion-based experiences. They are perfect for birthdays, for corporate events, for a planned social outing where the objective is to do something new together. In that sense, they solve a very real problem. But occasions are finite. They are planned, intermittent, and rely on active decision-making. Habit is different. Habit removes friction. It is what people default to without active decision-making thought. Habits make better business models. So, the challenge for this category is to create venues and attractions that aren't 'one and done' but pull you back in; if they become habit-forming, those would be healthy venues! Refreshing competitive socializing experiences. Part of that comes down to how the experience refreshes to drive repeat visits. The need for content refresh is widely understood; Rick made the point very practically that in many concepts, changing the experience means rebuilding physical space. Physical refreshes are slow, capital-intensive, and difficult to do frequently enough to keep an experience feeling genuinely new - making novelty hard to deliver at the necessary pace to drive habit-forming repeat visits. To solve this footprint and capital bottleneck, the industry is shifting toward "scaled-down, high-impact versions" that lean heavily on software and digital flexibility rather than raw real estate. As hospitality analysts point out, by replacing 20,000-square-foot traditional layouts with modular tech, operators are trying to unlock superior unit economics. According to Capital Growth Fund, emerging, well-executed, tech-forward venues are reaching 20% to 30%+ EBITDA margins, significantly outperforming the 8% to 15% margins of traditional real estate because software can be patched instantly, while physical walls cannot. Layer on top of traditional physical refresh limitations the realities of throughput and capacity, and the competitive venue model becomes more constrained again. These are physical environments with limits on how many people can participate at any given time. Efficiency matters. Utilisation matters. The economics are grounded in space and time, which is why we are seeing more digital-based games in FECs, like Conductr, FuzionGamz and Beat the Bomb. This is where Matt's earlier point about solving throughput and repeat becomes more than a neat summary. It becomes how you can assess whether a concept is truly viable. It is not enough to be interesting; nor even enough to be popular at launch. The challenge is whether the experience's design encourages behaviour that sustains itself over time. Level99 was specifically designed, from the very inception of the concept, to drive repeat attendance - Matt says in his 28-year career in location-based-entertainment, this is the strongest repeat concept he has encountered. Money talks, and according to the JLL 2026 Entertainment Tenant Study, location-based entertainment concepts have 16.5 million square feet of active demand in the pipeline across the US and Canada. However, the data highlights a major bifurcation: traditional, static Family Entertainment Centers (FECs) have seen growth flatten significantly, while modular, tech-enabled "challenge rooms" and replayable formats have exploded. Beyond the "first date" When I try to simplify all of this, I come back to a slightly inelegant but useful comparison. Right now, much of competitive socialization feels like a very good first date. It is engaging, it removes awkwardness, it gives you something to do and something to talk about. It works. But it does not always give you a clear reason to meet again next week. This is not a criticism of the direction of travel. If anything, it is a sign that the category is becoming more serious. Early-phase growth is always driven by novelty and curiosity. The next phase is driven by retention. This is where the difference between something popular and something enduring becomes visible. The growth trajectory of competitive socialization is strong and clear. The key test for our industry is helping it evolve from something people try once to something they build into their lives. Rick summarized it as: "We are building something that transforms a single visit into an ongoing community experience. Players come back not just to play, but to continue their story, improve their skills, meet friends, and be part of a living game or experience that is always evolving." Una de Boer Founder & Principal Growth Advisor Una de Boer has been building global brands and top-tier marketing teams for over 20 years across a variety of sectors from professional services to SaaS. From 2015 to 2026, Una was at the helm of WhiteWater and FlowRider's Marketing, and led the design and delivery of the Vantage and Endless Surf brands. Overseeing WhiteWater's brand portfolio gave Una a broad understanding of the attractions industry from water, theme, and surf parks to the software and services that support them. In the summer of 2026, she left WhiteWater to establish Sowena Growth Advisors and immediately announced Enchanted Parks as her anchor client, where she leads brand development, marketing, and sales operations as chief marketing officer of this new attractions group. Una de Boer remains active within the Attractions industry, supporting IAAPA on committees and the NA Regional Advisory Board. She is well known for speaking at industry educational sessions on sustainability and as an advocate of female leaders within attractions.

Ron Shaich, founder of Panera and chairman of Cava, is doubling his investment in Level99, an interactive challenge-based entertainment venue company. Act III Holdings, Shaich's investment vehicle, is adding $50 million to its existing $50 million commitment, bringing its total stake to $100 million. The funding follows Level99's fifth location opening at Disney Springs in Florida, which exceeded projections in its first three weeks. Shaich has been Level99's sole equity partner since founder Matt DuPlessie developed the concept. Level99 operates venues of 35,000 to 50,000 square feet featuring collaborative puzzles, physical challenges, and locally commissioned art. The company plans to accelerate growth to one location per quarter, opening four venues in 2026. Shaich believes Level99 could become the dominant player in social, immersive entertainment with real food, applying the same strategy he used at Panera and Cava.

Level99 expands growth equity commitment from Act III Holdings to $100 million. July 22, 2026 It's a big day for Level99! Today, Level99 is announcing that Level99 has expanded its growth equity commitment from Act III Holdings to $100 million, doubling down on a partnership built around its shared belief that consumers are hungry for a new kind of real-world entertainment. Read the full announcement below and hear more from its CEO, Matt DuPlesssie, and Board Chair, Ron Shaich, in this Fortune article. Act III Holdings Increases Level99 Follow-On Investment Commitment After The Successful Disney Springs Opening Further Validates Concept and Positions Level99 for Rapid Multi-Market Growth NATICK, Mass., July 22, 2026 - Level99, the market leader in interactive, social entertainment venues each with 50+ proprietary, life-sized mini-games and real-world challenges paired with chef-driven cuisine, today announced it has secured an additional $50 million growth equity commitment from Act III Holdings to fuel an accelerated national expansion. This brings the total follow-on Act III investment to $100 million joining their prior $50 million commitment at the end of 2025. The significant capital commitment reflects strong consumer demand and the proven success of Level99's flagship locations, including the recently opened Disney Springs venue in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The new investment will enable Level99 to continue to rapidly expand its footprint across high-visibility markets, in addition to new locations already planned for West Hartford, Connecticut (late 2026), Paramus, New Jersey (2027), King of Prussia, Pennsylvania (2027), and Raleigh, North Carolina (2027). Following these launches, Level99 plans to open four new venues annually starting in 2027, positioning the company as a category-defining entertainment brand with a dominant national presence. "This additional investment commitment from Act III further validates our vision and demonstrates the strength of our business model as we work to create this new category of entertainment, with Level99 as the clear quality leader" said Matt DuPlessie, Founder and CEO of Level99. "The successful launch at Disney Springs exceeded expectations and underscores how much Level99 resonates with a broad consumer base across geographies. With the Act III team's continued support and capital, we're positioned to sign the best real estate in top markets and establish Level99 as the premier destination for real-world, social, active entertainment." Act III Holdings, which has been Level99's sole equity partner since inception, is doubling down on its commitment to the brand. Ron Shaich, founder and former CEO of Panera Bread and current Chairman and lead investor of Cava, emphasized Act III's confidence in Level99's long-term potential. "Level99 represents one of the most exciting concepts I've encountered in my career, and we believe it's incredibly well-positioned to transform the entertainment landscape," said Ron Shaich, Chairman of the Board of Level99 and Founder of Act III Holdings. "Matt and his team have created a differentiated, endlessly re-playable experience that combines the engaging mechanics of video games in the real world with the social energy of a premium hospitality venue that has already established a passionate community of consumers." Since opening its first location in Natick, Massachusetts in 2021, Level99 has become an award-winning entertainment destination. The company operates locations in Providence, Rhode Island (2024), Tysons, Virginia (2025), and Lake Buena Vista, Florida at Disney Springs (June 2026). Level99 earned the prestigious THEA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Attractions in its inaugural year. Each Level99 venue spans 35,000 to 50,000 square feet and features over 30 hours of original interactive content across three challenge categories: themed Challenge Rooms where teams collaborate to earn Stars, Duels featuring Player-versus-Player competition in the open Arena, and Hunt Art, an art scavenger hunt experience. Every visitor receives a digital profile that tracks progress and achievements across visits, allowing them to climb the leaderboard, earn rewards, and unlock new content - mechanics borrowed from video games but executed in the real world. Level99's offering extends beyond gaming. Each venue features award-winning food and beverage programming, including signature Detroit-style pizza, wagyu burgers, handcrafted cocktails, and craft beers alongside partnerships with renowned breweries - creating a complete sensory and social experience. About Level99 Level99 is a sprawling entertainment venue offering proprietary, real-world physical and mental interactive challenges and life-sized mini-games. Founded by location-based entertainment innovator Matt DuPlessie, the company is headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts, with additional locations in Providence, Rhode Island; Tysons, Virginia; and Orlando, Florida. Four additional venues are under development in West Hartford, Connecticut; King of Prussia, Pennsylvania; Paramus, New Jersey; and Raleigh, North Carolina. Level99 is backed by Act III Holdings. More information is available at www.level99.com. About Act III Holdings Act III Holdings is a $2 billion evergreen investment vehicle formed by Ron Shaich, founder and former Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Panera Bread and current Chairman and lead investor of Cava. Act III holds significant investments and strategic advisory roles in Tatte Bakery, Life Alive Organic Café, Honest Greens Barcelona, and Level99, supporting the growth of tomorrow's market-leading restaurant and entertainment companies. Act III invests in emerging restaurants, entertainment, and technology brands and helps them build a dominant position in powerful categories within their respective industries. Act III also partners with public companies to provide strategic advice and capital. Shaich and his team are known for their long-standing track record of building competitive advantage by successfully fostering innovation and thoughtfully scaling private and public companies to positions of dominance. For more information, visit www.act3holdings.com. Contacts Jon Hammond, Sloane, [email protected]