The way people spend their leisure time is changing dramatically. With rapid urbanization, air pollution, and extreme weather making outdoor activities increasingly challenging, the global appetite for indoor experiential entertainment has exploded. It’s not just a trend—it’s a fundamental shift in consumer behavior, particularly in densely populated Asian cities where shopping mall culture has become central to daily life.

The numbers tell a compelling story. The functional gaming market is projected to hit 18.4 trillion KRW by 2026, signaling enormous opportunities for companies that can deliver innovative indoor entertainment solutions. But success in this space requires more than just recognizing the opportunity—it demands technical excellence, operational know-how, and deep market understanding.

That’s where PLAYLEGEND comes in. The company has developed ‘LEGENDHEROES’, a digital theme park concept that fuses sports and cutting-edge IT to create immersive simulator experiences. Unlike weather-dependent outdoor facilities or traditional arcades, LEGENDHEROES operates year-round in comfortable, climate-controlled environments, offering everything from realistic sports simulations to arcade gaming in a comprehensive entertainment destination.

What sets PLAYLEGEND apart is their integrated approach. The company doesn’t just supply equipment—they deliver complete turnkey solutions combining proprietary content (over 30 titles), advanced sensing technology with sophisticated physics engines, hardware, interior design, and real-time remote management systems. It’s a total package that few competitors can match.

The proof is in their traction. PLAYLEGEND currently operates approximately 720 systems in 100 domestic and 20 overseas. Their flagship overseas venue at Vincom Mega Mall Royal City in Hanoi attracts 6,000 visitors monthly, while locations in Jakarta and Bangkok see around 9,000 monthly visitors—concrete validation of strong market demand across Southeast Asia.

PLAYLEGEND is participating in the 2025 Tourism Global Challenge program, organized by Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization, and operated by CNTTech. The program has provided crucial support for their global expansion, including IR consulting, investor matchmaking, overseas roadshow participation, and networking with international industry leaders and investment firms.

We sat down with the PLAYLEGEND team to discuss their journey, technology, and ambitious growth plans.

What problem are you really trying to solve here?

At its core, we’re addressing a massive shift in how people want to spend their leisure time. Outdoor activities are becoming less accessible in many parts of the world—whether it’s air quality in major Asian cities, extreme heat in Southeast Asia, or just the unpredictability of weather. People still want active, social entertainment experiences, but they want them in comfortable, controlled environments.

Shopping mall-based indoor entertainment culture is exploding, especially in rapidly developing countries. The functional gaming market alone will reach 18.4 trillion KRW by 2026. LEGENDHEROES was built specifically for this moment—giving people of all ages a place to enjoy immersive sports and gaming experiences in premium indoor environments, regardless of what’s happening outside.

Walk us through your solution. How does it actually work?

We’ve built experiential sports simulators that blend physical activity with cutting-edge technology. Think large-format screens combined with precision sensing technology and sophisticated physics engines that track user movements, speed, angles—everything needed to create truly realistic simulations.

The key is that we can operate continuously, year-round, without any dependence on weather or outdoor conditions. We’ve created comprehensive entertainment spaces that span from mainstream sports to arcade gaming, so we can appeal to diverse customer segments—from families to young adults to corporate groups.

What really drives immersion is that LEGENDHEROES is built on actual sports rules and movements. It’s not just a game—it feels real because it is based on real sports physics and mechanics.

What makes you different from competitors? Why can’t they just copy what you’re doing?

Our core competitive advantage is integration. We’re not just a content company, or a hardware supplier, or a management system—we’re all three, tightly integrated.

We’ve developed over 30 proprietary content titles in-house. We’ve built high-performance sensing technology combined with physics engines that deliver precise simulation. And we operate a real-time remote management system that can instantly respond when any issues arise at any location.

Most competitors pick one lane. We own the entire stack—hardware, software, and operations. That’s what makes us a true total solution provider, and it’s much harder to replicate than any single component.

What exactly are you selling? What’s the current state of your product?

Our offering breaks down into three main categories. First, we’ve got over 30 proprietary experiential content titles that we’ve developed ourselves. Second, we have the sensors and hardware that enable precise simulation of user movements, speed, and angles. Third, we provide complete sensory interior design that integrates large screens with IT infrastructure.

All of this comes together in the LEGENDHEROES experiential theme park concept. We’re supplying this to customers with world-class technology and operational experience.

All core functionality is fully built and we’re already operating at domestic and international franchise locations. Looking forward, our technical team is working hard on IP expansion, platform expansion into new verticals, and developing new AI-powered content and applications for next-generation theme park concepts.

Who’s your target customer and how big is the opportunity?

We target countries with several key characteristics: large young populations who are core consumers, high economic growth rates that signal expanding leisure markets, high Korean Wave affinity which makes them receptive to Korean brands, and high average temperatures where indoor shopping mall culture is well-established.

LEGENDHEROES appeals to people of all ages who want to experience digital content in engaging, physical ways. But Southeast Asia is especially exciting for us—young demographics, rapid economic growth, exploding shopping mall culture, and strong Korean Wave influence create a perfect storm for our business model.

How do you make money?

We’ve built a diversified revenue model with four main streams. First, stable operating revenue from both company-owned and franchise locations. Second, recurring license revenue from software subscriptions, updates, and maintenance. Third, consumables sales as we supply various operational materials to our locations. And fourth, additional revenue from advertising and customized content development.

It’s a stable, predictable model with strong recurring revenue characteristics, but it’s also highly scalable as we expand our footprint.

What have you actually achieved so far?

We’re operating about 100 locations domestically with 600 systems, plus 120 systems across 8 countries internationally. We’re seeing thousands to tens of thousands of monthly visitors at our locations in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and other markets.

These aren’t just vanity metrics—they represent real market validation and proven business models that we can replicate as we scale globally.

What makes your team uniquely qualified to execute this vision?

Our CEO brings over 10 years of experience in sports data content and immersive gaming, plus deep expertise in system development, design, operations, and management. Each department is led by seasoned professionals with specialized domain knowledge.

Across the team, everyone has at least 3 years of hands-on experience in their field—whether that’s business planning, financial management, sales, hardware production, or system installation. We’ve all come together with a shared mission, and that alignment is driving our continued growth.

Tell us about your international expansion. What’s working?

We’re taking a multi-pronged approach. We’re directly approaching major overseas shopping malls and chain resorts with entry proposals. We’re opening antenna shops and regional locations through branch offices and partner companies. And we’re signing licensing agreements with partners for system sales and royalty revenue, while also generating revenue from company-operated overseas locations.

The results speak for themselves. We’re operating about 120 systems across 8 countries. Our first overseas flagship at Vincom Mega Mall Royal City in Hanoi averages 6,000 monthly visitors. Our locations at MOI in Jakarta and Siam Discovery in Bangkok are seeing about 9,000 monthly visitors. This proves there’s genuine market demand for what we’re offering.

How has the Tourism Global Challenge program supported your growth?

The program has been instrumental for our global expansion. We’re getting support for international market entry, access to professional accelerators for investment fundraising, and resources to strengthen our overseas competitiveness.

The IR consulting, investor matching, and overseas roadshow opportunities are significantly enhancing our capability to expand internationally. And the networking with global industry leaders and IR opportunities with invited investors have opened up both domestic and international networks and collaboration opportunities that would have been much harder to access on our own.

Give us your investment thesis. Why should investors bet on PLAYLEGEND?

Three main reasons.

First, we’re maximizing revenue through both franchise recruitment and company-owned store operations. We’re seeing increasing requests for entry into resorts and shopping malls, and we’re targeting domestic flagship openings in the second half of this year, which should significantly boost domestic revenue.

Second, we’ve proven we can monetize internationally. We’re operating profitable locations and growing sales in key markets like Vietnam and Indonesia. We’re expanding into new markets including broader Southeast Asia, Australia, and Laos, positioning ourselves to capture significant global market share.

Third, we’re diversifying the business to drive compound growth. We’re building next-generation theme park concepts that include AR/VR and food zones. We’re developing an all-in-one mobile platform that handles everything from reservations to performance tracking to rewards, which should significantly improve customer acquisition and retention. And we’re pursuing collaborations with sports teams and game/virtual character IP owners to unlock broader markets and higher value.

PLAYLEGEND is a comprehensive immersive sports entertainment company with proven technology across content, platform, and operations. We have validated international performance and rapid market scalability. We have a stable recurring revenue structure. And we have strong growth momentum in Korean Wave-driven Southeast Asian markets. These four strengths position us for sustained, explosive growth in the global market.