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Activate, the active-gaming company based in Winnipeg, Canada, will open its first Australian location at Highpoint Shopping Centre in Melbourne’s Maribyrnong, Victoria, in early 2027. The company announced Activate Melbourne (Highpoint) in a release on 10 September 2026. The venue will sit next to the HOYTS Cinema.
Activate said Melbourne is the first of several planned openings across Australia. The company is recruiting a local team for the venue.
The Melbourne venue will hold 12 game rooms with more than 800 levels of challenges, according to the release. RFID technology will track each player from room to room. Players will level up, unlock achievements and earn Next Level Rewards.
The rooms will have physical and mental challenges that test speed, coordination and problem-solving. Teams of two to five will play each room. With 12 rooms and teams of up to five, at most 60 players will be in the game rooms at one time.
The release names four games for Melbourne: Mega Grid, Mega Laser, Strike and Hide.
Melbourne players will compete in the Activate Global League and the annual Tournament of Champions, according to the release. Activate said it operates more than 80 locations.
The release lists those locations across twelve countries: Canada, the United States, Denmark, Germany, France, Finland, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. Activate designs and manufactures its games in Winnipeg.
“As we continue our global expansion, Australia feels like a natural next step,” said Adam Schmidt, co-founder and chief executive of Activate. “We’re excited to bring what we’ve built in Canada to Australia and introduce a new community of players to the games, technology and energy that make Activate unique.”
Activate opened its first German site, 11 game rooms at Mall of Berlin, on 17 August. Activate’s German rollout runs through two regional partners, VRex Entertainment and Sounds Fun Entertainment.
For FEC operators in Australia, the published figures put at most 60 players across 12 rooms at one time. For franchise investors, Activate entered Germany through two regional partners.
Where is Activate’s first Australian location? At Highpoint Shopping Centre in Melbourne’s Maribyrnong, Victoria, next to the HOYTS Cinema. Activate said it will open in early 2027.
How many interactive immersive rooms will Activate Melbourne have? 12 game rooms with more than 800 levels of challenges. RFID technology will track each player’s progress across rooms.
How many players fit in an interactive immersive room at Activate? Teams of two to five will play each room together. Across 12 rooms, that puts at most 60 players in the game rooms at one time.
How many locations does Activate operate? More than 80 worldwide, according to its 10 September 2026 release. They span twelve countries, including Canada, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. Melbourne is its first in Australia.
