Valo Motion, a pioneer in combining interactive technology with physical activities, announced a new standalone mixed-reality product, Groundfall, on 20 May. This will be officially launched at IAAPA Expo Europe, taking place in London this year from 21-25 September and set to feature record-breaking visitor numbers.
Groundfall is the first product in Valo Motion's new Experiences category: dedicated products built around a single signature experience. It is based on the most-played game from ValoArena's library, a mixed-reality version of "the floor is lava " that has accumulated over 200 million views, 15 million likes, and more than a million saves on social media.
The standalone Groundfall product is suitable for the whole family and is available in configurations fitting 4 to 10 playersImage courtesy of Valo Motion
Players step into the play area, and the game starts immediately. Tiles crack and collapse. Players jump, dodge, and scramble to stay off the lava. When someone falls, they ragdoll into the lava, and the room reacts.
Sessions run up to 3 minutes with no staff, no headsets, no wearables, and no onboarding. Groundfall is modular, retrofit-friendly, and available in 19 configurations fitting 4 to 10 players at once in 20 to 49 square metres (215 to 527 square feet) of floor space.
Key USPs of Groundfall
One of the most notable aspects of the new product is that it fits within the space operators already have, being modular and retrofit-friendly, with 19 available configurations, a small floor space requirement, and a 2.8-meter ceiling height.
There is no need for special flooring, ground-based sensors, or projectors. The hardware footprint is a simple backlit structure housing a computer, a screen, and cameras.
Plus, the demand is already proven with the success of the floor-is-lava concept. The ValoArena version of Groundfall accumulated 200M+ views, 15M+ likes, and over a million saves on social media before it had its own product.
It also places no demands on the operations team, as there is no onboarding, and no headsets, wearables, controllers or touchscreen. With no need for an attendant, players step into the play area, and the game starts. The game begins the moment players are in position, with no time lost between groups for set-up.
With Operations Hub features like automated scheduling, Groundfall units power on and off automatically with no manual intervention. This also means no wearable replacement costs, no cleaning cycle, and no training overheads.
The combination of fast sessions, zero staff, and zero wearables keeps the cost per player low. Each session runs up to 3 minutes and fits 4 to 10 players, depending on the configuration.
High throughput, high ROI
Groups move through quickly, which keeps throughput high during peak hours and makes Groundfall a good premium add-on for birthday parties and group events. At full capacity on the largest configuration, venues can move 200+ players per hour through a single footprint.
Additionally, Valo Motion's mixed-reality technology tracks players' full bodies using cameras. No floor components means fewer components that can break, lower maintenance costs, and longer uptime.
Groundfall works for children ages 6 and up, teenagers, parents, and adults. The game calibrates automatically to whoever is playing, so operators don't have to manage different settings for different groups. This means that for venues serving multiple demographics, the attraction remains productive from open to close.
For children under 6, Valo Motion recommends playing alongside a parent or sibling, as many younger kids love the game's energy, and playing with a family member makes it a great shared experience.
There is also simple but effective built-in marketing. At the end of each session, players scan a QR code and receive a gameplay video branded with the venue's logo.
Every shared video tags the venue's location and reaches the guests' followers. This is how venues can achieve organic reach: guests become the content team without being asked.
Ideal for several types of venue
Groundfall is designed to meet the specific needs of four types of venue, solving common challenges.
For FECs, which need pay-per-play from day one and must handle solo players and groups without slowing the line or pulling in staff, the units offer pay-per-game and pay-per-player modes at launch and support RFID, NFC, and coins.
Repeat visits and birthday bookings are important for FECs, and with up to 10 players per session, Groundfall makes for a strong birthday package add-on. Fast sessions keep throughput high, and QR video drives organic reach.
Meanwhile, for indoor active parks and trampoline parks, revenue per square metre and players per zone per hour are the core metrics. Any attraction adding wearable overhead or staff supervision cuts into capacity.
With Groundfall, Valo Arena can work to 'help people move through play' in a wider range of spacesImage courtesy of Valo Motion
With its high throughput in a small footprint, lack of wearables, and no cleaning cycle between groups, Groundfall fits zone rotation without a dedicated attendant.
Shopping malls are another key location where Groudfall solves issues for operators. Often, space is expensive and oddly shaped, with lower ceiling heights, and passing foot traffic is the primary acquisition channel. Groudfall's minimum configuration fits 5.20 x 3.85 meters with a 2.8-metre ceiling.
Also, the large screen and visible player reactions create a natural pull from the corridor.
Finally, hotels and resorts need guests to spend beyond the room rate, and entertainment and attractions must work without staff overhead in compact leisure spaces. With 3-minute sessions, no staff needed, and a branded QR video that guests share online, Groundfall is a great solution that works for a wide range of demographics.
Groundfall complements ValoArena
ValoArena is a multi-game mixed-reality attraction featuring 7 games and multiple levels, designed for operators seeking a flagship experience with a growing game library. It supports free play, pay-per-game, and pay-per-player modes, and manages group bookings through its reservation mode and touchscreen.
Groundfall is a dedicated experience built for operators who want the most-played game from that library on its own compact, lower-investment platform. It thrives in the gaming zone of an active park, the arcade section of an FEC, or alongside other single-game experiences.
Some operators will install both. ValoArena in one zone, Groundfall in another, or in a part of the venue that the ValoArena footprint cannot reach.
Groundfall can be installed as a standalone experience or alongside other Valo Motion products, such as ValoArenaImage courtesy of Valo Motion
"Players made this decision for us. When one game generates more than 200 million views, 15 million likes, and over 40,000 comments on social media and becomes the most-played experience across every ValoArena in the world, it deserves its own stage," says Dr Raine Kajastila, CEO of Valo Motion.
"We built a dedicated experience around it for operators who need strong group appeal, fast sessions, and a format that fits their venues.
"Every Valo Motion product exists to help people move through play. Groundfall lets us bring that mission into more spaces. That means more people finding the joy of movement, in more places, more often, and one more step closer to our goal of moving people 1 million times in one day."
Earlier this year, Valo Motion released findings on the seven key trends that FEC and LBE operators should focus on in 2026, based on insights from IAAPA Expo 2025.
