Sandbox VR brings new gaming center to Houston's tech-savvy population

Get In The Game

Sandbox VR debuts in Houston January 23. Courtesy photo

Sandbox VR, a futuristic, full-body virtual reality gaming experience, has announced it will enter the Houston market this month, opening its first local gaming center on January 23.

"Houston's reputation as a hub for innovation and technology makes it a perfect fit for Sandbox VR," said Steve Zhao, CEO and founder of Sandbox VR, in a statement. "The city's diverse, tech-savvy population and strong entertainment culture create an ideal environment for our immersive VR experiences. LOL Entertainment continues to exceed our expectations as a partner, and we're excited to bring our cutting-edge virtual reality gaming to Texas's largest city."

The new gaming center opens Friday, January 23 at 797 Sorella Court in CityCentre.

One of the games that stands out is the Stranger Things: Catalyst game, based on the blockbuster Netflix television series. Groups of one to six players will be dropped into the sinister Hawkins Lab and the mysterious Upside Down to fight Demogorgons and other monsters. The game features Matthew Modine reprising his role as Dr. Martin "Papa" Brenner, who imbues players with psychic powers.

Other games include the supernatural pirate title The Curse of Davy Jones and other Netflix tie-ins based on Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon and Squid Game. Sandbox VR offers fully-immersive group play activities that range from combat to puzzle solving for a variety of age groups.

The opening of Sandbox VR is another part of the expansion of LOL Entertainment, who touts itself as one of the pre-eminent hosts of immersive and gaming experiences in the U.S. Sandbox VR will be their first entry into the Houston market, with another immersive group adventure game, Time Mission, set to open at the the Marq'E Entertainment District later this year.

“Bringing Sandbox VR to CityCentre Houston is a big milestone for LOL Entertainment, for Sandbox VR, and for this market,” said Rob Cooper, CEO of LOL Entertainment. “Houston is a fast-growing, experience-driven city, and we’re excited to give locals and visitors a truly immersive, social gaming destination that you can’t replicate anywhere.”

Presale tickets for the grand opening of Sandbox VR are available here. Standard pricing is $55-$65 per event, but Sandbox VR is running a special for 30 percent off with code OPEN30 for those who purchase before Thursday, January 22. Presale buyers are also entered into a drawing for free Sandbox VR for one year.

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

Photo courtesy of Comcast

Houston’s love for live streaming is growing – and the internet needs to keep up

Tech-Heavy Households

One thing Houston isn’t slowing down on is its love for live streaming. Whether catching the big game, binge-watching a new series, or diving into the latest gaming releases, Houstonians are using the internet more than ever. And with nearly 4 million more people expected to move to the area by 2040, networks have to be ready.

More devices, more streaming, more demand
“Internet usage has been skyrocketing year after year," sts Foti Kallergis, Comcast Texas spokesperson. "The average Xfinity household now has 36 WiFi-connected devices, from smart TVs and phones to tablets, speakers, and even smart fridges."

More than 70 percent of all internet traffic is entertainment, with sports, streaming apps, and games leading the charge — especially here in Houston, where fans never miss a Texans game or a Rockets highlight.

In fact, the past year set records for Comcast’s Xfinity network, with the five biggest days of internet consumption ever happening just in the last few months of 2024, driven by huge sports events and gaming downloads.

A network built for what’s next
As more people move in and more devices come online, Xfinity is constantly upgrading its network to keep up — and stay ahead. Whether you’re working on your laptop, FaceTiming on your iPad, or scrolling on your phone, at home or on the go, the goal is simple: fast, reliable, and seamless connection.

Over the last decade, Comcast has poured $80 billion into strengthening its network and infrastructure across the country. That includes 300,000 miles of fiber — enough to circle the globe 12 times — supporting everything from everyday streaming to powering FEMA and the Department of Defense. And here in the greater Houston area, that same network supports thousands of small businesses, too.

Speed, security, and smarts built in
“It’s not just about staying connected — it’s about staying connected smarter,” adds Kallergis. “Comcast’s network is constantly working behind the scenes to make your experience better. In fact, Comcast rolled out over 350,000 upgrades last year alone, including faster speeds at no extra cost.”

Comcast Xfinity speed test Photo courtesy of Comcast

And every 20 minutes, it tests over 4,000 data points across tens of millions of devices to keep things optimized.

Kallergis adds that if there's extra bandwidth, Xfinity modems automatically adjust. If there's a network issue, AI-powered tools fix 60 percent of cases before users even know something’s wrong. And if a fiber line is cut, Xfinity technicians are alerted instantly and know exactly where to go and what to do.

Powerful tools for your home
Great internet also depends on what’s inside your home. That’s why Comcast is rolling out the new XB10 modem — the fastest and most powerful yet. It can handle up to 300 devices at once (because let’s be real, we’re all tech-heavy households now).

And when it comes to security, Xfinity’s network has your back. Every device that connects is automatically shielded from sketchy sites; it's like having a mini cybersecurity team 24/7.

Looking ahead
At the end of the day, Houston’s internet needs are only going to grow. And Comcast is ready.

Whether you’re streaming the playoffs, jumping on a work call, or video chatting with family across the country, Xfinity is here to keep you connected to the moments that matter most.

It's not lame to be labeled a "geek" in 2023, and Houston's a great place to embrace your geekness. Photo via Jamie McInall/Pexels

Houston geeks out as No. 7 city in America for gamers, comic book fans, collectors, and more

nerds welcomed

Heads up gamers, a new surprising report has deemed Houston one of the geekiest cities in the country, with two other Texas neighbors in the top 10.

Houston ranked No. 6 in the categories for accessibility to collectibles stores (board game, video, comic book, and trading card shops) and variety of "geeky" events, according to the report by Lawn Love. The city also ranked as the fifth-best city for its variety of costume/cosplay stores.

Houston is home to some fantastic board game and comic book stores, like Bedrock City Comic Company, Dragon's Lair, Nan's Games and Comics, and Asgard Games, which all host fun events and meetups for different groups.

Other factors that helped determine Houston's overall rank as the No. 7 geekiest American city include the number of Dungeons and Dragons groups, LARPing groups, comic cons, Renaissance fairs, and much more.

J. Richard Stevens, the department chair of the College of Media, Communication, and Information at the University of Colorado, Boulder, says the rise in "geeky" community spaces and activities can be attributed to social media obscuring the boundaries "between consumption and commentary about entertainment texts."

"Fan conversation is much more visible in a larger-scaled way than it used to be," Stevens said. "While most fans and audiences still don’t comment on the objects of their passion, those who do are increasingly bundled into tight networks, which amplify their taste politics. Finding virtual fan communities is much easier than it used to be, though there are many more flavors of fan networks for any given fandom, making finding the right one tricky."

Other Texas cities that made it in the top 10 are San Antonio (No. 3) and Austin (No. 6), both with high scores in the categories for collectibles and costumes. San Antonio has third highest number of board game and trading card shops, such as Heroes and Fantasies, Texas' largest comic book and collectibles store.

The top 10 geekiest cities in the United States are:

No. 1 – New York City
No. 2 – Los Angeles
No. 3 – San Antonio
No. 4 – Chicago
No. 5 – Las Vegas
No. 6 – Austin
No. 7 – Houston
No. 8 – Atlanta
No. 9 – Orlando
No. 10 – Indianapolis

The full report can be found on lawnlove.com.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

A nonprofit organization has rolled out an esports platform and event to raise awareness and funding for those with disabilities. Photo via Getty Images

Houston nonprofit facilitates gaming for a good cause

esports for charity

For many video games is getaway from reality, but for those with disabilities — thanks to a nonprofit organization —gaming can mean a lot more.

On Saturday Dec. 3 from 1 to 9 pm, Easter Seals Greater Houston will be joining forces with ES Gaming for the inaugural Game4Access Streamathon.

The streamathon will be held on International Day of Persons with Disabilities, and feature ESG Ambassador Gamers from the Houston area and nationally gaming, interacting with special celebrity guests, and opportunities for audience participation and shoutouts – all while supporting a good cause. The event will take place on popular streaming platform Twitch.

Gaming helps enhance cognitive skills, motor skills, improve mental well-being, and can help reduce feelings of social isolation due to the interactive nature of playing with others.

“This is really a unique way for (people) to form a community without having to leave their house, and being part of an inclusive environment,” says Kelly Klein, development director of Easter Seals Greater Houston. ”The adaptive equipment and specialized technology just does so many miraculous things for people with disabilities on so many levels — not just gaming. With gaming, it is an entrance into a whole new world.”

Easter Seals is the seventh-largest nonprofit and largest disability service organization in the United States, and helps 1.5 million people per year. ES Gaming was established to create a new standard for equity and inclusion among gamers, and hopes to add to its community building with more tournaments and charity streams. According to the organization, a gaming scholarship program is expected to launch sometime in 2023.

According to ES Gaming, 64 percent of people with disabilities play video games, and 60 percent of disabled gamers play casual games for more than 5 hours per week. Technology has been at the forefront of trying to bridge the developmental gaps with those with disabilities of all kinds.

“The advancements we’ve made over the last 25 years (in technology) ending with the iPad, and everything in between has really made it a level playing field not just for gaming, but for employment and everything,” Klein tells InnovationMap.

Chris Buckner has secured a $6.8 million series A round for his Houston-based esports company thanks to support from a local investment firm. Courtesy of Mainline

Houston esports company closes $6.8 million series A round led by local investor

Show me the money

A Houston software company is cashing in on the growing esports industry with a multimillion-dollar fundraising round led by a local investor.

Mainline, which specializes in esports tournament software and management, closed its series A at $6.8 million. Houston-based Work America Capital led the round, and Mainline will use the funds to grow its platform, event management customer base, and marketing efforts, as well as to hire developers, marketing, and sales talent.

"The world of esports and gaming is exploding; however, continuity in tournament organization is lacking, keeping the sport from really taking off in other viable and exciting markets," says Chris Buckner, Mainline CEO, in a news release. "Mainline gives brands the tools they need to run powerful esports programs that will evolve the quickly maturing industry to the benefit of players, students, and the greater esports ecosystem."

Mainline, which spun off its sports engagement business earlier this year into a company now called Truss, created a white-labeled tournament platform for esports that's used by various clients across the industry and was instrumental to ESPN's inaugural Collegiate Esports Championship that was hosted in Houston earlier this year.

Work America Capital has supported sports technology in town before — including Houston-based Integrated Bionics, which has developed a GPS- and video-optimized sensor used by athletes around the world.

"As with any industry that takes off like a rocket, problems arise that must be solved through innovation," says Mark Toon, managing partner of Work America Capital, in the release. "Mainline is standardizing, organizing and optimizing the esports industry, paving the way for more players, more teams, more money and bigger, better tournaments."

Mainline is focused on expanding its services as esports continues to grow. According to the release, the total industry revenue for this year is expected to reach $1.1 billion worldwide, and viewership numbers have jumped from 335 million to 454 million in just two years.

"The strategic vision of Mainline puts them in the driver's seat with a consistent platform across amateur, collegiate and professional competitions," says Toon. "Given Mainline's partnerships and customers, they have paved a way to grow quickly across all sports and into other markets. We are excited to dedicate our time, resources and capital to the company."

Mainline has created a white-labeled software for esports gaming and tournaments. Courtesy of Mainline

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Houston Innovation Awards honor Don Kendall Jr. with posthumous Trailblazer Legacy Award

lasting legacy

Every year, the Houston Innovation Awards honor one Houstonian with the Trailblazer Award, whose impact is felt throughout the city's innovation and business ecosystem.

This year, the Trailblazer Legacy Award will be given posthumously to Don Kendall Jr., who died in September while on a trip to the Republic of the Congo with the Jane Goodall Institute, one of the many organizations he was deeply involved with.

Kendall's obituary puts it simply: "Don’s truest passions were conservation and his family." Many saw those passions play out in his career, particularly in the role he played in shaping Houston's clean energy sector.

Kendall served as general partner of New Climate Ventures, a Houston-based early-stage venture capital firm that invests in next-gen energy, materials and fuel technologies and startups. The firm's portfolio includes Houston-based clean energy companies like Solidec, Syzygy Plasmonics and Rheom Materials.

Kendall was also founding managing director and CEO of Kenmont Capital LP. He ran a $500 million distressed debt and credit-based hedge fund focused on the energy, power and transportation sectors and one of the top-performing private equity funds under the Kenmont umbrella.

He served on the board of Talos Energy, American Midstream Partners, Syzygy Plasmonics, Tangent Energy, Stream Energy and others. Notably, he served as Chair of the Special Committee of the SolarCity board during its acquisition by Tesla in 2016. According to his obituary, Kendall negotiated with "Elon Musk in the middle of the night on a rickety pier in Indonesia after eluding a poisonous snake."

Outside of the clean energy space, Kendall also served on the boards of the Jane Goodall Institute, Earthwatch International and Ecological Defense Group. He also served as vice chair of the Houston Zoo Inc. and chair of its Conservation Committee.

Kendall was selected by our esteemed panel of judges to receive the 2026 Trailblazer Legacy Award. The panel includes carbon removal entrepreneur and CEO of Houston-based Mars Materials Aaron Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald shares the profound impact Kendall had on his career and those of many others.

"Honoring Don with the Trailblazer Legacy Award is a fitting tribute to a leader whose impact spanned civic work with the Houston Zoo, wildlife conservation, and the growth of our startup ecosystem," Fitzgerald says. "He paired a keen eye for potential with the relentless drive to unlock it. For Mars Materials, his early backing carried us through a critical valley when we needed belief the most, and his presence as a personal mentor is profoundly missed."

Don was an avid traveler, cyclist and collector. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Diane S. Kendall. A celebration of life will be held early in 2027.

2 Houston suburbs rank among 5 best cities to retire, says U.S. News

Slowing Down

Houston and nine of its suburbs are earning new acclaim on U.S. News and World Report's just-released list of the best U.S. cities for retirees in 2027. Two northern suburbs, The Woodlands and Spring, are resting easy among the top five nationwide.

The 2027 Best Places to Retire list evaluated over 850 U.S. cities based on six livability metrics that best serve American retirees: quality of life, affordability, health care, retiree taxes, job market, and population and migration. The top 250 finalist cities were then ranked nationally and by city size.

Midland, Michigan topped the list for the second consecutive year and is followed by Homosassa Springs, Florida (No. 2) and Weirton, West Virginia (No. 3).

The Woodlands and Spring respectively maintained their standings as the No. 4 and No. 5 best cities for retirees for the second year in a row. The Woodlands topped the separate list of the best midsized U.S. cities to retire, while Spring landed 5th among the smallest U.S. cities.

Houston proper was declared the No. 2 best big city for retirees, and it ranked 89th overall. Elsewhere in the metro, Pearland (No. 13) and Conroe (No. 14) ranked just outside the overall top 10 but ranked 4th and 5th among the best midsized cities for retirees.

U.S. News said affordability is the "most considered factor" when it comes to picking the best place to live a low-stress retirement life, and that's what Houston and its neighbors deliver. Affordable cities also give retirees "a sense of security and comfort as they live out their golden years," according to Megan Wood, U.S. News assistant managing editor of home services and real estate.

"It’s no secret that affordability is top of mind for Americans this year, which is why U.S. News updated its weighting criteria to better align with what retirees prioritize," Wood said. "The 2027 rankings reflect key metrics used to highlight the places that
best suit retiree needs."

Sugar Land was declared the 10th best place to live in the U.S. in a separate U.S. News report earlier this year, but it doesn't quite meet the expectations for retirees. This particular suburb ranked as the 45th best overall city to retire, but it fared better in the city size ranking and landed 13th among the biggest U.S. cities.

Pasadena also surprised as the 85th best place to retire nationwide in this report, despite being hailed as the No. 3 best city to retire in Texas by RetirementLiving.com.

Three more Houston neighbors ranked among the top 100 overall best places to retire for 2027: League City (No. 25), Missouri City (No. 49), and Baytown (No. 88).

These are the top 10 best U.S. cities to retire for 2027:

No. 1 – Midland, Michigan
No. 2 – Homosassa Springs, Florida
No. 3 – Weirton, West Virginia
No. 4 – The Woodlands
No. 5 – Spring, Texas
No. 6 – Rio Rancho, New Mexico
No. 7 – Altoona, Pennsylvania
No. 8 – Paducah, Kentucky
No. 9 – Lynchburg, Virginia
No. 10 – Palm Coast, Florida

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This article first appeared on CultureMap.com.

Air taxi network to land in 'Texas triangle' of Houston, Austin, DFW next year

taking flight

San Jose, California-based aerospace company Archer Aviation is bringing its air-taxi system to the “Texas triangle” of Houston, Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth.

Currently, the planned zero-emission electric air taxi networks will use Archer’s Midnight air taxi to “turn 60- to 90-minute drives to major airports, business districts and major destinations into 10- to 20-minute flights,” the company said in a news release. Archer plans to begin flights in the Texas triangle next year.

The Midnight air taxi is an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. It can carry four passengers and a pilot and is designed for consecutive flights of about 20 miles.

Archer cites the Texas triangle as one of the busiest and fastest-growing “megaregions” in the country due to its proximity to coastal regions, major airports, and a number of business districts.

Archer Chief Commercial Officer Nikhil Goel described the air taxi experience to CW Houston as “100 times quieter than a helicopter for the price of an Uber Black.” He added that the air taxis are a combination of a helicopter, a small airplane and a drone.

In Houston, Archer’s air taxi network will aim to connect George Bush Intercontinental, William P. Hobby and Sugar Land Regional Airport with downtown destinations, including the Thompson Hotel helipad, and Galveston.

In Austin, it plans to link the city's Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and Austin Executive Airport with the F1 Circuit Helipad at the Circuit of the Americas. Archer debuted its Midnight aircraft at the F1 Prix in the Fan Zone and the F1 Paddock at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas. The Dallas-Fort Worth network is slated to include Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Dallas Love Field, Addison Airport, Arlington Municipal Airport, Fort Worth Meacham International Airport and Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport, plus major business hubs like Frisco Station.

“Texas is setting the bar for America’s leadership in the next generation of aviation,” Adam Goldstein, founder and CEO of Archer Aviation, said in the release. “Our planned networks will make the benefits of electric air taxis real for Texans — trading hours in traffic for minutes in the air, while connecting the biggest airports, business districts and sporting hubs in ways that America’s largest megaregion needs to grow.”

Archer is working with state and local partners to develop charging infrastructure and plans to pursue Texas operations through the White House’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, according to the release. It recently completed its "No Roads" flight tour, which included multiple flights over the San Francisco Bay, and flew to seven cities over three days.

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