Dave & Buster’s Entertainment boosted prices (from $5 to $7) on licensed VR games in about half of its 125 locations amid strong demand for the titles, including “Jurassic World VR Expedition” and “Star Trek: Dark Remnants”, the chain’s CEO said in releasing Q4 earnings.

Those two games have been joined by “Marvel: Contest of Champions” and a Men in Black title is due in front of the Men in Black: International film’s release in June.  Several of Dave & Buster’s VR titles have been developed by VRStudios,  which is building VR-based location-based attractions and software developer Strange Repile, which created the Star Trek game.

“The price increase was based on the strength of our offering,” Jenkins said. “We’re developing a very good mix of offerings for consumer groups. And we have a good nucleus for films right now. We’re going to lean into this [VR] platform.”

Dave & Buster’s amusement and other revenue, which includes the VR titles, rose 10.7% to $184.7 million in Q4 ended Feb. 3, also buoyed by revenue from Bay Tek Entertainment’s “Connect 4 Hoops” (Hasbro) and Raw Fire Team Inc.’s “Halo: Fireteam Raven” (Microsoft).

The company’s Q4 net income declined 17.4% to $29.4 million as revenue rose 8.8% to $331.8 million on a 2.9% gain in same-store sales. The year-earlier earnings benefitted from an $8 million gain from the new federal tax law.

Dave & Buster’s plans to add 10% more locations annually, including 14-15 stores this year. It also has an agreement with Apparel Group, first signed in 2015, to open locations in the Middle East, but expansion there has been “going slower than we expected,” Jenkins said. The first of the Middle East stores was expected to open this year.

Contact:

Dave & Busters Entertainment, Joseph DeProspero, CFO, 214-357-9588, joseph.deprospero@daveandbusters.com