Virgin Media Gamepad celebrates almost 100,000 visitors since opening its doors one year ago

Images available HERE

Virgin Media Gamepad – the state-of-the-art, dedicated gaming space at The O2 in London – is today celebrating welcoming almost 100,000 visitors since opening its doors in July 2023. Livestreams from Gamepad have also racked up more than a million views, with players such as Outside Xbox, Sidemen’s Vikkstar, Clive Rosfield, Freya Nightingale and Leahviathan having all gone live from Gamepad in its first year.

Designed to deliver a seamless and social gaming experience for Virgin Media and O2 customers as well as members of the public, Virgin Media Gamepad provides gamers with access to industry-leading consoles and equipment and hundreds of games – all for free and powered by Virgin Media’s gigabit broadband.

Built from the ground-up with gamers in mind, Virgin Media Gamepad opened its doors in response to huge demand from customers for gaming – 2023 saw the UK video games industry grow by more than 4%, to a value of £7.82bn. ¹

In honour of Gamepad’s first birthday, Virgin Media is looking back at some highlights from its inaugural year. Bringing together key moments and figures across music and popular culture, Virgin Media Gamepad has quickly established itself as a destination for gaming and so much more. As well as offering gamers free and early access to blockbuster gaming titles like TEKKEN 8 and World of Warcraft: The War Within, it has welcomed the likes of British rapper Headie One for the launch of his new single (24 hours before its official release) and a game of EA Sports FC24 with special guests AJ Tracey, Tyrone and more.

“What a first year for Virgin Media Gamepad,” commented Gareth Griffiths, Director of Partnerships & Sponsorship at Virgin Media O2. “We’ve welcomed everybody from the most exciting live streamers to the biggest British rappers, and it feels like we have really created the UK’s leading destination for a social and high-tech gaming experience. Video games are a core passion point for our customers, so year two will only see us continue to level up what’s on offer to gamers from Virgin Media.”

A YEAR IN NUMBERS

• 89,265 people visited Virgin Media Gamepad in its first twelve months – an average of 244 per day.
• Livestreams from Gamepad racked up a total of 1,027,496 views.
• Outside Xbox, Sidemen’s Vikkstar, Clive Rosfield, Freya Nightingale and Leahviathan are just some of the channels and players who have broadcast live from Gamepad
• Priority from O2 customers booked out ‘The Cave’ – Gamepad’s VIP Gaming Lounge – almost 2,000 times in year one.

Footfall at Virgin Media Gamepad averaged more than 244 people per day in its first year. Notable players and channels who have visited and broadcast livestreams from Gamepad – together racking up more than a million views – include Vikkstar, Outside Xbox and Freya Nightingale (freyzplayz).

MOST-PLAYED GAMES AT VIRGIN MEDIA GAMEPAD 

1. Fortnite
2. EA Sports FC24
3. Forza Horizon 5
4. Fall Guys
5. Minecraft
6. WWE 2K24

Epic’s world-famous Battle Royale shooter Fortnite was the most-played game of the last twelve months at Virgin Media Gamepad, with almost 5,000 total hours played – the equivalent of 208 days of non-stop gaming. The globe’s biggest football video game EA Sports FC24 and racing titan Forza Horizon 5 follow, with 3,560 and 1,655 hours played respectively.

VIRGIN MEDIA GAMEPAD’S BIGGEST MOMENTS SO FAR

A very grand opening with WWE Money in the Bank

Back in July 2023, Virgin Media Gamepad opened its doors in collaboration with 2K and WWE 2K3, WWE Smackdown and WWE Money in the Bank – coinciding with one of The O2’s fastest sell-out weekends. Players and guests streaming live on launch evening included: Simon Miller, ThisisFG, Filthy Fellas, Outside Xtra, Universal Music’s Sharna Bass, Guvna B and more.

Celebrating the launch of Forza Motorsport 8

To mark the launch of Forza’s latest racing title, Priority members took part in a Gamepad tournament which saw the winner drive off with some epic prizes including an exclusive lock-in at the Gamepad and an amazing Xbox bundle – hosted by the Sidemen’s Vikkstar and commentated by Xbox On.

Priority from O2 x TEKKEN 8

Virgin Media O2 teamed up with Bandai Namco Entertainment to provide access to the TEKKEN 8 closed beta for Virgin Media broadband and O2 customers. Only available through Priority and at Virgin Media Gamepad, gamers were able to get hands-on with the latest instalment of the legendary fighting game.

A Jingle Jam charity livestream for CALM

After a series of successful streamer residencies that saw the likes of Freyzplays, Ellum, Koji and many more go live, December saw Virgin Media Gamepad welcome back Sidemen member Vikkstar123 for a charity livestream of Fortnite – all in the name of raising money for mental health charity CALM and as part of the widely successful annual Jingle Jam event.

Headie One dropped his new single live at Gamepad

Launching Virgin Media’s new content series PLAYED, which sees the biggest names in music mix with the world of gaming, British rapper, Headie One, provided fans an exclusive and early listen of his new track ‘Socials’ during a live gaming stream at Virgin Media Gamepad – 24 hours ahead of the track’s official release. Headie played his favourite game, EA Sports FC24, with a host of famous friends during the stream including British singer and rapper AJ Tracey, streamer and rapper Tyrone, rapper Abra Cadabra and many more.

Virgin Media O2 offered gamers an immersive way to play Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II

Ahead of the release of the game, Virgin Media and O2 customers were able to access bookable sessions at Gamepad’s gaming lounge for Priority members, The Cave, which was transformed to allow players to experience a cinematic immersion of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. Players had access to state-of-the-art equipment including a 96” screen and Razer Kaira Pro Headset sound, making for a next-level gaming experience. Priority members also had the opportunity to win a Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II custom Xbox Series X and controller.

Looking ahead

Looking ahead to year two, Virgin Media Gamepad will continue to provide customers and members of the public unrivalled gameplay powered by Virgin Media’s gigabit broadband and its state-of-the-art technology. Its facilities for live streaming and local multiplayer gaming with friends include The Playground, featuring 16 gaming pods equipped with Xbox Series X consoles and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, The Cave, a VIP gaming lounge for Virgin Media broadband and O2 customers to play as a squad with up to three friends and The Stage – the state-of-the-art streaming studio. 

The space was designed to be fully step-free and can be adapted to meet accessibility and sensory needs – in line with Virgin Media’s ambitions to make it the UK’s most accessible gaming destination.

Priority members can book an exclusive slot at Virgin Media Gamepad here.

Gamers can find out more about Virgin Media’s gaming broadband deals, winning speeds and 99.89% network reliability here.

ENDS

Notes:

*Virgin Media Gamepad is open 7 days a week, 2pm-7pm

¹ Ukie’s 2023 Video Game Industry Valuation