At Immersive Tech Week 2026 in Rotterdam, three XR founders discuss the current state of the industry: Bas van Nuland from The Barn explains serious games for learning and training, Dennie Bastiaan from Scenebrook presents their no-code VR creation platform, and Natasja Paulssen from 4DR Studios demonstrates volumetric capture technology. Together, they showcase how hardware, storytelling, education, and content creation are converging to advance the XR ecosystem.
What we learned
1We've always done things which we enjoy. We're a small company and we like it that way but we have fun every day. We take the assignments which we like, we strive to have the best possible experience for players, and that makes our clients happy. If you start a company, you need to find your way, try experiment a little bit with what you like and then go for what your motive is.
2Everything that we did was a wish from a customer. We never thought well we simply want this feature to exist without really knowing that someone needs it. So everything that we built was a wish from a customer, and I think that is very important because otherwise you are maybe building something that people don't want.
3Make sure that you have fun today, because it might still be a long time before this becomes mainstream. If you don't have fun today, then you will never have the stamina to keep up doing it.
People in this conversation
B
Bas van Nuland
Owner · The Barn
A serious game studio creating games with a clear learning and training purpose, working across board games, digital games, and VR experiences.
Challenge
The challenge in serious games in general is the maturity of our market. There are a lot of custom serious games which are made for one client and then not used anymore or they just used in one company and we're not part of the normal flow of companies to use games for all kinds of purposes. People see AAA games which take up to 10 years to make and expect us to make something similar with a budget like €20,000, which is impossible.
Lesson
We've always done things which we enjoy. We're a small company and we like it that way but we have fun every day. We take the assignments which we like, we strive to have the best possible experience for players, and that makes our clients happy. If you start a company, you need to find your way, try experiment a little bit with what you like and then go for what your motive is.
Looking for
We're always looking for new clients—municipalities, organizations, or companies that want game solutions whether digital or physical to help with their problems.
D
Dennie Bastiaan
Founder · Scenebrook
A drag-and-drop game maker for virtual reality and augmented reality experiences, described as the WordPress of VR, enabling non-technical users to create rich interactive experiences without custom development.
Challenge
We are a startup in a still developing market. The market last year was very different from what it is now, starting with XR glasses that are coming out, and I think that in the coming years those are becoming more mainstream. So the market is changing rapidly.
Lesson
Everything that we did was a wish from a customer. We never thought well we simply want this feature to exist without really knowing that someone needs it. So everything that we built was a wish from a customer, and I think that is very important because otherwise you are maybe building something that people don't want.
Looking for
I'd like to connect with educators, primarily those who are working in innovation labs or experience labs and thinking about these technologies, smart glasses, and AI—please reach out and I want to talk to you.
N
Natasja Paulssen
Founder · 4DR Studios
One of the few volumetric capture studios in the world, creating volumetric video of athletes, singers, public figures, and other subjects for use in virtual environments, entertainment, training, and other applications.
Challenge
The challenges are still the investments. When we started we managed to get together the investment to buy all the hardware equipment, but at some point in time you need to upgrade or replace your system. So we're looking for a next round of investments to be able to keep doing all the work.
Lesson
Make sure that you have fun today, because it might still be a long time before this becomes mainstream. If you don't have fun today, then you will never have the stamina to keep up doing it.
Looking for
We need connections to innovators in all the industries to find out where you need authentic people in a virtual world, because we cannot understand each and every industry by ourselves.
