Recording 67,000 Attendees and 95% Satisfaction! Event Report on 'Virtual Hobby Fes 2026', the World's First Metaverse Hobby Exhibition
Hobby Japan and V Inc. co-hosted 'Virtual Hobby Fes 2026' on VRChat, attracting over 67,000 visitors with a 95%+ satisfaction rate. The event was highly acclaimed for its hyper-realistic 3DGS figure displays and interactive VR experiences.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 15, 2026 at 23:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 15, 2026 at 14:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 19, 2026 at 12:38 (94h 6m after Collected)
Hobby Japan Co., Ltd. (Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, President: Daisuke Matsushita), publisher of the comprehensive hobby magazine "Monthly Hobby Japan," and V Inc. (Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director and CEO: Kohta Fujiwara), which operates in the metaverse/XR domain, co-hosted "Virtual Hobby Fes 2026," a large-scale event that entirely recreated the hobby world in VR, from March 20 to April 5, 2026.
We are announcing the event report.
■ Over 60,000 attendees! A hobby festival held in VRChat with over 95% satisfaction.
"Virtual Hobby Fes 2026," held from March 20 to April 5, 2026, surpassed a total of 67,000 attendees. It generated massive buzz, with approximately 32% answering "Satisfied" and about 63% answering "Highly Satisfied" in the post-event survey.
This was the world's first large-scale virtual event themed around "hobbies," hosted on the social VR platform VRChat. Unlike other games, VR experiences cover your field of vision and replicate the movements of your own head and limbs, resulting in a truly immersive experience where you "step into the space." Furthermore, it thrilled many users by packing the venue with interactive mechanics unique to a virtual space.
- High-definition exhibits almost indistinguishable from the real thing, powered by the latest "3DGS" technology.
We reproduced the textures of figures and the nuances of minute paint jobs—which were difficult to replicate with conventional 3D models—using not only the traditionally utilized "photogrammetry" technology but also the latest "3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS)" technology. We exhibited a multitude of items, including gigantic figures that can only be seen at events and pre-release new products, almost perfectly at their actual scale. Moreover, since users could "pick up" and examine the exhibited products 360 degrees, it realized a level of reality as if they were seeing the actual physical objects right before their eyes. In the post-event survey, it recorded a high engagement rate, with about 80% indicating they wanted to purchase or were considering purchasing the exhibited products.
- Experience the impressive power of life-size scale.
Giant mechas from series like "Zoids" and "Macross" were exhibited at their actual in-universe scale. We provided first-person experiences only possible in VR—such as "crawling under the machine to look up" or "climbing into the cockpit for a commemorative photo"—which are impossible at real-world exhibitions, leaving a deep and lasting impression in the minds of the attendees.
- "Move and Play" interactive gimmicks.
At this event, we introduced numerous interactive gimmicks that allowed attendees to actually touch and play, rather than just passively observing.
At the exhibition for Kaiyodo's currently available "Revoltech Amazing Yamaguchi Evangelion Unit-01," we adopted an interlocking gimmick where moving a small Evangelion Unit-01 caused a giant Evangelion Unit-01 placed in the diorama to strike the same pose. At MegaHouse's booth, a gigantic "Banken Gaogao" (Beware of the Dog) was displayed. It was designed as a playable mini-game reproducing the actual product's mechanics, where players had to "quietly snatch the food without waking it up."
By scattering many immersive "experience" elements like this rather than just letting people "look at exhibited products," it led to widespread diffusion on social media and an extremely high level of satisfaction.
■ Event Report
Attendees: Approx. 67,000
Age Demographics: Over 75% were in their 20s and 30s
Event Satisfaction: Over 95%
*Excerpted from the event survey
■ Event Overview
Virtual Hobby Fes 2026
Duration: March 20 (Fri/Holiday), 2026, 12:00 PM to April 5 (Sun), 2026, 11:59 PM
Venue: VRChat
Organizers: Hobby Japan Co., Ltd. / V Inc.
Special Site: https://vr-hobbyfes.jp/
Official X (Twitter): https://x.com/VRhobbyfes
■ About Hobby Japan Co., Ltd.
Hobby Japan Co., Ltd. is a "comprehensive hobby company" engaged in publishing, retail, hobby merchandise, analog game development and sales, web media, and character development. We will continue to stimulate the intellectual curiosity of everyone who loves hobbies.
■ About V Inc.
V Inc. is a company with top-class business support and production track records in the metaverse/XR domain within Japan. We operate some of Japan's largest communities on "VRChat" and "Roblox" and have secured funding from Sony Group, Square Enix, Itochu Corporation, and others. We provide end-to-end support from strategy to development and operation.
We are announcing the event report.
■ Over 60,000 attendees! A hobby festival held in VRChat with over 95% satisfaction.
"Virtual Hobby Fes 2026," held from March 20 to April 5, 2026, surpassed a total of 67,000 attendees. It generated massive buzz, with approximately 32% answering "Satisfied" and about 63% answering "Highly Satisfied" in the post-event survey.
This was the world's first large-scale virtual event themed around "hobbies," hosted on the social VR platform VRChat. Unlike other games, VR experiences cover your field of vision and replicate the movements of your own head and limbs, resulting in a truly immersive experience where you "step into the space." Furthermore, it thrilled many users by packing the venue with interactive mechanics unique to a virtual space.
- High-definition exhibits almost indistinguishable from the real thing, powered by the latest "3DGS" technology.
We reproduced the textures of figures and the nuances of minute paint jobs—which were difficult to replicate with conventional 3D models—using not only the traditionally utilized "photogrammetry" technology but also the latest "3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS)" technology. We exhibited a multitude of items, including gigantic figures that can only be seen at events and pre-release new products, almost perfectly at their actual scale. Moreover, since users could "pick up" and examine the exhibited products 360 degrees, it realized a level of reality as if they were seeing the actual physical objects right before their eyes. In the post-event survey, it recorded a high engagement rate, with about 80% indicating they wanted to purchase or were considering purchasing the exhibited products.
- Experience the impressive power of life-size scale.
Giant mechas from series like "Zoids" and "Macross" were exhibited at their actual in-universe scale. We provided first-person experiences only possible in VR—such as "crawling under the machine to look up" or "climbing into the cockpit for a commemorative photo"—which are impossible at real-world exhibitions, leaving a deep and lasting impression in the minds of the attendees.
- "Move and Play" interactive gimmicks.
At this event, we introduced numerous interactive gimmicks that allowed attendees to actually touch and play, rather than just passively observing.
At the exhibition for Kaiyodo's currently available "Revoltech Amazing Yamaguchi Evangelion Unit-01," we adopted an interlocking gimmick where moving a small Evangelion Unit-01 caused a giant Evangelion Unit-01 placed in the diorama to strike the same pose. At MegaHouse's booth, a gigantic "Banken Gaogao" (Beware of the Dog) was displayed. It was designed as a playable mini-game reproducing the actual product's mechanics, where players had to "quietly snatch the food without waking it up."
By scattering many immersive "experience" elements like this rather than just letting people "look at exhibited products," it led to widespread diffusion on social media and an extremely high level of satisfaction.
■ Event Report
Attendees: Approx. 67,000
Age Demographics: Over 75% were in their 20s and 30s
Event Satisfaction: Over 95%
*Excerpted from the event survey
■ Event Overview
Virtual Hobby Fes 2026
Duration: March 20 (Fri/Holiday), 2026, 12:00 PM to April 5 (Sun), 2026, 11:59 PM
Venue: VRChat
Organizers: Hobby Japan Co., Ltd. / V Inc.
Special Site: https://vr-hobbyfes.jp/
Official X (Twitter): https://x.com/VRhobbyfes
■ About Hobby Japan Co., Ltd.
Hobby Japan Co., Ltd. is a "comprehensive hobby company" engaged in publishing, retail, hobby merchandise, analog game development and sales, web media, and character development. We will continue to stimulate the intellectual curiosity of everyone who loves hobbies.
■ About V Inc.
V Inc. is a company with top-class business support and production track records in the metaverse/XR domain within Japan. We operate some of Japan's largest communities on "VRChat" and "Roblox" and have secured funding from Sony Group, Square Enix, Itochu Corporation, and others. We provide end-to-end support from strategy to development and operation.