The escape game market - Italy (2023)

1.1 Definition and presentation

Escape rooms, often known as escape games, are a type of group game that has grown in popularity over the past decade worldwide. The maze concept is at the heart of the game, and players must discover clues and solve puzzles under a set time limit to escape. Although the "house of horrors" model is undoubtedly one of the most popular, the game's setting can also be placed in earlier historical contexts, isolated locations, or completely fantastic realms. Born from a Japanese idea, the game takes place in rooms with specially designed structures. Each Escape Room has a unique fee per participant that decreases as the number of players increases. They range from a maximum of €22 per participant for two players to €10 for numerous players.

it is very difficult to estimate the value of the overall escape room market due to market fragmentation, but we noted that the average monthly escape room revenue increased from $19,205.21 in 2016 to $21,404.96 in 2017, with an average order value of $113.16. The increase in revenue was more than 10% in a single year.

In Italy, the number of escape rooms in 2020, was over 500 with different sizes and themes; the number of rooms are growing rapidly in recent years, considering a 420% increase from 2017 to 2020. The rooms are well distributed in Italy, in all regions, and the passion for this game is constantly increasing. Many companies are relying on this type of facility to organize team building activities. Due to their structure, they are perfect for strengthening the team and creating involvement among colleagues. In Italy, most escape rooms are franchised; depending on the services included in the affiliation and the reputation of the chosen brand, the cost required to run an escape room can range from 10,000 to over 50,000 euros.

New trends involve both digital escape rooms and the revival of board games, given that escape rooms are games of mental ability and given the social alienation that has evolved in recent years; despite the "locations," themes, rules, and number of participants allowed, the game always involves solving puzzles, riddles, and overcoming traps in order to find the "escape route" from the room in which one is literally locked up.