PreviewLabs
PreviewLabs is a private, Belgium-origin rapid game prototyping studio founded in 2009, now operating from the US, Belgium, and Canada. It builds playable Unity and Unreal prototypes for academic researchers, healthcare organizations, game studios, and brands, billing on a project-based man-day model with 1-10 employees.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersNew Haven, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What PreviewLabs does
PreviewLabs is a private professional services firm founded in 2009 and headquartered in Guilford, Connecticut, with additional offices in Wetteren, Belgium and Montréal, Canada. The company specializes exclusively in rapid game prototyping, building playable prototypes using Unity and Unreal Engine across VR, AR, mobile, and browser platforms for clients that include academic research institutions, healthcare organizations, game studios, and media brands. Notable technical work includes multiplayer VR physics implementations using Photon Fusion, procedurally generated serious games for medical and educational applications, and playable ad formats deployed through Luna Playground.
The firm operates a quote-based, man-day billing model for project-based professional services, with engagement sizes ranging from roughly 6 to 191 man-days. Its primary customer segments are academic healthcare researchers (e.g., Yale play4REAL XR Lab, Harvard Center for Addiction Medicine, KU Leuven), game studios and startups (e.g., Activision Blizzard Media, Squido Studio, Stardoll), and education/training organizations. The company has accumulated credibility through peer-reviewed research outputs (a Yale study published in the Journal of Addictive Behaviors), two Serious Play Conference Gold awards (2020, 2022), and a Unity for Humanity Grant (2023).
In November 2022 PreviewLabs achieved independence from its former parent company, the Cronos Group. The company has since pursued a measured expansion strategy, including the establishment of US and Canadian operating entities, the hire of a North American Business Developer in 2024, and the organization of the first-ever Game Prototyping Track at MIT Reality Hack in February 2026. The team remains small (1-10 reported employees) and the firm has not raised external venture capital, operating as a self-sustaining boutique studio.
PreviewLabs firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- PreviewLabs
- Legal name
- PreviewLabs Inc.
- Website
- https://previewlabs.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- PreviewLabs is a private, Belgium-origin rapid game prototyping studio founded in 2009, now operating from the US, Belgium, and Canada. It builds playable Unity and Unreal prototypes for academic researchers, healthcare organizations, game studios, and brands, billing on a project-based man-day model with 1-10 employees.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
PreviewLabs industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Game Prototyping Services
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design Services (541512)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Serious Games & Simulation Studios (Training, Defense, Enterprise) (MPAFAAAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Healthcare & Clinical Simulation (Surgery, Nursing, EMT, Patient Interaction) (EDAFAJAC), Simulation-Based Learning & Virtual Labs (EDAGAEAG)
Keywords
Where PreviewLabs is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New Haven
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
PreviewLabs business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Rapid Game Prototyping Services: Project-based professional services where clients commission PreviewLabs to build playable game prototypes for concept validation, pitch demonstrations, technical proofs of concept, and research studies. Revenue is generated through man-day billing for prototyping engagements.
- Playable Ads Development: Development of fully playable mini-games and playable ad formats for clients like Activision Blizzard Media. These are polished, production-ready products rather than prototypes.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom project-based pricing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
PreviewLabs product offering
Product offeringCore offering
PreviewLabs is a professional services studio that builds playable game prototypes for clients using Unity and Unreal Engine. They deliver rapid, iterative prototypes for VR, AR, mobile, and browser-based games across game studios, academic researchers, healthcare organizations, and startups, with project durations ranging from a few man-days to multi-iteration engagements.
Product overview
PreviewLabs is a rapid game prototyping studio offering a comprehensive portfolio of prototyping services across multiple platforms and formats. The core offering is their Rapid Game Prototyping Services, supplemented by specialized modules including Virtual Reality Prototypes (Oculus, HTC Vive, Meta Quest, Magic Leap), Augmented Reality Prototypes (HoloLens), Mobile Game Prototypes, Playable Ads (for clients like Activision Blizzard Media), Serious and Applied Games for healthcare/education, and Technical Proof of Concept development. The company also offers add-on services including Brainstorm Sessions for concept ideation and Data Logging Support for research projects. Prototypes are primarily built using Unity and Unreal engines, with multiplayer capabilities enabled through Photon networking technology.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Rapid Game Prototyping Services Core service providing playable game prototypes for game studios, academic researchers, healthcare organizations, and startups using an iterative development approach with brainstorming, multiple iterations, and rapid delivery across VR, AR, mobile, and browser platforms.
- Virtual Reality Prototypes VR experiences built for platforms including Oculus Go, Samsung Gear VR, HTC Vive, Meta Quest, and Magic Leap One, including multiplayer VR with collaborative physics.
- Augmented Reality Prototypes AR applications for devices like Magic Leap One and HoloLens, used for training, visualization, and educational purposes.
- Mobile Game Prototypes Mobile game prototypes for iOS and Android platforms, including casual games, playable ads, and gamified health interventions.
- Playable Ads Development Fully playable mini-games developed for advertising purposes, built with Unity and deployed as HTML5/JavaScript through Luna Playground.
- Serious and Applied Games Games designed for non-entertainment purposes including healthcare (smoking cessation, anxiety treatment, pain distraction), education, and safety training.
- Technical Proof of Concept Proof of concept prototypes tackling specific technical challenges such as multiplayer physics synchronization, networking architecture, and novel interaction mechanics.
Quantifiable outcome
- Helped Squido Studio secure CAD 1.5 million in funding through prototype work
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use PreviewLabs
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
PreviewLabs technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature3 records
PreviewLabs partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Squido StudiocorePreviewLabs collaborated with Squido Studio on multiplayer VR physics prototypes for their game DigiGods. The technical proof of concept developed by PreviewLabs helped Squido secure CAD 1.5 million in funding from the Canada Media Fund. PreviewLabs handled the collaborative physics implementation using Photon Fusion.
- Yale University School of Medicine (play4REAL XR Lab)coreLong-term partnership with Yale's play4REAL XR Lab on multiple VR/AR health intervention projects including Invite Only VR (vaping prevention), Freeze (alcohol education), and InvestiDate (teen dating). Research findings have been published in peer-reviewed journals.
- KU Leuven & Vrije Universiteit BrusselcoreAcademic partnership for iVision project developing serious games to treat Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI). PreviewLabs prototyped four games across two iterations over 105 man-days, with 3 years of ongoing support for the research study.
- Activision Blizzard MediacoreOngoing partnership to develop playable ad formats and mini-games for Activision's mobile games. PreviewLabs develops fully polished, production-ready playable ads requiring more polish than typical prototypes.
- PetricoreminorSponsor of the Game Prototyping Track at MIT Reality Hack 2026, organized by PreviewLabs. Petricore provided workshop support and a $1,500 prize for the winning team.
- XR HealthcoreCollaboration on VR patient distraction prototypes for medical procedures, including VRReliever which was used in clinical studies about VR and anesthesia effectiveness.
- Harvard Center for Addiction MedicinecoreDevelopment of Smiling Instead of Smoking - a gamified smoking cessation app MVP released on iOS and Google Play for randomized controlled trial research.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights5 records
PreviewLabs competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Schell Games: Long-standing Pittsburgh-based studio specializing in serious games, VR/AR experiences, and game-based learning for clients including Disney, Yale, and the U.S. Department of Education. Closely mirrors PreviewLabs's mix of research-driven serious games and immersive simulations.
- Filament Games: Madison, WI-based educational and serious games studio serving academic, museum, and corporate learning clients. Comparable mission of building game-based learning products for institutional buyers and aligns with PreviewLabs's serious games work for KU Leuven and Yale.
- Preloaded (now Make Real): London-based applied games studio building serious games and VR experiences for BBC, LEGO, and various healthcare and education partners. Comparable applied-games practice area, multi-platform scope, and academic/cultural institution client base.
- Muzzy Lane Software: Newburyport, MA-based serious games developer focused on educational simulations and game-based learning for schools and publishers. Similar specialized serious games focus and engagement with academic/institutional clients.
- TruSim (GameTots): UK studio developing serious games and simulation products for training and education. Comparable applied-game practice and customer segments in education and training.
- 8ninths: XR strategy and prototyping agency delivering AR/VR/MR experiences for enterprise clients. Comparable cross-platform XR scope and prototyping-led offering.
- Snobal: Melbourne-based XR prototyping and proof-of-concept studio building VR/AR prototypes and pilots for enterprise and research clients in mining, healthcare, and academia. Similar small-team, prototyping-first, multi-vertical XR approach.
Emerging players
- FundamentalVR: London-based medical VR simulation company applying haptic feedback to surgical training. Overlaps with PreviewLabs's healthcare simulation work for Harvard/Yale/UCI Health and emerging VR clinical use cases.
- Osso VR: San Francisco-based VR surgical training platform used by surgeons and medical device companies. Comparable medical VR/serious games practice though operating as a product company rather than services firm.
Broad incumbents
- EON Reality: Established global VR/AR knowledge transfer and training provider serving education and enterprise. Wider portfolio spanning XR learning platforms but overlapping with PreviewLabs's VR training for education/research.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
PreviewLabs social profiles
Digital presencePreviewLabs financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
PreviewLabs leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
PreviewLabs funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
PreviewLabs M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about PreviewLabs
What does PreviewLabs do?
PreviewLabs is a professional services studio that builds playable game prototypes for clients using Unity and Unreal Engine. They deliver rapid, iterative prototypes for VR, AR, mobile, and browser-based games across game studios, academic researchers, healthcare organizations, and startups, with project durations ranging from a few man-days to multi-iteration engagements.
Is PreviewLabs a public or private company?
PreviewLabs is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was PreviewLabs founded?
PreviewLabs was founded in 2009. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is PreviewLabs based?
PreviewLabs is headquartered in New Haven, United States, in the North America region.
How does PreviewLabs make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Rapid Game Prototyping Services are the primary driver. The others are playable Ads Development.
Who are PreviewLabs's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Schell Games, Filament Games, Preloaded (now Make Real), Muzzy Lane Software, TruSim (GameTots), 8ninths and Snobal. Emerging players are FundamentalVR and Osso VR. EON Reality is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does PreviewLabs have an API?
No public API is recorded for PreviewLabs.
What industry is PreviewLabs in?
PreviewLabs's product category is Game Prototyping Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAFAAAH, Serious Games & Simulation Studios (Training, Defense, Enterprise), with a secondary code of EDAFAJAC, Healthcare & Clinical Simulation (Surgery, Nursing, EMT, Patient Interaction). Its NAICS code is 541512 and its SIC code is 7371.