Case Study: How ROSHN Group launched Their Warefa Community in VR at Cityscape

Project Background

Context & Client Profile

ROSHN Group is a national real estate developer powered by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). As a flagship contributor to the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 goals, ROSHN is leading the transformation of Saudi Arabia’s urban landscape by delivering large-scale, master-planned communities across the country. With over 200 million square meters under development and a pipeline aiming to house more than 2.2 million people by 2030, ROSHN is setting new standards in modern, inclusive living.

For their newest Riyadh community, Warefa, ROSHN sought to move beyond static visuals and traditional sales materials. Their goal was to communicate the project’s lifestyle offering through immersive storytelling—offering prospective buyers a rich, interactive preview of life in Warefa before construction had even begun.

Connection to Virtuelle’s Expertise

Virtuelle’s track record of delivering immersive real-time 3D experiences for GCC developers made it the ideal partner, and the company was selected as the right partner in a competitive process involving 12 agencies. Leveraging game-engine technology, Virtuelle helped shape Warefa’s streets, communal facilities, and residential units into a virtual environment that prospective homeowners could explore freely—day or night.

Client Challenges & Opportunities

Specific Challenges

• Showcasing Lifestyle: ROSHN needed to convey the future life in the Warefa community, its communal warmth and daily vibrance. They are not just selling units but rather a whole lifestyle in an integrated community, giving access to communal amenities such as schools, sports facilities, malls, and more. 
• Hesitant Buyers: Buyers often need tangible, clear insights into off-plan projects before committing to pre-sales.
• Competitive Market: With multiple new developments vying for attention in Riyadh, Warefa had to stand out.
• Dual-Format Deployment: The experience had to work both in VR headsets and on a large screen with a gamepad for event demonstrations, to cater to larger groups and visitors who would not feel comfortable wearing goggles.

Market & Buyer Insights

Prospective Saudi home buyers increasingly expect interactive, lifestyle-oriented previews that show how a community will look and feel from dawn to dusk. ROSHN recognized that this new generation of buyers—digital natives raised in a connected world—are motivated by experiences that reflect their aspirations and lifestyle choices.

With more than 63% of the Saudi population under the age of 30, the Kingdom is home to one of the youngest populations in the world. This demographic shift is reshaping expectations in real estate, especially for off-plan communities. Buyers are no longer satisfied with static brochures or 2D renders. They want to visualize the full potential of a neighborhood: from lively parks and family-friendly amenities to flexible interior design options that reflect their personal taste.

ROSHN tapped into this shift by offering a real-time 3D experience that allowed prospective residents to explore Warefa as if it already existed—bridging the gap between concept and commitment.

Customer Journey

The Warefa immersive experience was part of the launch of ROSHN’s forward thinking marketing concept: the Immersive Truck. Unveiled at Citycscape in November 2024, this mobile sales office is designed to travel the country and spread the ROSHN experience. 

In the Immersive Truck, prospective home owners were taken on a journey telling the story of the Warefa community. This journey started with an overall exploration of the development’s masterplan, made easier with an interactive holographic table. Next to this, a digital maquette allowed future home owners to visualise the parts of the masterplan where their unit would be.

“I love it. It looks like it’s real. It will make great sales for us, because it explains everything clearly to the client.”

-ROSHN Sales Director

The next stage of the journey involved stepping into a large immersive room, where video content was showcased on 3 walls. This content (extracted from Virtuelle’s immersive experience) was directed to inform the viewers on various facts and figures about the development, while also connecting on an emotional level thanks to cinematic storytelling. 

Finally, visitors would arrive at the VR station. There, the realistic immersive experience would transport them to the actual community and units, which they could then freely explore. This immersion would prove to be a key factor in influencing visitors to advance to the next stage of the sales process. 

Proposed Solution & Rationale

The Immersive Solution

Unreal Engine 5 was selected to develop this immersive experience, since the platform’s photorealism and versatility ticked all of the brief’s boxes. The immersive experience was developed to include: 

• Walkable Masterplan Section: A detailed slice of Warefa’s layout with running & cycling tracks, playgrounds, and residential streets, each populated by animated NPCs for a lived-in vibe.
  
• 2 Daylight Scenarios: Buyers could switch between daytime and early-night modes, displaying Warefa’s lively ambiance at all hours.
  
• 3 Unit Types + 2 Interior Designs: From a central menu, prospective buyers explored different villa floor plans, each in two distinct interior design styles.
  
• Flexible Access: The experience was VR-compatible for deep immersion and also ran smoothly on a PC with a gamepad, perfect for events like Cityscape.
  
• Admin Panel: a control dashboard was developed for the VR version, allowing a sales advisor to guide the VR user through the experience and keep control of the conversation. This was done to provide a good user experience to visitors unfamiliar with how to move in a VR environment. 

Rationale Behind Recommendations

• Lifestyle Storytelling: Real-time 3D visuals, complete with NPCs and multiple lighting options, positioned Warefa as a family-friendly, active community.
  
• Buyer Customization: Virtual toggles for interior finishes and two design schemes gave buyers a sense of personalization.
  
• Event-Ready Setup: VR headsets and large-screen demonstrations made Warefa’s showcase an event highlight, offering something fresh for attendees at Cityscape while keeping the versatility to cater to all users’ comfort.
  

Implementation & Collaboration

Project Workflow

• Masterplan & Unit Modeling: Virtuelle converted ROSHN’s CAD data into a high-fidelity 3D environment, detailing roads, greenery, and built structures. Particular attention was paid to replicate the exact façades characteristic of this project.
  
• Interactive Layer: Animations for NPCs, day/night toggles, and multiple designs.
  
• Platform Testing: Rigorous performance and UX testing ensured seamless experiences across VR headsets and PCs.
  

Collaborative Development

• Feedback Cycles: ROSHN’s destination marketing, development, and handover teams worked in close collaboration with Virtuelle throughout the project, with weekly updates and feedback.
  
• Brand Consistency: The digital environment reflected ROSHN’s branding across signage, color themes, and overall neighborhood ambience. While the 1st interior design theme was provided by ROHSH, the 2nd was created by Virtuelle’s Creative Director in collaboration with the client’s team to ensure brand consistency.
  

Cityscape Roll-Out: the Virtuelle team was present on-site, collaborating with ROSHN’s marketing team to finalize the immersive truck installation and provide training to the ROSHN team. This ensured maximum impact at the event, as well as instant, reactive support.

Results & Success Metrics

Quantitative Outcomes

• High Cityscape Engagement: ROSHN reported a steady stream of visitors at the immersive truck, resulting in a positive impact on serious buyer inquiries.
  
• Faster Conversion: Prospects who experienced Warefa’s VR or large-screen demo typically moved from inquiry to reserved unit more quickly.
  
• Reduced Ambiguity: Buyer questions about layout, amenities, and overall atmosphere fell, as the virtual tour offered a clear, comprehensive view.

One prospect, interviewed at Cityscape said ‘It feels like reality, I really for a sense of the spaces, and the house volumes’, while another pointed out that ‘the [community] areas were really inviting’. 

ROSHN’s Sales Director said: “I love it. It looks like it’s real. It will make great sales for us, because it explains everything clearly to the client.”

Reflections & Lessons Learned

Key Takeaways for the Client

• Lifestyle-Centric Approach: Highlighting real-time day/night transitions and community NPCs resonates strongly with family-focused buyers.
• Versatility in Presentation: deploying both VR and large-screen interactions made the experience accessible to all, including those who preferred not wearing goggle. 
• Scalable System: The infrastructure developed for this project is being rolled out to new ROSHN communities, expanding the marketing tool to include all of the client’s offerings. 

Applicability to Similar Projects

ROSHN’s success story underlines how immersive 3D solutions, with multi-scenario and multi-access deployment, can revolutionize off-plan marketing strategies for other GCC developers seeking to emphasize community life and emotional engagement.

Conclusion & Future Outlook

From communal jostling with life, to multi-design units, Warefa’s real-time 3D experience embodied Virtuelle’s commitment to immersive solutions that remove the guesswork for off-plan buyers. By accommodating both VR and large-screen demos, ROSHN reached a broader audience, impressing clients and stakeholders alike.

With Warefa’s success as a clear example, Virtuelle invites other developers seeking similar interactive solutions for upcoming off-plan projects. Whether highlighting masterplan vibrancy or offering design personalization, our team’s real-time 3D expertise ensures your vision strikes a chord with buyers—however they choose to explore it. Schedule a consultation today to discover how immersive experiences can transform your sales strategy.

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