The world of digital twins has been rapidly evolving, becoming increasingly significant in industries like architecture, construction, and now, entertainment.
More than just a 3D model, a digital twin is a data-rich, interactive replica of a real-world structure or environment. With dynamic, operational elements, digital twins can simulate, monitor, and even optimise their physical counterparts.
This technology is poised to reshape how attractions are designed, operated, and experienced.
Speaking with founder Michael Libby, we learn more about digital twins and the innovations being developed by Worldbuildr, a first-of-its-kind platform for creating functional digital twins of complex physical attractions.
The potential of digital twins
For Libby, this technology is not just a tool—it’s a bridge to the future of attractions:
“Digital twins are creating a new paradigm. Now, we can experiment with every detail of guest experience before a single brick is laid. So, for attractions, this means we’re able to optimise everything from lighting to guest flow, ensuring the highest quality of experience right from the design stage.”
In the themed entertainment industry, where guest experience and operational reliability are paramount, digital twins offer a way to anticipate challenges, refine designs, and create operational efficiencies.
“We realised the opportunity for digital twins and location-based entertainment early on,” says Libby. “But the problem was that they are challenging to develop and create. So, our focus has been on making this technology available to all types of users—whether they have technical experience or not.
“It’s designed to be intuitive, so designers, operators, and other stakeholders can jump in and start creating and refining experiences without coding skills.”
Natalia Skibenko, Worldbuildr’s VP of sales and marketing, says:
“In practical terms, what this means is that now any team or any stakeholder, regardless of their technical background, can make design decisions based on data, not just instinct or personal taste.
“This data-driven approach also reduces the number of costly mistakes and design revisions that might otherwise emerge during construction or even worse—after opening, helping our partners move away from subjective, trial-and-error processes and solve potential issues virtually.”
Worldbuildr’s expanded capabilities and business impact
In a previous conversation, we introduced Worldbuildr’s role in transforming the early design stages of attractions.
At the time, Worldbuildr enabled teams to collaborate remotely on previsualisation, iterate on designs, and test show control sequences—all within a digital twin environment.
Enhancing operations through real-time simulations
Since then, the platform has evolved dramatically, giving clients the ability to conduct a wide range of simulations that offer invaluable insights into crowd behaviour, operational logistics, and revenue potential.
“Today, clients can also simulate crowd movements, guest flow, and key operational aspects to understand how their design choices will affect the real-world experience,” says Libby.
Worldbuildr’s crowd simulation capabilities allow clients to test variables like dwell time, queue dynamics, and guest demand, enabling them to optimise layouts for smoother operations.
Skibenko adds that this technology also has a practical application in staff training:
“The simulations go beyond providing data—they’re a valuable tool for training staff, whether they’re performers learning roles in themed environments or team members responsible for guest safety practicing emergency procedures,” she says.
Enabling informed financial decisions
In addition to operational logistics, Worldbuildr also offers revenue and ROI simulations that help clients make better financial decisions.
By running simulations on guest spending, staffing requirements for peak hours, and downtime, clients can project potential revenue based on real-time data rather than estimates.
Skibenko explains the game-changing nature of this feature: “Our industry, like many others, has always relied on spreadsheets and forecasts to estimate ROI and revenue. But with Worldbuildr, they can actually see these projections in action, making predictions far more accurate.”
Skibenko shares a case example highlighting the financial decision-making power these simulations offer:
“During the pandemic, one of our clients had a successful attraction that they were considering turning into a touring experience,” she says. “They brought in Worldbuildr to help them simulate the adjusted touring version, evaluating both the changed guest experience and its financial viability.
“And although the existing experience was a success, they saw that the touring version would not be sustainable and made the smart choice not to pursue the expansion. This is where Worldbuildr’s true business value shines: not only can our users optimise their future experiences, but they can also avoid potential financial risks by exploring all scenarios before committing.”
Streamlining collaboration and design integrity
Revealing more about the platform’s newest technological advancements, Libby talks about the new asset manager:
“During the design and development stages in our industry, many people and vendor companies work on projects. Inevitably, you send different versions of the 3D model and audiovisual assets. There’s always a question of whether or not you are looking at the most up-to-date version of something.
“With our asset manager, we’ve created a cloud repository for all these assets.”
This ensures stakeholders can easily access and update assets, with Worldbuildr automatically syncing the latest versions for all, guaranteeing that everyone views the most up-to-date content.
Another area of focus has been the platform’s compatibility with architectural models—an essential step in making digital twins work seamlessly for complex structures.
“We’ve been collaborating with architectural companies like FrankNDesign and Reveal Studio, developing a pipeline to make it easy to integrate architectural models into our visualisation software,” says Libby.
Architectural models present unique challenges compared to 3D models created for gaming or visual effects:
“When an architect designs a building in Revit, it’s intended for physical construction. This creates a significant technical obstacle because the intricacies of these models aren’t initially compatible with real-time software.”
Worldbuildr’s auto-optimisation feature solves this by adjusting architectural models to perform smoothly in a real-time digital environment without extensive manual adjustments. “This functionality allows creators to bring complex structures into the digital twin environment in high detail and focus on creative decisions while our software handles the technical fine-tuning.”
Digital twins extend value beyond opening day
As Worldbuildr continues to innovate, the platform’s value doesn’t stop at the design phase—its potential stretches far into the operational life of an attraction. Once the attraction opens to the public, Worldbuildr can evolve into the very operating system that manages it.
“Since you’ve designed and pre-programmed everything digitally, Worldbuildr doesn’t just simulate the attraction; it can now operate the physical attraction itself,” says Libby. “The simulation or pre-visualisation stage isn’t a sunk cost. It’s a key step in creating a fully integrated operating system for your physical space.”
Beyond just supporting operational management, Worldbuildr can simultaneously power a digital twin counterpart, creating an entirely new type of guest experience.
“This offers exciting possibilities where the physical and digital worlds can interact in real-time. Guests in the physical space can directly impact the digital experience, and vice versa. This is something we’ve long dreamed about, but it’s only now possible to bring it to life through seamless integration during the production and development stages.”
The public-facing digital twin also introduces new avenues for monetisation.
“We learned during the pandemic that limiting guest capacity in a physical park directly limits revenue. But with a digital twin, we have an infinitely scalable space. Even capturing a fraction of the per capita spending in the physical location could open up a substantial new revenue stream.”
Embracing partnerships and possibilities
Worldbuildr’s journey isn’t solitary. Collaborations with industry giants like Unity underscore its commitment to innovation and interoperability.
“Unity has been fundamental to Worldbuildr’s development, serving as the core platform on which we’ve built our vision,” says Libby. “We chose Unity for its flexibility across mobile, PC, VR, and other platforms, which aligns with our mission to make digital twins and simulations accessible across devices.”
The partnership with Unity has provided Worldbuildr with critical support throughout its development process. From the early stages, Unity’s team worked closely with Worldbuildr, helping navigate complex technical challenges and adapting tools to fit the platform’s specific needs.
“Collaborating with Unity allowed us to explore ambitious functionalities and integrate features that required substantial customisation. Their support and insights have been instrumental in shaping Worldbuildr into a robust and adaptable platform.”
While Unity’s collaboration has been invaluable, Worldbuildr remains platform-agnostic, ensuring compatibility across multiple ecosystems, including Unreal-based systems, to meet a wide variety of client needs.
A glimpse into the future of attractions
Looking ahead, Michael Libby shares his vision for the future of digital twins in the attractions industry:
“Someday, digital twins will enable entirely new forms of collaborative gameplay, seamlessly bridging the digital and physical worlds. Even today, if you’re planning to build any kind of public space, maintaining an accurate digital twin throughout the project’s entire lifecycle—from concept to completion and beyond—is becoming essential.”
Meanwhile, Skibenko says the industry is already seeing the impact of digital twins:
“Personally, it’s thrilling to see how new technology can give established industries a level of insight that was impossible before,” she says. “This data-driven approach is not just a tool for optimisation—it’s reshaping how the industry designs, operates, and experiences attractions.”
Worldbuildr’s long-term vision is clear: to lead the charge in digital twin innovation and to help the industry unlock new levels of creativity, efficiency, and profitability, redefining the future of attractions.
For those eager to explore operational digital twins firsthand, Worldbuildr now offers a free demo version for industry professionals. To test the platform’s capabilities, experiment with simulations, and see how it can support the design and planning process — sign up here.
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