This spinning VR chair at CES 2025 somehow didn’t make me puke

A swiveling VR gaming chair sounds like a homemade vomitron. Virtual reality environments tend to make some people (like me) nauseous, so adding synchronized full-body rotation seems like a recipe for disaster. I was prepared for the worst when I decided to try out the $800 Roto VR Explorer CES 2025which uses a head-tracking device that attaches to the top of Meta Quest devices and other headsets to make the swivel chair turn in whatever direction you’re looking. But despite everything, I ended up having a pretty good time.

In addition to enhancing the seated VR gaming experience, the chair should actually do that help with problems like motion sickness because, according to the press materials, “signals from your inner ear will match what your brain expects from visual cues.” I was a little nervous though, and it didn’t help that as we approached the booth the first thing we saw was an empty chair spinning by itself in the corner like an omen.

The Roto VR Explorer is a Made for Meta product, meaning it’s optimized for the Quest, but will work with standalone headsets like those in the HTC Vive family and “soon” the Apple Vision Pro. The chair itself weighs 66 pounds, so it felt really sturdy to sit in, and there’s a rumble pack under the seat to provide haptic feedback to the rest of your body instead of just your hands from the controllers. The head tracker, which looks like a flattened Poké Ball, clips onto the top band of the headset.

After the Roto team briefed me and settled me in the chair with the Quest 3, I chose my VR experience – the 2018 interactive documentary. for the universe Spheres — and left. It was no doubt a bit strange at first as I turned my head to follow the path of the pulsing glows and felt my body spin like I was a spice jar on top of a lazy Susan. But for the most part, there wasn’t that disorienting feeling of the ground shifting beneath you. (It definitely lagged a bit on the congested exhibit floor, leading to some out-of-sync, jerky movements). It only took me about a minute to stop focusing on the fact that I was in motion and just stick with it.

For something like Sphereswhere you just look at beautiful visuals and curiously interact with the virtual environment, Roto VR Explorer is actually very nice. If you’re in a faster-paced environment, like a first-person shooter, this will only add to the tension. I tried moving my head quickly back and forth a few times to see how it would work with that kind of motion, and indeed goes when it runs smoothly. The chair moves at a maximum speed of 21 revolutions per minute, but you can reduce this with the controllers if this becomes too much.

I fully expected to be doing a lot of deep breathing to get through the demo, but there was never really a point where I felt nauseous. And when I snapped out of it and re-entered real life, I didn’t feel any more wobbly and confused than I usually do after spending time behind headphones (although I’m sure if I used them for a few hours straight that would change that ). Mostly, I’m relieved I didn’t throw up in front of a bunch of strangers.

There are many situations where one might want or need to play their VR games sitting down, and the Roto VR Explorer chair offers a pretty fun way to take immersion to another level. It’s available to buy now, with upgrade packs – including Pro Flying and Pro Racing – expected to follow in August 2025.