VR’s Unique Locomotion Gadget ‘Cybershoes’ Closes Down Permanently

Okay, so let me tell you about this whole Cybershoes thing — because it’s been, like, a weird ride. Picture it: this VR gadget that straps rollers to your feet so you “walk” while sitting down. Honestly, it always struck me as kind of bizarre, but intriguing at the same time. Anyway, the company, based in Austria, just closed up shop. Like, poof, gone. Not that it happened overnight. Apparently, their production slowed down a couple of years back. Like, they were just kind of drifting, you know?

I stumbled across this info in a piece by Antony ‘Skarred Ghost’ Vitillo. He keeps tabs on this stuff, like a VR whisperer or something. So, in 2023, one branch of the Cybershoes empire closed, and by April 2025, the whole shebang folded.

The co-founder, Igor Mitric Lavovski, finally confirmed on LinkedIn that Cybershoes GmbH officially shut its doors. No dramatic press conference or anything. Just a LinkedIn post. Classic ‘leave no breadcrumbs’ move.

Now, here’s a twist. In Austria, if your company is sinking, you’re supposed to fess up within 60 days. Legal mumbo jumbo from someone named Andreas Howadt. So maybe we’ll get more details soon? Or it’ll just stay a mystery. Who really knows?

Cybershoes always struck me as quirky compared to those crazy VR treadmills. Instead of making you run around like a hamster, you just pretend to walk while seated. Almost like your feet are rolling on invisible clouds. And yes, there were those Kickstarter campaigns — one in 2018 that pulled in €200,000. Not bad, right? The rollercoaster continued. In 2019, Another €140,000 rolled in from IndieGogo. They seemed to have a knack for crowd-sourcing, at least for a while.

By 2020, they wanted to charm the Oculus Quest crowd — another Kickstarter, but it didn’t quite hit the same high note. Just $98,000. So yeah, maybe the hype train slowed.

And now? Good luck trying to buy one. Their official store, Amazon, everything’s wiped clean. Last I heard, the newest version sold out in late 2024. And no clues about restocking. Kind of as if they disappeared into the virtual void they once helped people explore.

For more on Cybershoes, even though they’re now a relic of VR past, you might want to check out Vitillo’s write-up on their Quest version. I mean, why not take a peek at what was? Or don’t. Your call.