You ever hear about Cybershoes? Yeah, those quirky VR gizmos you strap to your feet. Well, they’ve officially vanished into the VR void. I stumbled across this tidbit thanks to Antony ‘Skarred Ghost’ Vitillo. He mentioned that Cybershoes stopped making their stuff about, oh, two years ago? And something about a branch shutting down in 2024. Eventually, the whole shebang in Austria just folded like an old map by April 2025.
Igor Mitric Lavovski, who co-founded the whole thing, spilled the beans on LinkedIn, confirming the shutdown. As for the nitty-gritty details about bankruptcy or insolvency? Yeah, good luck with that — Austrian laws keep those cards close until, like, they really have to show their hand.
So, you might wonder what made these shoes tick, right? Picture a pair of shoes with little rollers on them. Not your average treadmill — you sit down, strap ’em on, and wiggle your feet to “move” in VR. Kind of like walking or running, but, you know, in a chair. Who came up with this? Who knows? But it’s a crazy idea that kind of worked.
Cybershoes kicked off back in 2018, and guess what? No major investors throwing cash at them. They rallied over €200,000 on Kickstarter! From a doodle on a napkin to a polished consumer gadget — impressive, right? They didn’t stop; an IndieGogo campaign in 2019 brought in another €140,000 or so. Boom — more people noticed, maybe even wallet-holding investors.
Now, here’s a kicker. By 2020, they tried the Kickstarter thing again, but this time for a Quest version. Raised about half of their first go, roughly $98,000. Less impressive, but hey, still something. Fast forward and all — their official store and Amazon? Crickets. Well okay, maybe not crickets, but definitely no Cybershoes. Amazon tracking sites showed they sold out late 2024. Vanished like mist.
Vitillo’s got a review somewhere if you’re curious about those Quest-compatible Cybershoes. But seriously, who thinks of putting rollers on shoes? What’s next, rocket boots? Ah, the wonders of VR.
