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Escape Rooms in Australia - Market Research Report (2015-2030)

Ryan Tan Ryan Tan Melbourne, Australia Last Updated: July 2025 ANZSIC OD5612 Spotlight Report

Revenue

$93.0m

2025-26

$93.0m

Past 5-Year Growth

Profit

$XX.Xm

Employees

875

Businesses

166

Wages

$XX.Xm

Escape Rooms in Australia industry analysis

Australia’s Escape Room industry has rebounded strongly since pandemic restrictions lifted, buoyed by pent-up demand for group-based, immersive entertainment, lifting attendance and pushing revenue expansion. Robust demand has attracted cashed-up franchisors and multi-site chains, lifting establishment numbers over the past five years. While this expansion keeps customer interest high and broadens the industry's serviceable market, it also strengthens buyer power, pushing average capacity utilisation rates down and squeezing independent operators that must spread fixed costs across far fewer rooms, limiting profitability gains.

Trends and Insights

  • Robust demand for escape rooms has lured in well-funded chains, pushing venue numbers up, intensifying competition and weighing down utilisation rates. Independent escape room operators have absorbed higher fixed costs per room, eroding margins despite solid demand.
  • Narrative-rich and story-driven escape rooms are eclipsing traditional puzzle formats. Their cohesive plots heighten emotional immersion and spark word-of-mouth buzz, lifting repeat patronage and enticing new escape room players.
  • Entry barriers are minimal, with few capital and regulatory hurdles attracting a steady stream of new entrants. However, to differentiate themselves, new entrants must rapidly build credibility and stand out through superior themes, puzzles and memorable customer experiences.
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  • Reliable market estimates from 2015-2030
  • Competitive analysis, industry segmentation, financial benchmarks
  • Powerful SWOT, Porter’s Five Forces and risk management frameworks
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Power confident decisions with data that connects the dots

  • Market estimates from 2015-2030
  • Critical performance data and rankings
  • Detailed analysis of competitive forces and the external environment
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Industry Statistics and Trends

Market size and recent performance (2015-2030)

Industry revenue has grown at a CAGR of 11.0 % over the past five years, to reach an estimated $93.0m in 2025.

Trends and Insights

Escape room popularity remains robust, but expanding chains are squeezing independent operators’ margins

  • Pent-up demand following pandemic-related restrictions has propelled demand for entertainment and leisure activities, including escape rooms. Consequently, escape rooms have enjoyed higher attendance and revenue expansion over the past five years.
  • Additional trends and insights available with purchase
Escape Rooms in Australia
Revenue (2015-2030)
IBISWorld Logo Source: IBISWorld

Industry outlook (2025-2030)

Market size is projected to grow over the next five years.

Trends and Insights

New openings will drive up venue numbers despite cooling growth momentum

  • Low entry barriers, accessible franchise agreements and the lucrative escape room market are forecast to attract new entrants in the coming years, lifting the number of enterprises and establishments.

Biggest companies in the Escape Rooms in Australia

There are no companies that hold a large enough market share in the Escape Rooms in Australia industry for IBISWorld to include in this product.

Products & Services Segmentation

Escape Rooms in Australia
Products & Services
IBISWorld Logo Source: IBISWorld

Industry revenue is measured across several distinct product and services lines, including Story-driven rooms, Theme-focused rooms and Abstract and other rooms. Story-driven rooms is the largest segment of the Escape Rooms in Australia.

Trends and Insights

Story-driven rooms are rapidly gaining popularity

  • Story-driven rooms are escape room experiences built around a cohesive narrative that gradually unfolds as players solve puzzles and link challenges to a progressing plot.
  • More insights available in the full report

Table of Contents

About this industry

Industry definition

This industry includes operators that primarily operate escape room facilities and offer puzzle games to be played with a group of people. The industry comprises companies that have a physical escape room facility.

What's included in this industry?

Products and services covered in the Escape Rooms industry in Australia include Story-driven rooms, Theme-focused rooms and Abstract and other rooms.

Companies

Companies covered in the Escape Rooms industry in Australia include .

Purchase this report to view all major companies in this industry.

Related Terms

Related terms covered in the Escape Rooms industry in Australia include virtual reality (vr), game master and capacity utilisation rate.

Industry Code

ANZSIC 2006

ANZSIC 9131 - Escape Rooms in Australia

Performance

Get an indication of the industry's health through historical, current and forward-looking trends in the performance indicators that make or break businesses.

Analyst insights

Robust demand for escape rooms has lured in well-funded chains, pushing venue numbers up, intensifying competition and weighing down utilisation rates. Independent escape roo...

In this chapter (4)

  • Current Performance
  • Outlook
  • Volatility
  • Life Cycle

Key metrics

  • Annual Revenue, Recent Growth, Forecast, Revenue Volatility
  • Number of Employees, Recent Growth, Forecast, Employees per Business, Revenue per Employee
  • Number of Businesses, Recent Growth, Forecast, Employees per Business, Revenue per Business
  • Total Profit, Profit Margin, Profit per Business

Charts

  • Revenue, including historical (2015-2024) and forecast (2025-2030)
  • Employees, including historical (2015-2024) and forecast (2025-2030)
  • Businesses, including historical (2015-2024) and forecast (2025-2030)
  • Profit, including historical (2015-2025)
  • Industry Volatility vs. Revenue Growth
  • Industry Life Cycle

Detailed analysis

  • Trends in supply, demand and current events that are driving current industry performance
  • Expected trends, economic factors and ongoing events that drive the industry's outlook
  • Factors that influence volatility in the industry
  • Key success factors for businesses to overcome volatility

Products and Markets

Learn about an industry's products and services, markets and trends in international trade.

Analyst insight

Narrative-rich and story-driven escape rooms are eclipsing traditional puzzle formats. Their cohesive plots heighten emotional immersion and spark word-of-mouth buzz, lifting...

In this chapter

  • Products & Services
  • Major Markets

Key metrics

  • Largest market segment and value in 2025
  • Product innovation level

Charts

  • Products & services segmentation in 2025
  • Major market segmentation in 2025

Detailed analysis

  • Trends impacting the recent performance of the industry's various segments
  • Innovations in the industry's product or service offering, specialization or delivery method
  • Key factors that successful businesses consider in their offerings
  • Buying segments and key trends influencing demand for industry products and services

Geographic Breakdown

Discover where business activity is most concentrated in an industry and the factors driving these trends to find opportunities and conduct regional benchmarking.

Analyst insights

Purchase this report to unlock analyst insights.

In this chapter (1)

  • Business Locations

Charts

  • Share of revenue, establishment, wages and employment in each region
  • Share of population compared to establishments in each region in 2025

Tables

  • Number and share of establishments in each region in 2025
  • Number and share of revenue each region accounts for in 2025
  • Number and share of wages each region accounts for in 2025
  • Number and share of employees in each region in 2025

Detailed analysis

  • Key success factors for businesses to use location to their advantage

Competitive Forces

Get data and insights on what's driving competition in an industry and the challenges industry operators and new entrants may face, with analysis built around Porter's Five Forces framework.

Analyst insights

Entry barriers are minimal, with few capital and regulatory hurdles attracting a steady stream of new entrants. However, to differentiate themselves, new entrants must rapidl...

In this chapter (4)

  • Concentration
  • Barriers to Entry
  • Substitutes
  • Buyer & Supplier Analysis

Key metrics

  • Industry concentration level
  • Industry competition level and trend
  • Barriers to entry level and trend
  • Substitutes level and trend
  • Buyer power level and trend
  • Supplier power level and trend

Charts

  • Market share concentration among the top 4 suppliers from 2020-2025
  • Supply chain including upstream supplying industries and downstream buying industries, flow chart

External Environment

Understand the demographic, economic and regulatory factors that shape how businesses in an industry perform.   

Analyst insights

Escape rooms in Australia must satisfy licensing regulations, workplace health and safety obligations, and building and fire-safety rules. Regulatory burden peaked amid pande...

In this chapter

  • External Drivers
  • Regulation & Policy
  • Assistance

Key metrics

  • Regulation & policy level and trend
  • Assistance level and trend

Detailed analysis

  • Demographic and macroeconomic factors influencing the industry, including Regulation & Policy and Assistance

Financial Benchmarks

View average costs for industry operators and compare financial data against an industry's financial benchmarks over time. 

Analyst insights

A growing number of new venues have lowered the industry’s average capacity utilisation. Multi-establishment chains have leveraged branding and cross-venue demand to outperfo...

In this chapter

  • Cost Structure
  • Financial Ratios
  • Key Ratios

Key metrics

  • Profit margin, and how it compares to the sector-wide margin
  • Average wages, and how it compares to the sector-wide average wage
  • Largest cost component as a percentage of revenue
  • Industry average ratios for days' receivables, industry coverage and debt-to-net-worth ratio

Charts

  • Average industry operating costs as a share of revenue, including purchases, wages, depreciation, utilities, rent, other costs and profit in 2025
  • Average sector operating costs as a share of revenue, including purchases, wages, depreciation, utilities, rent, other costs and profit in 2025
  • Investment vs. share of economy

Data tables

  • Cash Flow & Debt Service Ratios (2015-2030)
  • Revenue per Employee (2015-2030)
  • Revenue per Enterprise (2015-2030)
  • Employees per Establishment (2015-2030)
  • Employees per Enterprise (2015-2030)
  • Average Wage (2015-2030)
  • Wages/Revenue (2015-2030)
  • Establishments per Enterprise (2015-2030)
  • IVA/Revenue (2015-2030)
  • Imports/Demand (2015-2030)
  • Exports/Revenue (2015-2030)

Detailed analysis

  • Trends in the cost component for industry operators and their impact on industry costs and profitability 

Key Statistics

Industry Data

Data Tables

Including values and annual change:

  • Revenue (2015-2030)
  • IVA (2015-2030)
  • Establishments (2015-2030)
  • Enterprises (2015-2030)
  • Employment (2015-2030)
  • Exports (2015-2030)
  • Imports (2015-2030)
  • Wages (2015-2030)

Top Questions Answered

Unlock comprehensive answers and precise data upon purchase. View purchase options.

What is the market size of the Escape Rooms industry in Australia in 2025?

The market size of the Escape Rooms industry in Australia is $93.0m in 2025.

How many businesses are there in the Escape Rooms industry in Australia in 2025?

There are 166 businesses in the Escape Rooms industry in Australia, which has grown at a CAGR of 4.4 % between 2020 and 2025.

Has the Escape Rooms industry in Australia grown or declined over the past 5 years?

The market size of the Escape Rooms industry in Australia has been growing at a CAGR of 11.0 % between 2020 and 2025.

What is the forecast growth of the Escape Rooms industry in Australia over the next 5 years?

Over the next five years, the Escape Rooms industry in Australia is expected to grow.

What does the Escape Rooms industry in Australia include?

Story-driven rooms and Theme-focused rooms are part of the Escape Rooms industry in Australia.

How competitive is the Escape Rooms industry in Australia?

The level of competition is high and increasing in the Escape Rooms industry in Australia.

Related Industries

Widen your competitive advantage with related industries

International industries

View all industries in Australia

Methodology

How are IBISWorld reports created?

IBISWorld has been a leading provider of trusted industry research for over 50 years to the most successful companies worldwide. With offices in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and China, we are proud to have local teams of analysts that conduct research, data analysis and forecasting to produce data-driven industry reports.

Our analysts start with official, verified and publicly available sources of data to build the most accurate picture of each industry. Analysts then leverage their expertise and knowledge of the local markets to synthesize trends into digestible content for IBISWorld readers. Finally, each report is reviewed by one of IBISWorld’s editors, who provide quality assurance to ensure accuracy and readability.

IBISWorld relies on human-verified data and human-written analysis to compile each standard industry report. We do not use generative AI tools to write insights, although members can choose to leverage AI-based tools within the platform to generate additional analysis formats.

What data sources do IBISWorld analysts use?

Each industry report incorporates data and research from government databases, industry-specific sources, industry contacts, and our own proprietary database of statistics and analysis to provide balanced, independent and accurate insights.

Key data sources in Australia include:

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics
  • Australian Taxation Office
  • Australian Securities & Investments Commission

Analysts also use industry specific sources to complement catch-all sources, although their perspective may focus on a particular organization or representative body, rather than a clear overview of all industry operations. However, when balanced against other perspectives, industry-specific sources provide insights into industry trends.

These sources include:

  • Industry and trade associations
  • Industry federations or regulators
  • Major industry players annual or quarterly filings

Finally, IBISWorld’s global data scientists maintain a proprietary database of macroeconomic and demand drivers, which our analysts use to help inform industry data and trends. They also maintain a database of statistics and analysis on thousands of industries, which has been built over our more than 50-year history and offers comprehensive insights into long-term trends.

How does IBISWorld forecast its data?

IBISWorld’s analysts and data scientists use the sources above to create forecasts for our proprietary datasets and industry statistics. Depending on the dataset, they may use regression analysis, multivariate analysis, time-series analysis or exponential smoothing techniques to project future data for the industry or driver. Additionally, analysts will leverage their local knowledge of industry operating and regulatory conditions to impart their best judgment on the forecast model.

IBISWorld prides itself on being a trusted, independent source of data, with over 50 years of experience building and maintaining rich datasets and forecasting tools. We are proud to be the keystone source of industry information for thousands of companies across the world.

Learn more about our methodology and data sourcing on the Help Center.

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