‘Like you’re stepping into a video game’: Minecraft set to come to life this summer in Rosemont

Gamers will be able to battle creatures, mine elements and craft a life-saving potion when a popular video game comes to life this summer in Rosemont.

“Minecraft Experience: Villager Rescue,” is set to open Friday, May 8, at EXP, the new immersive entertainment venue at The Pearl District, officials announced Tuesday.

It’s the Midwest debut for the interactive experience that opened in Dallas in October 2024, then went to London, Toronto and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2025.

“It is very physical throughout. People will come out sweating,” said Sara Hougan, the creative director and experience designer with Montreal-based multimedia creative studio Supply + Demand. “There is throwing balls. There’s jumping over items. Dancing to make the final potion. It’s not at all like a laid-back, sit-back, sit-down experience.”

Described as an “epic, story‑driven rescue mission,” adventurers will go on a scavenger hunt and journey through seven Minecraft realms as they help rescue villagers under siege by a zombie attack.

They’ll encounter familiar creatures along the way — pandas, dolphins, skeletons, spiders and creepers — as they go from room to room to find ingredients for the elixir that will transform zombified villagers back to life.

“It’s really like you’re stepping into a video game,” Hougan said. “I have witnessed 30-year-olds with tears in their eyes saying, ‘I am relieving my childhood right here.’”

It’s sure to be a hit with those longtime players, and newer ones now in elementary school. But Hougan says she’s seen parents and grandparents bring their kids and enjoy the experience just as much.

A seasoned designer of exhibitions for museums and institutions throughout the world, Hougan had weekly calls with game developer Mojang Studios to make sure she was being true to the brand with artistic style and detailed textures.

But the mother of three also leaned on her kids to verify the experience had that “cool” factor.

“Minecraft echoed through my house for years. Certainly, it helped my older kids get through the pandemic,” Hougan said. “My younger son now feels like he should be on the credits for sure.”

EXP, the 26,000-square-foot venue that opened at 9900 Berwyn Ave. last September, currently hosts three virtual reality experiences — Life Chronicles, Horizon of Khufu and The Last Stronghold — through April 5.

Visitors won’t don virtual reality glasses for Minecraft Experience, but they will be armed with orbs of interaction — glowing video game controllers that will let them interact with walls and set pieces.

Tickets start at $28 and go on sale Tuesday, March 17, at minecraftexperience.com.