London’s famous Namco Funscape arcade has closed after 25 years

The Namco Funscape amusement facility in London’s South Bank has permanently closed its doors.

A message on its official Facebook page confirmed that Funscape closed for good yesterday, after 25 years of service.

“After 25 years, London’s leading family and corporate entertainment venue within the iconic County Hall building has closed,” the message reads.

“We’re heartbroken to have closed our landmark site that has been entertaining families, friends, and corporate groups from all over the world for 25 years. We look forward to seeing you at another NAMCO venue soon and thank you for amazing memories!”

Bandai Namco still has six more Funscape arcades located elsewhere in England, with branches in Braintree, Manchester, Gateshead, Norwich, Romford and Tamworth.

The London County Hall venue was its flagship establishment, however, with three floors of amusements including a bowling alley and a Virtual Reality centre including one of the few Mario Kart VR set-ups in the country.

According to reports, the closure was not down to money lost during the COVID-19 pandemic, but rather down to the owner of the County Hall site it’s located in.

Arcade Heroes reported recently that Funscape was being forced to close because of planned redevelopment of the County Hall.

While Bandai Namco starts potentially looking for a new venue for a flagship Funscape venue, Sega is reportedly planning to bring its Joypolis indoor amusement parks to the UK.

A financial report published earlier this year by the China Animation Cultural Technology Group, the Chinese company that owns CA Joypolis, states plans to open Joypolis venues in more regions, and that potential UK locations are already being researched.