Scott Levy & Kay Ring

Scott Levy and Kay Ring are the co-owners and lead designers behind The Immersive Machine, a Phoenix-based escape room company known for their cyberpunk-themed experience, Sal’s Cybernetics. Scott brings a unique blend of technical expertise and creative vision to the business. Before starting The Immersive Machine, he worked at the game studio Blizzard in California, where he created immersive, escape room-adjacent events. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, he moved back to Phoenix and eventually met Kay, which set the entire venture in motion.

Kay Ring’s background is in the home haunt industry, where she spent years creating props, cosplay, and sets for small events. She owned a building in Phoenix that she rented to artists, and when her tenants left during the pandemic, she connected with Scott. He pitched his escape room concept, and Kay realized her building already had the proper zoning and infrastructure to make it happen. She gave up her own art studio space to build their first room, and the two have been building together ever since.

Together, Scott and Kay constructed Sal’s Cybernetics in exactly one year, from January 2022 to January 2023, for under $25,000, relying entirely on sweat equity. Scott taught himself coding and electronics from scratch to design the room’s tech, while Kay applied her fabrication skills to build the sets and props. Their venue operates four days a week and has grown from a 55% booking rate in year one to over 70% by year three. Both still maintain their day jobs while running the business and building new rooms.

A fun fact about their setup: unlike most escape room owners who are at the mercy of landlords, Kay already owned the building, which gave them the financial stability to grow at their own pace and become profitable with just one room.