Fifteen years ago, Gregory Moore was running a modest video game store in Kingston, selling consoles and cartridges to loyal customers of Str8Games. Today, he’s leading one of Jamaica’s most ambitious digital transformation companies — a certified Google partner, builder of AI-powered simulators for national security, and the force behind immersive tech labs soon to span the Caribbean.

“I’m just a game head helping to change the nation,” Moore said, reflecting on the moment the Jamaica Fire Brigade approved the company’s largest simulator build. That project, like many others under his belt, wasn’t just about flashy tech — it was about building tools that train, protect, and support real-world problem-solving.

Moore is the co-founder and CEO of NovaCore Labs, a division of PlayJamaica Limited, a company that has reinvented itself more than once to keep pace with an industry that never sits still. What started as a short-lived application 16 years ago is now a serious player in public sector innovation, supplying immersive tools to the Jamaica Constabulary Force, the Ministry of National Security, and the Tourism Enhancement Fund.

But it wasn’t always smooth sailing.

“We launched PlayJamaica in 2009 as an online mini-game platform that awarded prizes to top scorers,” Moore recalled. “Unfortunately, due to the lack of proper e-commerce infrastructure at the time, the project ended in 2012.”

That failure didn’t stop him. Instead, he went deeper. With proceeds from Str8Games, Moore and his brother Ryan revived the brand in 2017 with the launch of VRX — a virtual reality gaming centre that exploded in popularity, serving more than 1,000 experiences a week.

“It went viral — locally and internationally,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

Then came the COVID-19 pandemic — and another pivot.

“When the pandemic hit, we rebranded as Virtual Reality Jamaica and moved into enterprise,” Moore said.

What began as a consumer-facing entertainment concept evolved into a B2B model delivering immersive solutions for training, education, and public sector outreach.

By 2024, Moore realised the name itself was becoming a barrier. “Virtual Reality and Jamaica made people think we were niche. So we rebranded again, this time as NovaCore Labs, a forward-facing division focused on immersive and emerging technologies for national and regional digital transformation,” he said.

Operating from the Technology Innovation Centre at University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech), NovaCore Labs has broadened its reach and solidified its role as a player in the Caribbean’s evolving tech ecosystem. The company now delivers solutions across four distinct verticals. It develops temporary immersive experiences for events and marketing campaigns, installs long-term setups for vocational training and education, supports enterprise and public sector transformation through Google Cloud and Maps, and leverages artificial intelligence and big data for digital modernisation projects.

And the pipeline is just as ambitious. NovaCore is currently developing automation and robotics solutions for field operations, security and situational awareness tools powered by AI and drones, and a regional roll-out of Nucleus — an immersive learning lab being developed in partnership with The University of the West Indies (The UWI) Global Campus.

“Our 15-year partnership with UWI is the beginning of a regional talent funnel,” Moore told the Business Observer. “We’re building a generation of future-ready professionals who will thrive in the NovaCore ecosystem or the broader digital workforce.”

What sets NovaCore apart isn’t just its tech, it’s its purpose. The company has created VR tools that support the Ministry of National Security, used drones and AI to map and visualise urban conditions, and helped place Denham Town on Google Street View.

“We launched Jamaica’s first Google Street View car,” Moore said. “We’re not just reacting to the future, we’re building it.”

The team is lean — just 10 core staff — but they scale through contractors and collaborators, many of whom are students and young techies trained in-house.

“CSR is at our core,” Moore said. “Our presence in the university space and my work with the Jamaica Esports Initiative ensure that youth, Government, and small businesses get access to the same tools we use to serve global clients.”

That mission-first model has drawn the attention of Government agencies and international investors alike, but Moore admits scaling comes with pain points.

“We’ve been bootstrapping since day one, not by choice, but necessity,” he said. “Traditional investment often demands too much. Talent development is also a challenge, as our tech is very new to the region and requires time to train people properly. That said, programmes like the Development Bank of Jamaica’s BIGEE initiative are helping bridge the gap, and we’re attracting meaningful international investment interest.”

He’s blunt about the strain on his team. “Keeping the lights on while scaling, and avoiding burnout — those are our biggest threats.”

Still, 2024 was the company’s best financial year to date. With stronger systems, automation in place, and a focus on subscription-based services, Moore is targeting threefold growth in the next two years and tenfold in five. “We’re laying the foundation for a regional footprint.”

To get there, NovaCore is pursuing long-term government contracts, international partnerships, and funding to build the capital runway it needs to scale. “We’re accelerating our automation efforts, seeking debt and equity funding, and investing heavily in team upskilling.”

His advice to aspiring entrepreneurs in the gaming/tech industry:

“Every level has a devil,” Moore said, laughing. “And the reward for beating each one is increased resilience. Focus less on chasing money and more on solving real problems — the value and revenue will follow.”