The idea of an Internet Cafe is nothing new, but we’ve definitely seen a decline of them in recent years. However, the UK’s leading gaming retailer GAME has decided to breath some life into the concept. Belong by GAME is a collection of ‘gaming arenas’ situated across the UK. In Glasgow, you will find Belong alongside GAME on Union Street, outside Central Station.
Belong Glasgow is home to 16 gaming stations, each with a PS4 Pro, an Xbox One S and a high spec gaming PC. The arena also offers VR experiences with an HTC Vive and various VR games to choose from. And what’s a good gaming session without some snacks? You will also be able to grab some American candy at the arena.
Each Belong store has its own ‘tribe’ of gamers. These tribes are set up to create competition between the locations. The tribe in Glasgow is called the Clyde Claymores and the arena has been named The Armoury. You can even rent out the area if you’re planning a get-together or having a party.
The arena will hold qualifying nights throughout the year for games such as Overwatch, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and League of Legends. The qualifying nights will decide if you move on to the ArenaClash to play against other UK wide teams. The winners will get cash and the knowledge that they are the best in the UK.
It is fair to note that this idea is not particularly unique since cafes like this already exist across the world. The main difference here is the infrastructure that Belong is building to create a network of these Arenas across the UK.
Competitive gaming has come a long way in the past ten years and this is a smart move by GAME to cash in on this growing market. This is something that will continue to develop as competitive gaming evolves and becomes more mainstream. If you want to grab a glance of what is to come, head on down to Belong on Union Street and if you are interested in a bit of competition go for one of the qualifying nights.
Featured image credit – Belong website
