French video game company Atari has announced that it has signed an agreement with ICICB Group, and plans to open luxury hotels dedicated entirely to video games by 2023.
French publisher Atari, founded in 1972, is known as one of the founders of the video game industry. Its next project? The opening of the first luxury hotels dedicated to video games as early as 2023, in collaboration with the ICICB Group.
This new luxury hotel concept is expected to open initially in Dubai and Gibraltar, and may later expand to other major cities. Video game pioneer Atari explained that it wanted a place with a “relaxed and original” atmosphere that could suit families as well as professionals.
These luxury gaming hotels will include e-sports rooms (for video game competitions) and Atari playgrounds equipped with the publisher’s more than 200 flagship titles, including Pac-Man, Pong, or even Space Invaders.
The Atari luxury hotels will also have co-working spaces and meeting rooms to best meet the needs of business clients. A movie theater, a bar and a bakery will also be part of the Atari hotels‘ offering.
In 2020, Atari already mentioned this project of hotels dedicated to video games when signing the agreement with the American real estate developer, True North Studio, which plans to open hotels dedicated to video games in eight American cities: Austin, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle. Construction has already begun on the Atari Hotel in Phoenix near the Woz U campus.
A strategic project for Atari
The video game publisher is looking to revamp its brand image in order to really establish itself in the video game industry. Indeed, Atari, the founder of the video game industry, is now often associated with the term “retro-gaming” and has long been overtaken by publishers such as Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo.
This strategy of diversification of the brand is also part of a desire to generate significant revenues in a period when Atari is struggling to regain control of its business. Once hotels are open, Atari will receive a remuneration of 5% of the profits of each hotel.
To do this, Atari is counting on two branches of the company, Atari Gaming and Atari Blockchain. Atari Gaming is the branch dedicated to the group’s video game and licensing activities. In the long term, Atari Gaming‘s goal will be to return to its classics and adapt them to modern computers and consoles. The branch also plans to focus on free-to-play games for smartphones.
Atari Blockchain is the branch dedicated to the world of blockchain. Atari Blockchain‘s goal for the coming years is to invest in developing its own cryptocurrency and explore all the opportunities offered by fintech.
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