Fortress Esports today announced that they are partnering with Vicinity Centres, Populous, and Allied Esports to create a massive esports and gaming venue as part of Melbourne Emporium in 2020. The venue, Fortress Melbourne, will consist of two floors of gaming goodness and will feature:
- Purpose-built, dedicated esports arena with retractable 200 seat grandstand on lower ground
- 50+ networked PCs within arena when seating is retracted
- Esports “sports” bar to complement arena
- Broadcast and production facilities
- 400+ sq/m themed basement “tavern” bar and restaurant
- Dedicated 56 PC LAN lounge
- 4 streamer pods
- 200+ sq/m function room with 40 extra PC’s for private events, birthday parties
- Dedicated area for RPG and tabletop gaming
- Professional esports boot camp room & training facilities
- 5+ big screens across both floors of the venue, broadcasting live tournaments and international playoffs year round
- Purpose built “casual console” gaming suites throughout the venue
- Merchandise store with esports apparel and tech
Which I think we can all agree is a lot.
Populous, the architecture firm responsible for the ANZ Stadium, will be handling the design and layout of the facility which will be located in the lower ground and basement levels of Melbourne Emporium. Allied Esports, who currently operate the HyperX Esports Arena in Las Vegas, will be lending their expertise in event programming, development, and operation. And Vicinity centres, who co-own and run the Melbourne Emporum will be providing the space. With so many hands on deck, Fortress Melbourne is sure to be a sight to behold.
“We want to make Fortress Melbourne the ultimate ‘home away from home’ for everyone, from casual gamers, competitive gamers and esports fanatics, to families and after work crowds. Fortress Melbourne will offer the best video gaming experiences and entertainment, with the newest tech, fastest internet, comfortable decor, great food and drinks, and a rich calendar of events and tournaments, plus more,” Stated Jon Slatterley CEO of Fortress Esports.
With venues like GG EZ, Bartonica, Pixel Alley, Pixel Bar, Bar SK, Queen of Spades, and Downstairs@lab, along with events like PAX Aus and MEO, Melbourne has quickly become a home for gamers of all stripes, whether they be tabletop, board, or video. And the addition of Fortress Melbourne may help make sure it stays that way.
But this begs the question; is this new venue already entering into a saturated market? Many of these places already have dedicated clientele. Every night scores of people visit places like Bartonica and GG EZ for to unwind after work with a beer and some digital goodness, Bar SK has cemented itself in the Melbourne indie games scene, hosting various events and game launches.
Perhaps the answer lies in the other services it will provide, mainly that of the broadcast and production facilities and the 4 dedicated streaming pods. With the slow roll-out and disappointing performance of the NBN, the road to becoming a streamer in Australia can be more than difficult.
Inconsistent or slow upload speeds more often than not can get in the way of putting out content, and lord knows its hard to compete on a global platform when your steaming in 720p while everyone else is 4K. so any place that’s willing to provide dedicated facilities to make the whole process easier is a much welcome addition to the gaming landscape.
Either way, with 2 in 3 Australians playing video games, and esports being a fast growing and lucrative form of entertainment; it’s no doubt that Fortress Melbourne will be able to carve out a niche for itself in Melbourne’s gaming scene.
For more information, check out the official website.
About the Author
Hailey McKay
When not writing for Checkpoint, Hailey enjoys dungeon delving, stagecoach robbery, and hunting monsters with her friends. She also spends a little too much time reading comics.
