A new place for competitive and casual gamers called, “Open World Gaming,” has just opened up in Rockford, Illinois. The gaming center is located on 320 N. Alpine Road and they just had their grand-opening on September 6th.
The gaming center is free to enter with very affordable gaming rates. Their rates start at $4 for one hour, $10 for three hours, $15 for an all-day weekday pass, and $20 for an all-day weekend pass. The best part about their rates is that any left-over time you incur rolls over to your next visit. If you’re interested in visiting, they’re open everyday from 12pm-12am. If you stop by before midnight on a Friday or Saturday then you can participate in a lock-in and stay up until 6am.
Open World Gaming offers a variety of gaming stations from Xbox, PlayStation, PC, and even two racing simulator stations. They’re also working on a Virtual Reality station, but as of right now they just have one. With the hopes to have the rest of the stations by the end of the year.
If you’re on the competitive side, they currently offer 12 week leagues at $30 a teammate for Super Smash Brothers, Rocket League, and Smite. You also have the opportunity to enter local or even nation-
wide tournaments and compete with thousands of other gamers. If you’re interested in any of their weekly tournaments, they cost $5-20 a person, with cash prizes up to $10,000.
One of the co-owners, Matt Hansen, commented, “We’re big into competitive Esports, so we do a lot of tournaments.We have a vigorous weekly schedule, everyday we’re doing something.”
Their tournament schedule usually goes as follows:
Mondays at 6pm-APEX (1v1)
Tuesdays at 6pm-Super Smash Bros (2v2) Wednesdays at 6pm-Fortnite (1v1)
Thursdays at 6pm-Rocketleague (2v2)
Fridays at 8pm-Fortnite (2v2)
Saturdays at 6pm-Super Smash Bros (1v1)
Sundays at 3pm- Call of Duty:Modern Warfare (2v2)
Sundays at 6pm- Smite (2v2)
If you’re not much of a competitive gamer, they have other options as well. As of right now, they have 3 pool tables and along their back wall, and multiple couch co-op stations. If you’re looking into trying a new game without the hassle of creating your own account, they provide pre-made, shared accounts that you can jump right into.
If you’re looking for a cool environment to game with your friends or meet other gamers, then this place is just the thing for you. With an open floor plan, Open World Gaming was designed to be a comfortable, social environment for every kind of gamer.
“Gamers kinda spend all their time at home,” Baxter said, “so we want them to come out in an environment that they’re comfortable in.”
