Gameworks Seattle will restart this summer.
The bar in the city center was one tenth of the geek community in the region until it was closed in 2021 due to COVID-19. Now it is under new management and may reopen in July at the earliest.
On Friday morning, news about the possible revival of gameworks was initially spread through social media. On Thursday, the Shanxi Yatu blog of Congress first reported the new license application of gameworks. Greg Stevens and Howard brand were the applicants.
Stevens, who served as CEO of the national gameworks chain from 2011 to 2018, said that the revived gameworks Seattle will become the “focus” of the comprehensive revival of the restaurant / Arcade chain.
Stevens told geekwire: “from the perspective of passion, we are very disappointed with what the gameworks brand has done and its positioning. We are very disappointed with what happens next.”. “It’s like ‘what a pity’, but it’s also an interesting opportunity.”
Stevens said they wanted to revive the brand because they believed it resonated with the community and because they liked what gameworks used to be.
He and brand are currently the only sources of funding to restart the project. They have no plans to seek external investment or expand outside Seattle at least six months before they reopen in Seattle.
Gameworks entertainment center chain store was initially established in 1996, which is composed of Sega, a Japanese video game developer, Universal Studios and DreamWorks. It was initially participated by Steven Spielberg. Seattle, located near Park Street on Seventh Avenue, was its first location and opened in March 1997.
Gameworks was sold to investment group HNR capital in 2011, and brand is the managing partner of the group. Stevens has been CEO of the company since then until gameworks was sold to oomba, a social media company, in 2018. In 2021, when gameworks was closed nationwide, it was owned by exworks capital, an investment company based in Illinois.
Former gameworks management described the slow economic recovery after the epidemic as the main reason for closing its remaining U.S. factories. In addition to Seattle, the gameworks venue is located in Austin; Philadelphia; Schomberg, IL.; South Miami; And the American mall in Bloomington, Minnesota.
In addition to operating bars, restaurants and video game halls, gameworks Seattle also held many activities for the Seattle game community. This includes regular E-sports competitions, a weekly game Conference for fighting game fans on the second floor, a local twitch streamer monthly meeting organized by the Seattle Online Broadcasting Association, and a virtual appearance after the end of the world in the award-winning 2020 video game the last of us part II.
According to Stevens, he and brand regained the gameworks Seattle deal, which also includes all the assets of the venue. This includes all its arcade series, none of which has ever been sold.
“Every piece of equipment is there,” Stevens said. “This is one of the keys we want to ensure. I don’t want to say it will be seamless, but it will be the same as before.”
Gameworks Seattle will reopen the same events, similar menus, and even many of the same employees, and Stevens said many of them want to come back.
“Our focus is Seattle,” Stevens said. “It has been there for more than 20 years, and we know it resonates in the community. There is a strong and loyal follower. It’s all about how we can bring it back to life.”
When asked about the logistics that reopened in downtown Seattle in 2022, Stevens was optimistic given the city’s crime problems over the past few years.
“I’m not a Seattle resident, but I know what happened,” Stevens said. “I kind of expected things to get worse and was surprised. I walked around outside and felt very safe.
“I think this is a recovery,” he added. “To some extent, we believe in downtown Seattle. The life cycle of the area… Has ups and downs, but mainly in the right direction.”