7 Gaming Café Success Tips

Photo by Yan Krukau

Love video games? Want to launch a business and make your own money? A gaming cafe could be a business venture worth considering. These spaces provide a communal place for people to play video games and enjoy food and drink. They can be very profitable, providing that you get a few things right. Here are just 7 gaming cafe success tips to consider.

Go retro or go ultramodern

First, you need to decide what type of gaming experience to provide to customers. The two choices are to go retro or to go ultramodern. A retro gaming cafe could contain arcade machines and vintage home consoles/games – providing a nostalgia trip for older gamers and a chance for newer gamers to experience traditional gaming. A more retro 90s/80s decor scheme could suit this cafe well. Alternatively, you could allow gamers to play newer games they already know and love, but with high tech equipment like luxurious gaming chairs, giant backlit 8K TVs and surround sound speakers. Super-fast internet and a more modern decor theme (such as LED lighting and chrome surfaces) could be required for this type of cafe. 

Employ tech-savvy staff

Whatever direction you go, you’ll likely need to employ knowledgeable staff that not only have a passion for gaming but have an understanding of how to set up and maintain all the tech. Being able to repair arcade machines or solve internet issues quickly could ensure the smooth running of your business. 

Provide good quality food and drink

You could set up your business purely as a gaming lounge and focus purely on the gaming. However, customers will likely get hungry and thirsty while playing, and providing food and drink will keep them there longer and keep them satisfied. It’s also an extra source of revenue and could allow you to reduce the price for entering your cafe (you could even make the gaming side free!). To give customers the best experience, aim to provide top quality food and drink. It could be worth looking into commercial coffee machines and maybe preparing some cakes. You could even offer meals. 

Host birthday parties

Hosting birthday parties could be another great source of revenue. You could allow groups to rent out the cafe for private parties and offer a variety of birthday packages to choose from. This could include packages for young kids or teens, and packages for adults. Some gaming cafes find that this is so popular that they exclusively cater to events like birthday parties and Xmas parties. 

Put on tournaments

You could also attract customers by hosting gaming tournaments. These could require people to pay to enter and could come with cash prizes, while still leaving room for profit. You could also display leaderboards or certificate plaques that encourage gamers to enter these tournaments for the prestige. 

Promote on social media

When marketing your gaming cafe, make sure to create accounts on a few social media platforms. Social media is one of the best places to promote entertainment-based businesses like this, as you can promote photos and videos and network with other gaming-related accounts. You may even be able to sponsor local gaming influencers to further generate buzz. 

Seek funding from the right place

Launching a gaming cafe is likely to come with quite a few costs. This includes the cost of games and equipment, the cost of furnishing the location, the cost of various licences, the cost of marketing your company and the cost of recruiting staff. A loan could be one way to fund all this, however there could be other options to consider like crowdfunding or angel investors that are worth looking into. You may even be able to seek funding from multiple sources.