Open World Gaming Brings LAN Center Back to the Rockford Area

The Rockford area has been sorely lacking in a place for gamers to congregate and play together for around a decade. Thankfully, Jake Baxter, Zach Moll, and Matt Hansen are remedying this problem with a brand new business in town that should get fans of gaming very excited. Open World Gaming offers 8,600 square feet of space, 80 gaming stations, and the ability for 100 people to play at the same time via wired connectivity. There’s even a stage at the back of the room with enough room for 6v6 eSports tournaments, complete with 60-inch screens behind the players so spectators can keep up with the action. All of this is complemented by a built-in sound system with 25 speakers to enhance the experience.

A True Passion Project

I sat down with Jake prior to their grand opening to chat with him about starting his business in Rockford. I asked him about what motivated him to establish Open World Gaming, and it’s clear that he has high hopes for the future of our hobby.

I’ve been into gaming my whole life, right? It’s my passion, and I love playing video games, so I wanted to figure out how can I make a living doing this. I am not good enough to be a pro gamer, and I’m not talented enough to design or make video games. But I love setting up events, and I’ve done tons of LAN parties at my house, so I thought that maybe there was a way I could make money doing that.

I see that gaming is becoming more and more of an eye-catcher to kids, young adults, and even older adults. There’s been more viewership in eSports than in other sports like tennis and golf. Companies like Coca-cola, Pepsi, [and] Bud Light are all sponsoring these eSport leagues, and that’s where the money is going to go for prizes and prize pools. Like the Fortnite kid that made three million is crazy, and that’s awesome, but that prize pool might have been too low, honestly, with the amount of viewership people are getting from this.

Welcome to the Future

Jake clearly sees the potential for gaming on the horizon, but he’s also not blind to the negativity surrounding the industry. Here’s what he had to say about facing the uphill climb of people looking down on video games.

I think there’s a lot of [negativity] like in anything, but I think the numbers in support are just huge the other way. There are a couple of outliers that are upset, and there are always going to be haters, but the amount of positive support is ridiculous. People are so excited and love this place, and love the idea of it. And I think if you try to dismiss what eSports is becoming, you are kind of fooling yourself.

My girlfriend and I don’t watch cable. We literally watch Netflix, Hulu, and Twitch. I will watch other people play video games either while I’m gaming or playing games on my phone. And kids are the same way. They will literally go on their phone and watch people play video games. That’s the entertainment. That’s where a huge percentage of focus is headed.

What to Expect from Open World Gaming

I asked Jake how he plans to host gaming tournaments. He showed me a calendar of events for the next several months that include a plethora of choices. Some days focus on a specific game to give the day a certain theme. For instance, one day was designated as “Zelda Day” to coincide with the upcoming release of the remake of Link’s Awakening. He also gave me some insight on how leagues will be run at Open World Gaming.

We go through a service called GG Leap. You create an account, and they will automatically track stats on League of Legends, DOTA [Defense of the Ancients], Fortnite, and (soon to be) Teamfight Tactics. There are actually built-in events through them that you play. For example, you’d play at a local event on a Saturday that we host at Open World Gaming, and we would have so many people qualify at our LAN center. For Sunday, you would be connected to the whole GG Leap circuit, which is 3,000 other LAN centers, and you can play against them for giant prizes we wouldn’t be able to afford with our own LAN center. We also host local-only events.

We are going to have winter, spring, summer, and fall seasons. It’s going to be a four-month [schedule] where we will post which events are coming up and the day they are on. We try to fill out the whole calendar. There’s always gotta be something going on. Whether its something simple like getting a free slice of pizza after you pay $10 for game hours, or it’s $5 off a whole day pass.

Paving the Road for More Gaming

Jake and his team obviously have high hopes for the near future of Open World Gaming. But their aspirations are even greater than just these early steps. Jake told me about his goal of opening more LAN centers down the road, which includes taking newer franchise owners under his wing to inspire them to be more successful. Here’s what he told me.

We are hoping 12-24 months down the road (depending on how popular this gets) to open up a second store. The more popular this place is, the closer the second store will be. We eventually want to own five or six [centers] and be able to franchise. I think people want to be entrepreneurs, but can’t get a loan from the bank or [don’t] have deep pockets. That’s also where I started.

I want to pre-package [this idea] and say ‘if you can save up this amount of money, we can give you a package that lays out how to raise your credit score and be able to finance a business like this’. Telling someone you can’t be a business owner unless you have a quarter of a million dollars isn’t something I want to say. I want people to be invested enough and to help them become business owners. They could buy an Open World Gaming store, and it would have a rubric of what the exact expenses [would] be, give or take location. That’s my future ten years from now. I want to be selling franchises to other people.

Open World Gaming Now

The grand opening for Open World Gaming takes place on Friday, September 6 at their location, which can be found at 320 N Alpine Road in Rockford. Doors open at 2:00 with free play for all. The official opening takes place at 6:00, and there will be giveaways all weekend, including an Xbox One S, gaming headsets, Newegg gift cards, and much more.

During regular hours of operation patrons will be able to play at any of the available stations for $4.00 per hour or $10 for three hours. You can also purchase day passes for $15.00 per day from Monday through Thursday or $20.00 per day on weekends. The center includes 25 Xbox Ones, 25 PS4s, 25 PCs, and 4 Nintendo Switch consoles.

The Gaming Outsider team will be attending the grand opening. Keep it locked here for more updates, and watch our Facebook group for live streams on-location.