- True Gamers has plans for an island including training facilities, tournament venue and hotels
- Cost of purchasing the island and building the facilities estimated to cost $280 million
- Plans are from long-term research involving 100-plus esports organisations
Plans have been unveiled for an ‘esports island’ to be built in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, costing $280 million.
True Gamers, an esports lounge network, has plans for the island to include a range of facilities, including a tournament venue, content creation spaces, training facilities and hotels.
But this won’t come cheap: the estimated costs of buying the island, which is near Abu Dhabi, and building the planned facilities is $280 million. To raise funds for this, True Games is currently in talks with what it called ‘high-profile investors’.
True Gamers says the plans for the esports island are the product of a long-term research project, which had input from more than 100 esports-related organisations, including more than 30 teams from all over the world, including Virtus.Pro, Team Spirit and BetBoom.
One of the centerpieces of the proposed island is The Digital Tower, which will house startup accelerators and animation studios, as well as meeting spaces. There will also be a gaming arena designed for esports tournaments, and a ‘bootcamp’ area that will be akin to American collegiate fraternities, according to True Gamers. This will have accommodation and technology in place for teams to train with.
There are also plans for a 200-room hotel, which will include gaming PCs along with more traditional hotel facilities.
No date has been set for when the island will open, but True Gamers has said that they anticipate investors will receive a return on their investment within 10 years, especially with the projected growth in the esports industry in the coming years.
