On Monday, March 28, MSU unveiled a new gaming lounge for the esports program and Stangs Gaming Club. MSU community members gathered in Legacy’s multipurpose room to celebrate and watch MSU’s varsity esports team play Rider High School’s varsity esports team in a game of Rocket League. Serious online gaming of this nature requires high-speed computers like the ones found in the new lounge.

Computers like these sell for a high price, and that can be a deterrent to students who want to game but can’t afford it. Zachary Zoet, esports and gaming coordinator, said that the gaming lounge is for students who otherwise wouldn’t be able to play.

“The gaming lounge is to help support our students that game either competitively or casually, to have like a hub to reduce those barriers because some students might not own gaming systems but are really into and interested in gaming but they’ve just had those barriers, whether that’s financial, or social or otherwise. Now they are going to have access to those things to explore different worlds of gaming and make friendships and connections,” Zoet said.

In order to keep up with competitive gaming teams, MSU’s esports teams needs quality equipment. That’s exactly what the gaming lounge consists of, 13 Alienware PCs and two televisions for console play or VOD, video-on-demand, review. Obtaining this kind of expensive equipment is the financial barrier that Zoet mentioned. Up to 20 gamers can play at once and the Wi-Fi connection in the gaming lounge is exclusive, meaning only those using the gaming lounge have access to it.

“These are some beasts of computers up there with a dedicated internet connection and so that’s really to support our varsity teams in competing against other universities and representing us,” Zoet said.

MSU’s esports program and Stangs Gaming Club are relatively new to campus, having both been established only last semester. Zoet said the gaming lounge will provide an area in which the esports teams can hopefully flourish and will show people that MSU is as serious about its esports program as it is about any other program on campus.

“It lets us walk the walk of really supporting our varsity teams and also walking that walk of supporting all kinds of gamers,” Zoet said.

Although this is only the second semester since the esports program and Stangs Gaming Club have been established, that doesn’t mean they haven’t grown. David Salinas, vice president of MSU Texas Esports, said even though the programs are still in their early stages they have already established themselves as legitimate campus organizations. Salinas also said that for him, gaming has always been a safe place and he is glad to finally be able to share that with other people.

“Gaming for me is kind of like my own little safe haven. It’s my escape from personal responsibilities whenever I need it. It’s my safe place, my safe haven and so getting to share that with other people means a lot to me,” Salinas said.

The gaming lounge is located on the fourth floor of Legacy Hall in the Esports and Gaming Living Learning Program. Esports team members and Stangs Gaming Club students have access to the lounge for free-play all day, but they do have to abide by a set schedule so that each team gets equal practice time. The team that has a scheduled time slot is the team that has rightful access to the lounge. Any student that wants to use the lounge can join the Stangs Gaming Club at any time. Kris Berry, computer engineering freshman, said he is ecstatic for the new gaming lounge to be open. He also said that he thinks it is important for MSU to have things like the gaming lounge so that students can have more activities to do.

“Most of my generation makes friends on the internet due to COVID and the fact that a lot of hangout places in small towns like this one, there are none. Half the mall is closed so you can’t go do that, like you know, stereotypical teenagers. So yeah, this is going to help out a lot of people,” Berry said.