Watch out, gamers! A new ESports Lounge is opening early next month on the third floor of the Otter Student Union next to The Rookery.
Developed by California State University, Monterey Bay’s (CSUMB) Student Engagement and Leadership Development (SELD) department, the goal for the Otter Esports Lounge is to create a fun, inclusive gaming environment for students to come to in their free time.
SELD wants students from all backgrounds and walks of life to feel welcome and have fun. There were multiple beta testing events throughout the past week to test drive the new lounge.
“All I can say for now is that the room you see now will look very different come opening day,” said student assistant Sabrina Miramontes, who helped host the beta tests.
The Esports Lounge is kitted with eight new Alienware gaming PC’s along with peripherals that are all available to students looking to play.
As of now, students will have access to 17 games, pending testing. Some games currently available are Overwatch 2, Call of Duty Warzone, Dota 2, Team Fortress 2, Apex legends, Sims 4, Fortnite, Rocket League, Fall guys, Valorant and Minecraft. In the future, SELD hopes to get student input on game additions.
Upon opening, SELD looks forward to seeing groups come in and all hop onto the same game to play together. The space will also be available for clubs to use the space for meetings or any other events they would like to host in the lounge.