Esports organization Misfits Gaming announced this week it will open a gaming space in Berlin. The new, state-of-the-art arena should serve as a go-to spot for streamers and pro players.
Bringing enthusiasts together under one roof
The purpose of the new facility will be to bring gaming fans together in one space. The arena is scheduled to open in September and will be located in Europa Center, a building complex in West Berlin that also includes a shopping mall.
“Choosing Berlin for our first local arena makes perfect sense for our organization the foundational piece of Misfits is our European League of Legends team which is headquartered in Berlin,” said Misfits Gaming Co-Founder and CEO Ben Spoont. “Fans of League of Legends will be able to interact with our League players on a regular basis with lots of fun and rewarding experiences.”
Bringing a dedicated esports space to Berlin should further strengthen the city’s position as one of Germany’s hot esports spots. What’s more, earlier this year, Berlin-based esports organization G2 Esports announced its own Esports High Performance Center in the city.
“With the Misfits Arena, we’re aiming to create a gathering ground for gamers, offering them an experience resembling a true competitive environment,” commented Misfits Gaming VP of Operations Jake Kuhn. “We believe Misfits has some of the most talented professional gamers as well as entertainers and we plan to share a bit of our family’s expertise with our fans through creative experiences at The Arena.”
Germany and esports
Not only is Germany the home base of many big-name organizations — ESL, SK Gaming, and mousesports — the country also hosts some of the biggest esports competitions in cities like Cologne and Frankfurt.
Germany is also active in the discussion on the overall place of esports globally. Joining organizations like the International Esports Federation, Germany-based organizations show willingness to standardize and professionalize esports.
As the popularity of esports grows, an increasing number of endemic and non-endemic players look for ways to capitalize on this success.
Recently, for example, German sports TV broadcaster Sport1 announced plans to launch an esports channel. Talking to the industry magazine DWDL, the company revealed plans to jump on the esports band wagon.
Back in 2016, Sport1 got involved with esports by covering the huge Dota 2 tournament ESL One Frankfurt. It then continued with ESL One Hamburg in 2017 when it partnered with ESL. Having also broadcasted various other competitions like the EU LCS and CS:GO events, the company has now clearly expressed interest in developing something solely dedicated to esports coverage.
Suffice it to say, the future of competitive gaming in Germany is bright.
