Gameway, a video gaming lounge that opened two locations inside Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, aims to change that. The concept and implementation are relatively straightforward: Gameway is a network of gaming stations where you can relax in a comfortable chair, put on headphones, and play Xbox games on a 43-inch 4K television. In addition, terminals B42 and E16 have lounges.
Jordan Walbridge, the company’s president, is all too acquainted with how dull airports can be. Since his wife and co-founder, Emma, is English, the pair have spent a lot of time at airports when traveling between countries. Jordan attributes the inception of Gameway to Emma. She has experience managing hotels, but she saw that it would be difficult to fill a standard video gaming lounge on weekdays – “unless you built it in a location that is always busy,” she said, “Similar to an airport.”
Gameway’s philosophy is that for a nominal cost (42 cents per minute, or $20 for all-day gaming), you may immerse yourself in a game in the same way that you would at home. As a result, each Gameway station comes pre-installed with up to 20 new and popular Xbox games – as long as they are not too violent. This includes popular multiplayer games such as Call of Duty: WWII, Madden, Overwatch, Fortnite, and Rocket League, as well as standalone titles such as the family-friendly Minecraft and the gripping adventure game Rise of the Tomb Raider.
Not to worry, the stations do not seem to share the mysterious internet connection that you are constantly forced to use at airports. If you desire, you can log in using your own Xbox Gamertag to keep track of your game progress and data.