The Future of Hospitality Begins with World-Class Atari Hotels, Where Gaming and Pop Culture-inspired Entertainment and Modern Accommodations Converge 

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA (OCTOBER 14, 2020) – GSD Group — an innovation and strategy agency — announced today that it has hired world-renowned architecture and design firm Gensler and unveiled their vision for the highly anticipated pop culture and video game-inspired Atari® Hotels with the first two hotels to open  in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Phoenix, Arizona. In  addition, GSD Group has secured the rights to build  future Atari Hotels opening in Austin, Chicago, Denver, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle. The newly announced Las Vegas location will bring an experience that has never existed in a market primed for evolution.

Announced earlier this year as an exclusive licensing agreement with Atari®, the iconic entertainment brand behind seminal video games properties such as Asteroids®, Centipede®, and PONG®, Atari Hotels will offer guests a wholly unique hospitality experience inspired by, and built with, classic and modern video game culture in mind. 

Atari Hotels perfectly blends the past, present, and future of video games and entertainment for a destination that offers guests a one-of-a-kind hospitality experience, complete with state-of-the-art amenities for esports fans and content creators. Guests can enjoy the latest in video games, experience cutting-edge immersive entertainment, purchase exclusive Atari Hotels merchandise, and play the night away in retro-style gaming arcades. A speakeasy and fully equipped nightclub will be available for adult guests, as well as themed restaurants and bars. Atari Hotels delightfully plays with the themes of retro-futurism, pop culture, and nostalgia — offering fun for the whole family. 

“Like Atari’s legacy in innovation, Atari Hotels is infusing synthetic reality into every aspect of the hotel, creating an immersive hospitality and gaming experience for our guests,” said Shelly Murphy, Managing Partner, GSD Group. . “From our  virtual interactive world to the physical locations,  every element of Atari Hotels will offer a unique and authentic experience for everyone.”

“We are excited to join GSD Group on this journey to create a completely new kind of immersive experience with the debut of Atari Hotels,” says Tom Ito, Global Hospitality Director, Gensler. “We assembled a multi-disciplinary design team with experts from hospitality to branding, sports, and digital experience design to develop a dynamic brand that is unmatched in the hospitality industry.

“I have seen the vision that GSD Group has for Atari Hotels, and they are poised to shatter the perception of what hotels can be,” said Fred Chesnais, CEO of Atari®. “Atari Hotels will create a world that caters to gamers of all ages and experience levels, giving them a place to call home — a groundbreaking experience that shares Atari’s legacy of innovation.”

At Atari Hotels, experiential interactive entertainment and stylized accommodations await guests, providing a unique experience prior to even checking in, and lasting far beyond check out. Featuring a multi-use, cutting-edge gaming arena, players and spectators will thrive in a world of video games like never before, blurring the lines between the nostalgic era and contemporary ever-evolving digital worlds. Unlike other hospitality destinations in the Las Vegas area, Atari Hotels will give guests the chance to explore and enjoy groundbreaking hospitality innovations, business opportunities, and a revolutionary variety of entertainment options. Retro enthusiasts, casual and hardcore gamers, content creators, and esports professionals will consider Atari Hotels as a unique place to call their home away from home.

Analyst firm Newzoo estimates that the world’s more than 2.5 billion global video gamers will spend roughly $160 billion in 2020 and anticipate the video game industry to grow to an impressive 2.7 billion gamers generating over $200 billion in revenue by the year 2023. Atari Hotels has committed to investing in on-site immersive entertainment and will feature trending and breakthrough advancements in virtual reality and augmented reality technology, ensuring it is uniquely and ideally poised to capitalize on this tremendous demand and thriving opportunity.

For more information about Atari Hotels, please visit www.atarihotels.com.

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A full press kit, including renders and logos, is available here: https://uberstrategist.link/PressKit-AtariHotels. 

About GSD Group

Based in Scottsdale Arizona, GSD Group is an innovation and strategy group with extensive experience in finance, education, and entertainment, focused on creating innovative verticals with legacy brands. Atari Hotels is inspired by the legacy and creativity of iconic video-game pioneer Atari®. Atari Hotels will deliver a first of its kind hospitality endeavor designed around the culture of gaming, blending the past, present, and future of video and immersive entertainment that offers guests a one-of-a-kind hospitality experience, complete with state of the art gaming amenities. To learn more, visit www.atarihotels.com and www.gsdgroupllc.com.

About Gensler

Gensler is a global architecture, design, and planning firm with 50 locations and more than 6,000 professionals networked across Asia, Europe, Australia, the Middle East, and the Americas. Founded in 1965, the firm serves more than 3,500 active clients in virtually every industry. Gensler designers strive to make the places people live, work and play more inspiring, more resilient, and more impactful. Learn more at www.gensler.com.

About Atari

Atari® is an interactive entertainment company. As an iconic brand that transcends generations and audiences, the company is globally recognized for its multi-platform, interactive entertainment, and licensed products. Atari owns and/or manages a portfolio of more than 200 games and franchises, including world-renowned brands like Asteroids®, Centipede®, Missile Command®, PONG®, and RollerCoaster Tycoon®. Atari has offices in New York and Paris. Visit us online at www.atari.com.

All rights reserved. ©2020 Atari Interactive, Inc. Atari wordmark and logo are trademarks owned by Atari Interactive, Inc.

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PRESS CONTACT

UberStrategist, Inc.

CJ Melendez, Mario R. Kroll, and Jessica Timms

[email protected] 

+1-646-844-8388 

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

GSD Group/Atari Hotels

Lonnie Sweeney and Merissa Rivera

[email protected] 

+1-800-617-8981 

New York, NY (January 27, 2020) – Atari® — one of the world’s most iconic consumer brands and entertainment producers — today announced a deal with GSD Group — a leading innovation and strategy agency, led by founder Shelly Murphy and partner Napoleon Smith III — to acquire the rights to build video game-themed Atari Hotels in the United States, with the first location breaking ground in Phoenix, AZ later this year. 

Atari, a trailblazer in the gaming industry, is pioneering an exciting new concept: a unique lodging experience combining the iconic brand with a one-of-a-kind video game-themed destination. Atari Hotels level up hotel entertainment with fully immersive experiences for every age and gaming ability, including the latest in VR and AR (Virtual and Augmented Reality). Select hotels will also feature state-of-the-art venues and studios to accommodate esports events. 

Hotel development and design is being led by Shelly Murphy’s GSD Group and Napoleon Smith III, producer of the wildly successful Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film franchise reboot. True North Studio, a leading Phoenix, AZ-based real estate developer — currently working alongside GSD Group with Steve Wozniak’s Woz Innovation Foundation — will develop the first Atari- branded hotel. 

“We are thrilled to partner with GSD Group and True North Studio to build the first-ever Atari branded hotels across the United States. Together we’ll build a space that will be much more than just a place to stay,” said Fred Chesnais, CEO of Atari. “Atari is an iconic global brand that resonates with people of all ages, countries, cultures and ethnic backgrounds and we cannot wait for our fans and their families to enjoy this new hotel concept.” 

More than 2.5 billion gamers across the world spent more than $152.1 billion (US) on games in 2019 alone; an increase of +9.6% year on year. One of the most distinctive trends in gaming is gamers gravitating toward recognizable intellectual property. Atari Hotels will offer consumers exactly that, marrying the origins of gaming and the future of the booming industry into a fun and unique travel destination. 

“When creating this brand-new hotel concept, we knew that Atari would be the perfect way to give guests the ‘nostalgic and retro meets modern’ look and feel we were going for. Let’s face it, how cool will it be to stay inside an Atari?!” said Napoleon Smith III. 

“Atari Hotels will be the first of their kind in the U.S., offering gamers of all ages the ultimate in immersive entertainment and in every aspect of gaming. We’re excited to be working on this project with such great partners and to bring a big win to Arizona,” added Shelly Murphy. 

The first of the Atari Hotels is planned to break ground in 2020 in Phoenix, AZ with initial additional hotels planned in Las Vegas, Denver, Chicago, Austin, Seattle, San Francisco, and San Jose. For more information about Atari Hotels, please visit www.atarihotels.com. 

About GSD Group GSD Group is a leading innovation and strategy group — with experience in finance, education, entertainment and creating innovative verticals with legacy brands. GSD Group is associated with Steve Wozniak’s Woz Innovation Foundation and DesTechAZ. 

About True North Studio True North Studio is a collection of talented professionals that hail from a variety of specialties, but share a common goal — to create and curate exceptional spaces where incredible things happen on a daily basis. And they have the expertise and acumen to make it work. The founders have decades of experience in commercial real estate construction, development, finance, and accounting and have been involved in more than $6 billion in projects around the world. The team consists of some of the best people and partners in the industry and the portfolio of properties is carefully managed, and provides an incredible array of opportunities and experiences. 

About Atari Atari is an interactive entertainment company. As an iconic brand that transcends generations and audiences, the company is globally recognized for its multi-platform, interactive entertainment and licensed products. Atari owns and/or manages a portfolio of more than 200 games and franchises, including world-renowned brands like Asteroids®, Centipede®, Missile Command®, Pong®, and RollerCoaster Tycoon®. Atari has offices in New York and Paris. Visit us online at www.Atari.com. 

© 2020 Atari Interactive, Inc. All rights reserved. Atari word mark and logo are trademarks owned by Atari Interactive, Inc. 

Disclaimer: The realization of the plans, and their operational budget and financing plan remain inherently uncertain, and the non-realization of these assumptions may impact their value. 

### PRESS CONTACTS 

FOR Atari Hotels Shelly Murphy +1-480-650-4249 [email protected] www.atarihotels.com