Futures First Gaming has always been about more than fun and games.
The esports industry is a serious business, and Futures First Gaming, also known as FFG, wants today’s disadvantaged youth to have access to the jobs of tomorrow. The esports education company, founded in 2020 by Stephen Sye, Malcolm Coley and Newdy Felton, hit another milestone this week with the grand opening of its FFG Central location in the Nemours Building next to Theatre N.
“We were tired of having to go somewhere else to find a gaming community,” Sye said of the early days of FFG. “Why do we have to go to Philly, why do we have to go to Baltimore? Let’s start something ourselves. And so we did.”
FFG took its new opening step as an opportunity to rebrand with a new mission statement: To eradicate educational inequities and economic disadvantages due to digital disparities.
On Tuesday evening, attendees toured the space, which includes a classroom/gaming space, a podcast studio and an event/tournament space. FFG also has access to The Mill’s Theatre N, where they will hold tournaments on the big screen.
Check out photos of the new space below.
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- The FFG Central Grand Opening.
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- A neon version of the FFG logo greets visitors at the front desk.
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- FFG CEO Stephen Sye leads a tour of the space.
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- A classroom with powerful gaming PCs that doubles as a by-the-hour arcade.
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- Community members can have access to gaming computers by the hour or day.
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- The halls of FFG Central.
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- FFG Central’s podcasting suite.
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- A lounge style area has console gaming.
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- In addition to PCs and gaming consoles, FFG Central has VR gaming.
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- Theatre N is next door, and will be used for big screen tournament play.
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- The founders talk about the challenges of building an inclusive gaming insdustry.
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- A colorful visualization shows career paths tied to gaming and esports.
➡️ Read more
- Sneak peek: Futures First Gaming’s first esports center in Wilmington
- Futures First Gaming is launching a 12-month workforce development program
- AI du Pont High School is blazing a trail for esports in Delaware with this sweet new arena-slash-classroom
- Yes, gaming can be good for your mental health
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