Later this spring semester, students can expect full access to the new Esports Gaming Lounge located on the second floor of the Robert Purcell Community Center.
According to Cornell’s Student and Campus Life website, the Esports Gaming Lounge will feature gaming PCs, popular PC games, TV stations and lounge seating. When the lounge opens, students will be able to attend drop-in times for unscheduled solo or multiplayer gaming and reserve spaces for student events.
According to Senior Director of Campus Life Marketing and Communications Karen Brown, the Student and Campus Life office hopes that the lounge will bring together students with a shared interest in gaming.
“While the lounge will help support our registered esports student organizations in their practice and help them participate in tournaments, it also provides an additional recreation space on campus for students to build community and socialize with friends,” Brown said.
Popular on-campus esports organizations include Esports at Cornell, with teams in competitive gaming tournaments like League of Legend, Dota 2 and CS:GO. The opening of the lounge can help further these gaming interests.
Brown said she hopes this increased student connection will ultimately contribute to student well-being.
“Increased opportunities to make connections and create strong bonds with peers are critical to overall health and well-being — a key factor in personal and academic success,” Brown said.
Echoing Brown’s hope, students expressed excitement about the prospect that the new space would bring together amateur players and professionals.
“There are definitely lots of people dedicated to esports,” Sebastian Waizenegger ’26 said. “I know that there is a big gaming community in Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hall, so maybe they will move to the lounge.”
Non-gamer students also agreed that the new facility would lead to a larger gaming community on campus.
“I am excited for the gaming community,” said Chloe Yun ’26. “I have people on my floor whose rooms are filled with gaming equipment — how great is it that in the lounge they can game together in the new lounge and bond over it.”
Other students had some logistical questions regarding the space.
“I am a little confused about how we will save our progress — if I want to game, I also want to save my progress so I can continue later,” said Peter Radzio ’26.
Despite the uncertainties before the lounge’s opening, students on North Campus are excited about how it can bring peers together.
“I think as a freshman it’s easy to be confined to your dorm building in terms of who you game with because it’s easier to access people’s rooms who are close by,” Yun said. “But in the lounge, you can feel united.”