Last year Simon invested that same amount in the same e-sports company, which describes its business model as connecting e-sports players, streamers and fans through gaming arenas. Simon and Allied say they will break ground soon on the first fruit of that venture: a two-level, 13,000-square-foot gaming venue at Simon’s Mall of Georgia, in Buford. “This is exactly the type of innovative activation that excites our customers and drives traffic for our centers at Simon,” said Mark Silvestri, Simon’s COO for development.

Allied Esports and Brookfield will also develop dedicated e-sports venues and gaming experiences. They will design the spaces for tournament play, and PCs and consoles will be available for daily use. The spaces will include complete broadcast and streaming-production capabilities, full food-and-beverage options and experiential retail.

Read more: Gamer culture comes to the mall

Allied Esports mall flagship is based on its HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas, says CEO Frank Ng. “Infrastructure and the creation of live, in-person experiences for gamers of all levels will become paramount to the overall ecosystem and the communities that are being developed," Ng said. “Retail locations like shopping malls are the perfect foundation for this industry innovation.”