True Gamers

What True Gamers does

True Gamers is a private gaming café operator headquartered in Al Satwa, United Arab Emirates, founded in 2019 by Anton Vasilenko. The company operates as a next-generation e-sports gaming café, providing physical venues equipped with gaming hardware for consumer and enthusiast players, and positions itself within the regional esports and social-gaming segment.

The business model is consumer-facing and venue-based: True Gamers generates revenue through gaming sessions, memberships, events, and ancillary food and beverage sales typical of gaming-lounge formats, though pricing details, average revenue per venue, and customer counts are not publicly disclosed. The company employs between 11 and 50 staff and maintains its primary location in Al Satwa, with publicly disclosed operating geographies extending to MENA and Europe as targets for future expansion.

In April 2025, True Gamers raised $5 million in seed funding to support expansion across the MENA and European markets, signaling an early-stage but capital-backed scaling phase. The firm has no disclosed proprietary technology platform, no AI/ML capabilities, and no enterprise customer base; its competitive positioning rests on brand identity, physical network rollout, and the local community value of in-person esports play. Core technology, pricing, partnerships, and unit-level economics are not disclosed in the available data.

Name

True Gamers

Website

https://truegamers.world

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

True Gamers is a UAE-based, next-generation e-sports gaming café founded in 2019 by Anton Vasilenko. It operates physical gaming venues serving consumer and esports players, and is expanding across MENA and Europe following a $5M seed raise in April 2025.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Esports Gaming Café

NAICS

Amusement Arcades (713120)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Gaming Café/Bar Hybrid Venues (Food & Beverage + Competitive Play) (MPAFALAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Internet Cafes & Gaming Cafes (THAFADAI)

Keywords

• Esports gaming cafe
• Gaming lounge
• Gaming venue
• Esports facility
• Gaming hospitality

Headquarters

HQ city

Al Satwa

HQ country

United Arab Emirates

HQ region

Middle East

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Core offering

True Gamers operates a chain of next-generation e-sports gaming cafés where customers can access high-end gaming hardware and competitive gaming environments. The company provides in-venue gaming experiences aimed at esports enthusiasts and casual gamers, with stated plans to expand across the MENA region and Europe.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• True Gamers e-sports gaming café

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• BLAZE: UK-headquartered chain of gaming lounges offering high-end PC/console play with food and beverage service. Directly comparable to True Gamers as a multi-location, hybrid F&B-and-gaming café model targeting Gen Z and esports communities.
• Vertix Gaming: MENA-based gaming centre and lounge operator. Closest geographic peer to True Gamers given shared UAE/MENA footprint and similar hybrid café/esports positioning.
• Activate: Chain of interactive gaming venues combining physical challenges with digital gaming. Comparable venue-based, pay-per-play model with food/beverage and a multi-city rollout strategy.
• Boss Battle Gaming: US chain of gaming lounges and esports venues with PCs, consoles, VR, and event hosting. Comparable as a multi-location, community-focused gaming centre targeting similar youth and esports demographics.

Broad incumbents

• Rec Room: Larger, well-funded social gaming platform with both digital and physical locations. Comparable as a competitor for social/in-person gaming experiences, though with broader scope (own IP) and deeper capital.
• Sandbox VR: Multi-location VR entertainment venue chain with global rollout. Comparable venue-based, experience-driven model with food/beverage component, though specialised in VR rather than PC esports.
• Main Event Entertainment: Large US family entertainment centre chain including bowling, laser tag, and gaming. Comparable as a multi-venue, F&B-plus-games operation, though much broader in scope and scale.

Emerging players

• Moxy Gaming: Moxy Hotels' branded gaming zones (partnership with Marriott). Comparable as a hybrid hospitality/gaming concept, though delivered through hotel properties rather than standalone cafés.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/true-gamers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about True Gamers