The OU Gaming Lounge officially opened its doors in March of 2024, with a price of $4/hr for all users. That price continued through the 2024-2025 academic year. Over the following summer, ENESTECH stopped charging OU a usage fee for SENET, the PC management software used in the lounge, allowing a price reduction to $2/hr for students for the 2025-2026 year.
In the summer of 2026, changes in the university’s budget allocation allowed Director Mike “Moog” Aguilar and Community & Labs Coordinator Jacob “Oculus” Ross to make the Lounge completely free for students (although they still charge $4/hr for the public). In the month since the Lounge reopened for the fall semester, it has already seen the creation of over 200 new accounts, and the impacts of this change have already been felt by all types of students.
The Lounge would not be able to run without the help of the Community & Labs student employees who oversee the lounge while it is open and host events. From this viewpoint, they are well suited to see how the Lounge’s atmosphere has changed. One employee in particular, Will Goolsby, has found the biggest impact to be the increase in socialization at the lounge.
“People are a lot more social because [they] come in to enjoy gaming instead of as customers,” said Goolsby. “When someone comes in, and they’re buying two dollars/hour, and you want to talk to them for fifteen [minutes], that’s 50 cents of [their] money gone. Already it’s been more of an open, friendly environment… which I’ve really liked.”
“It’s a lot more packed than I thought it would be,” said Renner Romig, a freshman who also works as lab staff. Regarding the change, Romig stated, “I think it’s mostly positive since now students [don’t] have to worry about paying to be in [the lounge].”
While discussing the Lounge during his visits to it in high school, Romig likened it to an empty amphitheatre. Romig stated that he is glad the Lounge is more full now, and he is excited to host in-house events to draw in even more people.
Aiden Kincaid, a student in his second year with OU and ECCI, said he felt the change was the logical next step for ECCI to make.
“It felt obvious,” Kincaid said. “Moog and Jacob [Ross] were saying things such as ‘big changes are coming.’ I feel like the biggest change that could have happened was [the Lounge] going free.”
Kincaid shared the sentiment that the change has led to more community in the Lounge. “[T]here’s clearly an increase in people going in and talking, and I think that’s great,” Kincaid said. “It’s more community being built and more people going to hang out rather than just to play games.”
First semester students, in contrast to lab staff and upperclassmen, did not experience the Lounge as a paid resource, providing them with a unique view of the Lounge’s new atmosphere.
“I’ve been in the Discord [server] for a while, and then pretty much as soon as [the lounge] opened, I’ve been here… four to five days a week since it’s opened… With it being free now, I feel like it’s a more inviting experience,” said Gunner Pope, a freshman who heard about the lounge through friends who work as lab staff.
“I also feel like it’s a lot more freshman-friendly. They can just make their account, sit down, and play games,” Pope said, emphasizing that it is far less stressful now that the students do not have to worry about finances.
When asked whether he would still use the Lounge without the change, Pope stated he would likely only come on days his friends were working there, especially when he has his own computer. “[N]ow that it is free… I would rather come [to the lounge] than sit in my dorm and play [there],” Pope said.
“Even though [the lounge] is crowded most days, it’s still nice to sit down and just game for a few hours, not in my dorm where I actually have to do schoolwork,” stated Kester Dietrich, another freshman, who has become very involved with ECCI since joining in August.
The Lounge has also proven to be a great spot to meet new people, according to Dietrich, who cited a friend group they made during their Camp Crimson week.
“…it’s really cool just being like ‘Hey, you play [Marvel] Rivals. Do you want to queue up for the evening?’ I think it’s a great way to make friends.”
Interested in reading about this year’s other departmental changes? Click here!
