A top-to-bottom Atari-themed hotel is increasingly close to becoming a reality. A location has been found – in the centre of Phoenix, Arizona – and the company responsible, Intersection Development, says construction will begin late 2026 with a prospective opening date of late 2028.
The architectural company designing the building, Räkkhaus, revealed updated designs and features for the hotel. Renders show a large but not enormous building bearing the Atari logo and decked out with bright lighting everywhere. To me it looks like an arcade version of an Ibis.
But to borrow from the press release’s much more poetic language: the Atari Hotel uses the “visual language” of Tron and Blade Runner to create a “glowing monolith of light and motion” (I bet the neighbours are pleased). The “fractured” design on the outside of the building is supposed to evoke pixel grids, and the streaks of light on the inside are supposed to remind us of arcade circuitry.
A defining feature will apparently be an LED-lit “breezeway” (pictured top) – a passage wrapped in programmable LEDs – which can be programmed to suit whatever event or season makes sense at the time. Räkkhaus reckons it’ll feel like a portal from the outside world into the hotel.
The 90,000 sqft building will also feature a 20,000 sqft concert center, an esports venue, several restaurants, retail spaces and an “oversized pool designed for high-energy parties and gatherings”. There will be 72 rooms in the building – a nod to Atari being founded in 1972 – as well as 19 suites and a “Baller Suite” penthouse with a private pool, spa and sun deck.
Räkkhaus creative director Zac Cohen called it: “A tower defined by motion, responsive surfaces, and a frame that glows with its own internal logic. This is placemaking at a new scale, a building that will be truly unique in the world.”
However, there’s still a slight question over the Atari Hotel securing the rest of the funding it needs in order to be built. Because although $14m has been raised in investment to get things going, the total budget is estimated at $124m, according to the Atari Hotels website.
Intersection hopes to make the money by asking the public to invest. For a minimum investment of $500, you can own a piece of the project – the land, the building and the Atari Hotel name, apparently – as well as receive various owner perks.
“You’re helping turn an iconic gaming legacy into a real destination and you’ll share in the success of the project along the way. Think of it as owning a piece of the experience, not just the idea,” says the Atari Hotel website FAQ.
It’s not clear what will happen if the money is not raised by the public, though, and whether the Atari Hotel will be constructed anyway.
The Atari Hotels were first announced six years ago in 2020, as part of a masterplan to build a chain of them around the US. The first were earmarked for Las Vegas, Nevada, and Phoenix, Arizona, but the Vegas plans have been dropped along the way. The Las Vegas Sun reported that the company explored deals in the city but none came to fruition.
Originally an architectural company called Gensler was attached to the Atari Hotel project and shared concept images that were much grander, featuring taller buildings with far more elaborate structures and designs. These new designs are more mundane, but perhaps more realistic as a result. Phoenix also makes sense as a starting place with both Räkkhaus and Intersection having offices in the city.
