What to include
Equipment is the obvious cost, but a gaming cafe also needs the power, cooling and network to run it, a deposit on the space, and enough cash to cover running costs until regulars build up. Leaving out working capital is one of the most common reasons a new venue runs short in its first months.
Power, cooling and networking
- Gaming PCs draw far more power than office machines, so check the electrical load and plan for backup power
- Heat from a room full of PCs makes air conditioning an operating necessity, not a comfort
- Wired Ethernet to every station keeps latency low and lets you wake PCs remotely — see Wake-on-LAN for a whole cafe
Next step: will it be profitable?
Once you know the opening cost, use the gaming cafe profit calculator to estimate monthly profit, and divide the total here by that figure for a rough payback period.