The gaming industry is one of the most lucrative in the world of business. Per Statista, the sector has so far generated nearly $300 billion this year and this impressive revenue generation is expected to grow.
In the past, games were played for fun but now it is a career opportunity for others, including Tyrell Slappey, a Detroit native. He turned his love for video games into a successful gaming business that he hopes will inspire others in the near future.
“I just been gaming left and right. I never stopped. I’ve called off work for games. I’ve taken leave. I have canceled plans. I love gaming, man,” Slappey told CBS News.
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He is the co-owner of Round One Gaming Lab, a venture he started with his mother and business partner. Round One Gaming Lab is a mobile gaming trailer that looks like an arcade on wheels, according to CBS News. Slappey said his mobile gaming business, which was launched a few years ago, has become the main attraction for children’s events in Metro Detroit.
According to CBS News, the trailer has five plasma screens, hooked with the latest editions of the PlayStation and Xbox, and other popular games. What is more, Slappey finds that the kids see a business opportunity for themselves when using his trailer.
Slappey said his business has enabled him to touch many young lives. “We don’t just want this thing at barbecues, backyard parties, and birthdays. We want to be at events that are also the heartbeat of Detroit. The auto show, and the Thanksgiving parade. We want to be down at LCA (Little Caesars Arena), we want to be at the Lions’ tailgates, and we’ve been getting a lot of business at some of those things that we name,” he said.
Following the wide acceptance of his game, the entrepreneur has made it his mission to further expand his business. From a tough neighborhood on Detroit’s east side, he added that it’s a blessing for him to be a business owner despite having few male role models in his life.
“Single mom. Pretty much raised by mostly women around me,” Slappey said. “Any of the influences that I had that were male weren’t always positive. They were in and out of jail.”
