By Rich DeMuro for KTLA 5 News

Campus computer labs have come a long way. At UCLA, students now have access to a state-of-the-art Bruins Esports & Gaming Lounge inside Ackerman Union.

“It’s something that our students and other people are really interested in,” said Erinn McMahan with UCLA Recreation.

“They can meet other people that share their passion, share their interest,” McMahan said.

The lounge, which took nearly two years to bring to campus, features 30 Alienware PCs equipped with Intel Core i9 processors, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 graphics cards, and high-refresh displays. Students can also play on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch 2 consoles.

“It’s gonna be great for people who want to come in after like a quick break from class and they get to play for an hour or two,” said UCLA student Zandy Zhao.

The new space will host esports tournaments, watch parties, classes, and casual gaming. It’s Alienware’s eighth campus lounge – part of a growing trend where colleges are investing in esports and creating hubs for shared playtime and learning opportunities.

“This is basically an ideal setup,” said Matt McGowan with Alienware. He showed me the top of the line desktop, display, headset, keyboard, mouse and called it “the best of the best.” Plus, there’s a comfortable chair.

Esports has become part of student life on many campuses, with competitive gaming teams ranking nationally. UCLA’s Gaming Club already counts about 1,000 members, and several of its varsity teams, including Valorant and Overwatch, are in the Big Ten top three.

“Obviously they’re gonna game here, but really it’s an entryway into greater things in the esports industry,” McGowan added.

The industry itself has faced ups and downs, but the popularity of competitive gaming is clear.

“There are more gamers – that’s up and to the right. There are more people watching other people play video games – that’s up and to the right,” said Steve Arhancet, co-CEO of Team Liquid, which has more than 160 athletes across 26 different games.

At college, not all skills are learned in class.

“There’s a lot of teamwork, there’s a lot of communication, there’s a lot of leadership, there’s a lot of skill development, there’s math, there’s all these things that you could learn, and it just needs to be yielded in the right way,” said Arhancet.

Gaming is another way for students to connect and grow.

“I really like how gaming can bring people from all over the world together and we get to cooperate with people that we might never have met in our lives,” Zhao said.

Rates start at $6 for an hour of play, $35 for an all-day pass, or students can play for the entire quarter for $240.