Seattle is a gaming town. Not just because we have a lot of people who play video games. Not just because it’s easier to find a box of Catan or Scrabble than order a drink in a Seattle bar. This is a gaming town because we make billions of dollars a year from the business itself.
We don’t just play games in Seattle—we make the games the rest of the world plays.
In case you’re not aware, the Pacific Northwest is home to some of the biggest names in the gaming industry. Logos of local companies are displayed on the loading screen for gaming devices around the world. Microsoft’s Xbox Game Studios along with Bungie created the blockbuster Halo franchise here. Valve, which created the enormously popular Steam service and games like Half Life, is here. Wizards of the Coast, the publisher of hugely popular card games like Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, and the Pokémon Trading Card Game is here. Nintendo’s North American headquarters is here.
