Darwin's small but dedicated esports community has been given a new home this week, with the opening of an esports and technology hub in the Darwin CBD.

The Victoria Hotel, one Darwin's oldest and most storied pubs, has been given an extra life by hosting the hub, called "The Array", with its official opening held this week.

"The Array is a tech hub, and we're really supporting the local technology industry by upskilling emerging talent," founder Dylan Bennet said.

The idea was pitched by Dylan as part of the NT government's Territory Innovation Challenges Program to deliver a digital game and esports centre.

Friendly competition

The Array's official opening was headlined by an international exhibition match between Australia and the Philippines in Tekken 8, a popular fighting game and esports heavy-hitter.

With an established esports scene in south-east Asia, Mr Bennett said Darwin had a competitive edge against other cities around the country when it came to competing in the region – proximity.

"We're geographically closest to south-east Asia, which has the highest number of esports players, and that means that our latency is going to be the lowest when we compete against south-east Asian teams," he said.

"So actually, Darwin ends up being one of the best places that we can have in Australia for it, and it's something that Melbourne and Sydney just won't be able to replicate."

Even though they were opponents in game, players from sides say the friendly competition is important in promoting the growth of esports.

"Having support like this a player really means a lot, because you get to share your ideas with other people, you get to meet other players from other countries," Philippines player, AK, said.

Australian player, Dee-on, said he was delighted to see the support that had grown around esports in Australia.

"We didn't have the environment; we didn't have the back up. Now I think it's good that we're having this, we're able to give the younger generation a go."

Levelling up in the technology game

Australia's gaming industry is mostly made up of smaller independent developers, far from the several triple-A studios that operated in Australia in the 2000s and 2010s.

Globally the video game industry, including esports, generates billions of dollars every year, more than the film and music industries combined — although it is not without its struggles.

Mr Bennett hopes The Array can act as a peak body for the two existing esports organisations in Darwin going forward, while also offering a place for people to hone their skills.

"We've got a classroom fit out with the best technology to upskill in whatever you'd like to do, that includes AI, 3D art, game development," he said.

With an emerging technology industry in Darwin, Mr Bennett said it was important to have a centralised place for people to go.

"Somewhere where people can go and ask questions, and we need somewhere where people can go and teach the knowledge that they already have."