Atari’s next play: Getting into the hotel game

Atari is opening a chain of hotels. The video game pioneer — whose classic titles included Pong, Asteroids and RollerCoaster Tycoon — announced this week that its first hotel will break ground this spring in Phoenix.

The video-game-themed hotels will “level up hotel entertainment with fully immersive experiences for every age and gaming ability” and will feature “the latest in virtual and augmented reality,” Atari said.

The hotels will look like regular buildings from the outside, the company said — except for glowing red strips of light in the shape of the Atari logo running down the side of the building.

Rooms will feature decor ranging from retro to futuristic, drawing inspiration from films like Steven

Spielberg’s “Ready Player One,” GSD Group CEO Shelly Murphy told CNN.

Development and design of the hotel line is headed by GSD Group, as well as by “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” producer Napoleon Smith III.

“When creating this brand-new hotel concept, we knew that Atari would be the perfect way to give guests the ‘nostalgic and retro meets modern’ look and feel we were going for,” Smith said in a statement. “Let’s face it, how cool will it be to stay inside an Atari?”

The Phoenix hotel is expected to open in two years. More locations are planned for Chicago, Denver, Seattle, San Francisco, Seattle, San Jose, Calif.; and Austin, Texas. Some locations will include venues to host e-sports events, Atari said.