TROY — A New York City-based esports and gaming hot spot is opening a location in downtown Troy.

Waypoint Cafe plans to open a shop in one of the retail spaces below the City Station apartment complex on 6th Avenue, said Gino Gigante, the cafe's owner. Gigante anticipates opening in either late 2019 or early 2020 and employing about 10 people.

Waypoint Cafe will be a full-service food and coffee shop with about 50 to 60 stations for PC and console gaming, Gigante said. The current location in Manhattan's Lower East Side frequently hosts tournaments for Super Smash Bros. and The Overwatch League, as well as community-based charity events.

"We'll be bringing up basically all those same events," Gigante said.

Computers at the Manhattan location currently rent for $5 for one hour; $20 for four hours with a bonus hour included; $30 for six hours with two bonus hours and $40 for eight hours with four bonus hours, according to Waypoint's website. Gigante said those rates will remain at the Troy location, and players have the option to roll over excess hours.

Not everybody goes to Waypoint to game, he said. It's also a popular spot for people who like the atmosphere to do some work.

Gigante said he originally planned on opening his second location somewhere else in New York City or in the tristate area. That changed, he said, after he visited Troy and learned about the area's growing video game industry. Velan Studios and Vicarious Visions are some of the studios operating in the Capital Region.

"While we were up there, we found out that because of RPI and everything around the Capital Region, there were already developers up there," he said.

Gigante said he hopes his cafe will serve as a community space for gamers.

Michael.Williams@timesunion.com or 518-454-5018.