Nottingham’s National Videogame Arcade is closing and moving to Sheffield three years after it opened in the city.
Managers say the centre in Hockley had become “ultimately too hard” to run because of its size, operating costs and maintenance.
It will close its doors to the public in September and move to Sheffield Kollider, a new “hub” for creative and technology industries being built in the Steel City.
The decision was made after a search for alternative premises in Nottingham failed to uncover anything suitable, said the Arcade in a statement.
It read: “We looked at options in the city, but we couldn’t find anything that gave us exactly what we need to build and grow our unique visitor experience, the only playable museum in the country.
“This has been a really hard decision for us. Nottingham is our home, it’s been incredibly kind and supportive to us but we need to take the next big step forward.”
The annual GameCity festival and other associated events outside of the centre will continue to run in Nottingham.
The Arcade opened inside a listed building on Carlton Street in the Hockley area of the city in March 2015.
Billed as the home of videogames, it aims to promote the historic and cultural significance of games and was created from the city-wide GameCity festival, founded in 2006.
It includes playable galleries and facilities dedicated to education and industry development.
It ran into financial difficulty in 2016 before being acquired by a consortium of investors led by director Iain Simons.
The Arcade has since become part of the newly-founded British Games Institute, which also announced the move on Thursday morning (June 28).
Video: The Arcade celebrated its second birthday in 2017.
“BGI will maintain an educational and research facility in Nottingham, where it will also run the GameCity festival later in 2018,” read a statement from the Institute.
“The NVA will close to the public in Nottingham in mid-September, before opening again in Sheffield in late October 2018.”
Mr Simons, who is also Culture Director of the BGI, said: “The NVA was proudly born in Nottingham, so it’s bittersweet to be leaving.
“Whilst we’re opening a new chapter in Sheffield, through the continuing work with Pixelheads and our other education programmes, the GameCity festival and our forthcoming research facility, Nottingham will remain an important centre for BGI activity.”
According to the BGI, the Arcade currently attracts more than 50,000 visitors a year.