I began my virtual career in the data center industry, standing next to a commercial-sized trash receptacle.
The room was fluorescent-lit and aggressively gray. A platform trolley sat nearby. There was a lounge area right next to the trash (an interesting touch!), and I had $30,000 in fake money to spend.
This is how “Data Center,” an upcoming PC game by indie developer Václav Novák, introduces players to the fastest-constructing sector in America.
Some Silicon Valley insiders have already discovered the game. On X, Box CEO Aaron Levie called it the tech industry’s version of “Madden,” the NFL’s long-running video game franchise.
Our industry finally has its Madden https://t.co/iMXZ9jTQ3Y
— Aaron Levie (@levie) February 23, 2026
As a ’90s kid who grew up on “Madden,” that comparison felt like a challenge: Could I manage the digital infrastructure powering the AI boom?
If my time playing the game’s demo is any indication, I’m not changing my industry anytime soon.
My gameplay: Overwhelmed
The goal of “Data Center” is straightforward in theory: buy racks, install servers, run cables, configure networking, and connect clients to computing power.
If everything is wired correctly, experience points climb, reputation rises, and more customers want what you’re selling.
I followed the block of yellow text in the left-hand corner of the screen, which told me every step I should take. I also flicked through the pamphlet-like tutorial screen for further (read: much-needed) guidance.
After 30-ish minutes of fits and starts, I began shopping for aluminum frames, CAT6E cables, and something called an SFP RJ45. I bought one of each and hoped that counted as a winning strategy.
My first client, a fictional company called Bermuda Triangle Backup, needed storage and 5,000 IOPS.
Uh oh. I did not know what IOPS stood for. I installed servers anyway.
Eventually, after several false starts, tangled wiring, and a fair amount of hurriedly dashing across the concrete floor, I connected the company to its machine.
White bubbles began flowing along the cables I’d strung between racks, a visual representation of data moving through the system.
For the first time, I could see “the cloud.” My XP climbed past 60.
Still, my reputation remained at zero. That felt like an accurate performance review.
‘It nails the tactile basics’
The game has some growing to do, which Novák readily admits.
“I have not even finished the game yet,” he told Business Insider. “I thought it would be cool to see data flowing in-game. And that is about it.”
The full game has a scheduled release date of March 31.
Even in demo form, though, the simulation forces players to grapple with industry basics: racking positions, cable management, network configuration, and storage limits.
It also uses plenty of industry shorthand. Subnet masks. Gateways. IOPS requirements. Each new client request felt like being handed a technical interview question I hadn’t studied for.
Industry insiders say those details are largely spot on.
“It nails the tactile basics,” Nik Kale, a principal engineer and platform architect at Cisco, told Business Insider after playing. “A real data center isn’t a Lego set — it’s a living city where power, cooling, and change control are the laws of physics, and every ‘small tweak’ has a blast radius.”
The game, however, stops short of simulating the true stress of operating one.
“There’s no moment where the cooling system hits capacity at 2 a.m., and you’re choosing which workloads to shed,” Kale said. “There’s no change-control board telling you that your ‘quick fix’ needs three approvals and a maintenance window.”
(Novák, maybe there’s still time to add that gameplay element ahead of the game’s full release.)
My takeaway: I get the ‘Madden’ analogy… kind of
Is “Data Center” the “Madden” of infrastructure?
Not exactly.
There’s no hit stick, no Franchise Mode, and not a lot of space for viral videos à la Greg Jennings running on a broken leg for a 99-yard touchdown to secure a 49 to 20 victory.
But after a few hours managing my own fluorescent-lit server room, I understand why the comparison resonates.
“Madden” taught a generation of fans how football strategy works — formations, clock management, roster adjustments, defensive schemes, etc.
“Data Center” does something similar for the behind-the-scenes machinery that runs the internet and AI chatbots. It turns abstract ideas of digital storage and connectivity into physical decisions about racks, wires, and floor space.
I didn’t build an empire. My reputation never pushed past zero. I won’t be pivoting careers.
I also learned a thing or two about how complicated these faceless buildings are to run. With American data centers growing in popularity, that feels like table-stakes knowledge for the future.
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