Man Attempts Running Data Center Simulator, Career Remains Intact
KEY POINTS
- •Ben Shimkus of Business Insider tested the 'Data Center' PC simulator game developed by Václav Novák in early 2026.
- •Box CEO Aaron Levie compared the game to Madden, dubbing it the tech industry’s version, highlighting a niche audience.
- •Though players manage racks, servers, and network cables with $30K fake money, the game currently lacks the stress of real-life cooling crises.
On February 23, 2026, Aaron Levie, the Box CEO, lavishly hyped 'Data Center' as the Madden NFL of nerds—a bold claim considering the game involves shopping for racks, cables, and coyly twitching ‘white bubbles’ of data instead of bone-crushing tackles. Václav Novák’s brainchild challenges players to manage an aggressively gray server room with a $30,000 virtual budget, while journalists like Ben Shimkus learned they don’t know their IOPS from their RJ45s. With the demo forcing players through tedious cable runs and confused promises of rising XP but zero reputation, this game didn’t quarterback any career pivots in data center management — yet March 31 looms with hope for more crisis-at-2-a.m. drama.
Share the Story
Congrats, internet infrastructure enthusiasts: 'Data Center' taught me to wire a virtual server room like a confused toddler with $30k budget and zero clue. Madden it ain’t.
Who knew assembling racks and plugging in cables could be such edge-of-your-seat excitement? Said no one ever, except this data center game.
This is the only simulation where your reputation stays at zero despite accumulating fake money and fictional barely functional cables. Truly inspiring.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 2/28/2026 | Author: Ben Shimkus
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