First opened in Brooklyn on October 1, 2004, the venues feature a mix of classic video games and pinball and serve American craft beers.

The first Barcade opened in 2004[1] in a former metal shop at 388 Union Avenue in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, and features a combination of vintage arcade games and American craft beers.

[14] In the summer of 2024, Barcade partnered with Rockefeller Center and ran a family friendly pop-up arcade in the ice rink's skate hut.

[19] George Leutz set the world record on Q*bert in February 2013 with a score of 37,163,080 after spending years practicing on the machine in Brooklyn's Barcade.

[21] In June 2021, the Barcade location on St. Mark's Place in Manhattan was the site of a rare public date between Rihanna and ASAP Rocky.