The Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE) announced that the Dubai Esports & Games Festival has returned this year for its second edition, running from June 21 to June 25 at the Dubai Exhibition Center Expo City.
The festival, which first launched in 2022, celebrates the state-of-the-art world of video game technology and seeks to promote Dubai as the place to be for esports and gaming.
Some of the thrilling events featured include esports tournaments, an interactive consumer show, a B2B networking event featuring companies from across the globe, and a business conference.
New to the festival is “The Play Beyond!” event, which brings in international influencers to game hard like never before, and the GameExpo Summit sponsored by PG connects, serving as a forum for leaders to discuss the immense growth the video games industry is witnessing.
Making Dubai the #1 place to be for gaming
The CEO of Dubai Festivals Ahmed Al Khaja said that the goal of this event is to “make Dubai the best city in the world to visit, live in, work”, and added that the festival “further reinforces Dubai’s position as the top regional hub for esports and gaming.”
“We are delighted to host the second edition of the interactive Dubai Esports and Games Festival following the success of last year’s event,” he explained.
“With this region being one of the world’s fastest-growing gaming markets, DEF is a highly anticipated annual festival that builds a legacy for esports and interactive entertainment companies, paving the way for high quality innovative content that will allow esports enthusiasts from around the world to enjoy the ultimate gaming experience.”
“The return of DEF will also build momentum across multiple mobile and digital platforms, helping Dubai tap into the vast market potential for esports and gaming and inspire the next generation of esports and games industry talent,” he said.
Bigger and better than ever
This year’s game festival is slated to be even bigger and better than DEF 2022, building directly upon its great success to provide an even more unforgettable experience.
Some direct improvements include a larger GameExpo space and a renovated GameExpo summit, all signs of the festivals commitment to making Dubai the place to be for all gamers.
The global gaming industry will convene for this event for joint sessions with the Dubai Future Foundation and even more international speakers.
With this event, Dubai has carved out a place for itself alongside global giants such as G-Star, Gamescom and China Joy.
Education through gaming
Students can explore their talents and expand their skill-sets through the festival’s built-in education engagement program, sharing their expertise and spreading awareness of the innovative career paths that await them in this exciting field.
Fans of Minecraft are in for a treat with the Minecraft Education Challenge, featuring a custom map based on Dubai to explore.
Coding is the foundation of all video games, which is where the MakeCode competition comes in – competitors can show off their coding and gaming skills in a lead up to the climatic grand finals aired live at Expo City.
Students can also look forward to school influencer visits, a cosplay day and talks from industry professionals.
Don’t miss the GameExpo summit!
The festival also has the honor of hosting the second GameExpo Summit, run in partnership by Steel Media LTD and powered by PG connects.
This summit more than anything showcases Dubai’s potential as the fastest-growing arm of the global gaming industry, and is slated to feature over 100 speakers.
Last year’s edition was a rousing success, with over 600 visitors from over 70 nations and 66 companies. It even featured the presence of Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence in the United Arab Emirates, Omar bin Sultan Al Olama.
It will concern some of the hottest topics such as utilizing state-of-the-art technology such as AI, Web3 and the Metaverse, alongside fintech, the latest trends in monetization and the wild growth of the MENA as a viable gaming market.
The summit will cover ten tracks – Global Trends, Show Me the Money, The Growth Track, Esports Innovation, Developer Toolkit, Incredible Indies, Live Ops Landscape, Monetiser, Games Industry 101, and Education & Ecosystem the latest edition to the summit.
Together, the festival and summit will bring together the best and the brightest of the industry to connect and take advantage of the rapid growth of the MENA market for gaming.
Gamers, meanwhile, can enjoy some of the biggest games right now and meet with the talented minds behind them.
