At the end of March 2023, the organisers of the globally renowned Gaming convention, E3, announced that they were cancelling this year’s event, stating that they could not “garner the sustained interest necessary” to execute it successfully. Some people are concerned that, considering E3’s prestige and position as one of gaming’s biggest events, this could be the beginning of the end for in-person gaming conventions.

However, E3 is far from the only gaming convention and many of its competitors have been growing at a rapid pace since the downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we will look at some of the other events in the gaming world that you could attend, including their size, location, and what to expect.

EGX London

EGX London, initially known as the Eurogamer Expo back in 2008 when it was first launched, is the UK’s largest gaming convention and attracts approximately 80,000 attendees annually. Hosted in London, EGX often sees both gamers and game Developers come together to play new and upcoming titles, showcased extensively across a wide range of consoles.

EGX also features several stages with talks from industry experts, covering everything from fireside chats with developers of specific titles to advice on how to get into the games industry from recruiters and other industry professionals. This culminates in a space that appeals to developers, as they can showcase their game and get invaluable player feedback before launch, as well as players who can play titles before their official release and potentially brush shoulders with the developers behind their favourite games.

gamescom

Europe’s flagship gaming convention, gamescom is widely considered one of the world’s biggest gaming events. Open to the general public and developers alike, gamescom delivers much of the same benefits as EGX but on a significantly larger scale, with approximate attendees reaching as many as 370,000 annually. 

Due to the convention’s massive size, gamescom often attracts big studios and names to not only showcase their games but make big and exciting announcements in the process. This has decreased in recent years as more major developers opt to host their own digital events, instead of expensive physical ones, but announcements still occur from time to time.

The size of gamescom also allows it to cater for a wider variety of games and platforms. Both global and UK-based mobile game developers, as well as AR, VR, and developers for other growing or niche platforms, often see greater representation at gamescom. This makes it a great choice for those looking to try upcoming games on platforms outside of PC and the major consoles.

DreamHack

Unlike the other events mentioned in this list, DreamHack is hosted in a variety of locations, with events occurring throughout the year across the globe. These events span the world from North America to East Asia and often vary in format, depending on the location and its specific offering. The benefit of this approach is that there is always likely to be an event close enough for it to be affordable, with Sweden’s events often being the largest of the year.

DreamHack also differs from the rest of the list in its focus. Whilst EGX and gamescom have a trade show focus, with developers and publishers showcasing their titles for the public and other developers to play, DreamHack often places more emphasis on esports. The DreamHack brand is owned by ESL Gaming, an esports organiser and production company, and the DreamHack reflects this through a huge variety of official esports events including CS:Go, Rocket League, several fighting games, Fortnite, Halo, and much more.

DreamHack events do have games that the public can play, though, and they often do competitions that the public can enter to win prizes, providing an extra element of fun. This all makes DreamHack perfect for esports enthusiasts but suitable for casual players, too.

And many more…

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to gaming conventions. There are a host more large events throughout the year across the globe, including the Taipei Game Show, Brasil Game Show, Tokyo Game Show, Chinajoy, Pax and much more. Additionally, several major publishers host their own in-person events, like Blizzcon, focusing on just Activision Blizzard games.

The cost of attending events of this size can be very prohibitive, though. With that in mind, it’s important to mention smaller events like GDLX in London, which focuses on indie games; Spiel and the UK Games Expo, which focus on tabletop games; WASD Live, a mid-sized event in London, and the huge number of local ComicCons hosted around the world.

Whilst E3 may be gone for now, there are still hundreds of events in gaming worth attending, it’s just about finding the right one for you.

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