“DreamHack Beyond” to be All-Digital, Interactive Experience
Week to Include Tournaments, LAN Party, Streaming Studio, Cosplay Championship, Livestreamed Music and Film Screenings, Expo, Panels, Game Demos and More
STOCKHOLM/COLOGNE/NEW YORK — Imagine a giant titan in a fantasy world who trips, bumps his head and falls into a coma as a “sleeper” in an alternative reality. Along comes a community who, together, curate the world of which he dreams. They spread joy, love, good times, and celebrations all week long until the giant finally awakens. This is DreamHack Beyond, the new hybrid festival and online multiplayer game.
DreamHack, the immersive, gaming lifestyle experience where the gaming community comes to life, will launch the all-digital, at-home, interactive experience DreamHack Beyond on Saturday, July 24 and continue through–Saturday, July 31, 2021. DreamHack Beyond is free, and registration will be available soon.
DreamHack Beyond was created to both complement and showcase the best of DreamHack in a fresh, new way allowing players/attendees to enjoy the festival in any way they choose — from virtual cosplay competitions, amateur and professional esports tournaments, and game demos, to the expo, panels, speedrunning, live streamed music and screenings, community tournaments and more. DreamHack Beyond will offer a hybrid experience featuring everything gaming under one “virtual” roof.
“The goal for all of us at DreamHack is to provide great experiences for our fans, which have traditionally thrived by bringing communities together for these shared and beloved festivals all around the globe,” said Marcus Lindmark, President DreamHack, SVP Project and Event Operations at ESL Gaming. “This last year has been an extraordinary time for so many, but now we are ready to bring our community back together for this innovative and uniquely-engaging occasion — we are super excited to share DreamHack Beyond with our fans.”
“DreamHack Beyond is part of evolving DreamHack into a year-round gaming lifestyle brand for the community. To us, there is nothing better than developing a hybrid multi-player event and game that unites us during these times and brings our community together in a way we understand and love,” said Justin Burnham, Vice President, Creative, DreamHack. “DreamHack is more than an event — it creates an arena where you can come to connect, explore, win, play a part, and be yourself through a gaming lifestyle experience.”
DreamHack is collaborating with award-winning Super Crowd Entertainment for DreamHack Beyond to create this hybrid between reality and fantasy. Offering the most advanced online event frame available anywhere, the browser-based, multiplayer approach is unique but also user-friendly when navigating this digital experience. With proprietary Super Crowd X5 framework, the state-of-the-art game technology offers a booth editor for exhibitors, an ingame chat system, and full streaming and online product integration.
“One thing we do well is creating a link between reality and fantasy with real brands and real content, but as part of the digital world,” said Super Crowd Entertainment CEO Wolf Lang. “It is so much fun to do this, and with the perfect combination of the right product with the ideal community, this collaboration with DreamHack is a match made in heaven. DreamHack Beyond is going to be an alternative reality with friends where everyone can do challenges, cheer together, and connect with customized characters, interaction and engagement.”
DreamHack’s Justin Burnham discusses “DreamHack Beyond”.
At DreamHack Beyond, attendees can:
– Complete the DreamHack Beyond adventure game narrative
– Create and customize their own game characters
– Collect limited edition items
– Look for side quests to build their XP
– Cheer on favorite teams with gear and custom animations
– Visit dynamically themed halls with their own lore
– Visit an interactive station for a personalized, one-of-a-kind experience, including seeing the latest and greatest from DreamHack partners
– Watch student, community, and professional esports tournaments (including Hearthstone and Rocket League)
– Attend panels
– Play game demos
– Enjoy live streamed music and screenings
– Participate in the beloved Cosplay Championship
– And take part in the event through the other more traditional DreamHack festival activities
See complete list of festival and interactive video game content HERE.
Burnham continued: “A lot of love and time went into creating DreamHack Beyond. Its rollout is strategically really no different than the big games of today — we’ll have major updates for new features, content, and more as we develop this to compliment our physical festivals. DreamHack welcomes everyone, from the novice to the expert, from the very small to the very old, from all backgrounds, globally. We are all DreamHack.”
While DreamHack started as a gathering of friends and their computers in a school cafeteria — with no online access — it has grown into a beacon of internet culture and a gathering place for gamers worldwide. DreamHack had its last in-person festival prior to the pandemic — February 2020 at DreamHack Anaheim. DreamHack had its last in-person festival prior to the pandemic — February 2020 at DreamHack Anaheim. The next scheduled in-person events are DreamHack Atlanta November 12-14, 2021, and DreamHack Winter November 26-28, 2021.
