Inside DreamHack’s ambitious strategy to double its audience

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DreamHack has always been an outlier compared to other gaming conventions and esports tournaments. At its core, DreamHack is a grassroots convention that scaled. The festival started in 1994 as a LAN party in a school cafeteria in Sweden. Over time, it expanded to include esports, music and other gaming-adjacent communities.

This “big tent” ethos has stuck with the company through two acquisitions — first by ESL Gaming’s parent company and then by Savvy Games Group in 2022. Unlike its ESL Faceit Group (EFG) sister brands which focus on firmly on esports, DreamHack serves the intersection between esports and the wider gaming community. Flush with cash, DreamHack and its leadership has ambitious plans to grow the festival’s audience.

DreamHack’s one-of-a-kind formula blends esports tournaments with a consumer-facing convention. Last weekend, DreamHack San Diego (DHSD) hosted esports tournaments — both professional and grassroots — in a variety of games alongside exhibitors, brands and artists on the show floor.

DreamHack also understands that it can tap into adjacent communities to bring more fans into the fold. DreamHack preserves its LAN party roots through the BYOC — Bring Your Own Computer — section of its events. Similarly, Magic: the Gathering tournaments are also welcomed under the umbrella.

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Building on esports, DreamHack San Diego is also leveraging gaming personalities and creators. The event featured a King of the Hill