SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — DreamHack, the gaming and pop culture focused festival, broke its attendance record at the 2023 event held in San Diego from April 7 to April 9.
According to event organizers, more than 41,000 people attended the event at the San Diego Convention Center. Highlights included esports tournaments, LAN competitions, musical performances and retro arcade games.
Some event-goers walked away with cash lining their pockets, as more than $550,000 in prize money was doled out to esports competition winners.
DreamHack partnered with Autism Society San Diego as a way to embed itself in the community ahead of the festival. More than $43,000 was raised for the Autism Society by event organizers, and third party contributors helped raise funds too.
"We are immensely proud of the success of DreamHack San Diego, breaking the record as the most attended U.S. festival in DreamHack history,” said Shahin Zarrabi, VP of Strategy & Growth for DreamHack. “Across three days, the festival showcased the best of gaming, esports, music, and pop culture under one roof – bringing together the global gaming community. Thank you to all our festival goers for their enthusiastic participation across both professional and amateur competitions, and congratulations to our winners.”
The festival featured special guests, including popular gaming influencers FaZe Sway, Jake Lucky and many more. Voice actors from the God of War, Overwatch and Assassin's Creed series were also at the event.
