Gaming festival draws global crowd to Atlanta

ATLANTA - What started with some friends in a school cafeteria has turned into a massive gaming festival drawing crowds from around the world.  And if you haven’t kept up with gaming technology over the years, prepare to amazed by what you’ll find inside the Georgia World Congress Center this weekend.

DreamHack Atlanta returns to the Georgia World Congress Center Friday, November 15th through Sunday, November 17th, filling the Atlanta venue with games, esports tournaments, live music, film screenings, and cosplay.  The festival debuted in Atlanta back in 2017, drawing a crowd of nearly 25,000 to the city to celebrate all things gaming -- and this year, that number is expected to climb to more than 35,000 fans.  DreamHack was actually created 25 years ago, and its roots are very humble -- just a group of friends playing games in a school cafeteria…with no online access!  Flash forward to today, when the 24-hour-a-day festival features high-stakes competitions including the $25,000 DreamHack Madden 20 and the $50,000 DreamHack Halo Series.  And then, of course, there’s a long list of BYOC (bring your own computer) tournaments, including titles like Fortnite, Minecraft, and Teamfight Tactics.

For a full list of tournaments, a schedule of activities, and general information about DreamHack Atlanta, click over the festival’s website here.  Regular admission at the door costs $40 per day or $85 for three days.

With so much activity happening in the Georgia World Congress Center this weekend, we were having a serious case of FOMO.  So, of course, we spent the morning there, getting a first-look at this year’s DreamHack Atlanta.