Esports have taken hold of Atlanta, at least for the next two days.
DreamHack Atlanta, a yearly esports expo with competitions, live music, indie games, art, cosplay and more, will kick off on Friday and go until Sunday at the Georgia World Congress Center downtown.
This year, Atlanta’s own Hi-Rez Studios has partnered with DreamHack Atlanta to sponsor the event and combined its own annual expo within the three-day convention.
Hi-Rez Studios spokeswoman Andee Cantatore said the event is first and foremost a video game lifestyle event where likeminded people can meet.
"It’s really just a good way to build friend base or community base here in Atlanta for people who are interested in video gaming or lifestyle around that," she said.
At the event, visitors can sit in on gaming panels, compete in cosplay contests, enter the Hi-Rez expo and learn about other gaming companies coming to the venue.
"At DreamHack Atlanta, we come together and they have a bring-your-own-computer event, so you can bring your set up down there, show it off, sit with other people, play games for three days," Cantatore said. "In addition to that, you can also watch professional video game players…and a couple of other video game companies bringing their competitive events there as well."
Cantatore said the partnership between Hi-Rez Studios and DreamHack Atlanta began this year because leaders at Hi-Rez enjoyed their time at DreamHack the year prior, and shared similar goals to host an engaging event. There will also be a $1 million prize pool for the game SMITE, which is made by Hi-Rez Studios. That tournament will be run and organized by Skillshot Media, a local esports tournament organizer and broadcast company, spun off by Hi-Rez.
"We’ll be announcing some things at DreamHack," she said. "Big news for a few of our games and our esports."
Esports, Cantatore, said are in an up and coming industry in Atlanta. Though some critics say that they could never watch someone else play video games, Cantatore said it's similar to why people watch sports---to watch someone with superior ability do something you enjoy.
"We are, I would say truly part of the entertainment industry here along with music, television, movies in Atlanta," she said. "There are hundreds of video game companies here in Georgia. Hi-Rez is definitely the biggest in Georgia, maybe even in the southeast."
Check out the three day schedule here. Looking for tickets? You can purchase them here.
