Playcon, Malta’s first Game Development and Esports Expo to be held between October 3 and 6 at the MFCC, Ta’ Qali.
Playcon is an initiative by GMR Entertainment supported by GamingMalta and the Parliamentary Secretariat for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation.
Playcon will be showcasing the best all industry stakeholders have to offer, all under one roof making it possible to discuss and engage the future of video games and esports as an extension to the Delta Summit part of the Malta Tech Week.
Malta has a clear goal in these fields, becoming a central hub in the Mediterranean and in Europe for video game development and esports. Currently, the video game industry globally has become larger than the film and music industry combined.
Playcon will provide a unique opportunity for both game enthusiasts and newcomers to experience this exciting chapter in video gaming, which will bring new opportunities for the economy, for young people as well as contribute to the development of the local community.
Playcon’s expo will be open for DELTA ticket holders only on Thursday, October 3 and Friday, October 4 whereby all those attending can visit both the DELTA Summit and Playcon Expo under one roof.
What to expect during the event
During these two days, thousands of school students from various grades will have the opportunity to tour the Playcon expo whereby they will: learn more about the careers in video game development and esports; understand what courses are available in video game development by several education institutions; attend for coding workshops games edition as part of the EU Code Week; full immersion in an esports house understanding more what eports is all about, game strategy, personal development, team building, keeping fit and adopting healthy lifestyles, content creation; digital scavanger hunt with augmented reality where students will have a task to search for maltese traditional cultural elements using their tablets; learn more about and try the games developed in Malta; and enjoy several game experiences.
Playcon will also feature a full day Game Dev & Esports Summit on Friday, October 4, with the participation of global speakers like Ralf Reichert CEO of ESL and Asi Burak from Games for Change together with local experts and political figures like Hon. Silvio Schembri, Hon. Evarist Bartolo and Hon. Clifton Grima.
GamingMalta will be giving the opportunity to local game development companies to showcase their products and promote the industry with those interested in pursuing a career in this sector.
Playcon promises to be the event Where Gamers Unite, featuring a number of esports competitions of games like FIFA2020, Tekken7, CSGO, League of Legends, Clash Royale, Brawl Starts and Hearth Stone amongst others. ESL, GMR, QLASH, MTV, BLAST, World Pro Racing are the big names behind all these competitions.
A €10,000 Fortnite Tournament will be also taking place on Saturday, October 5 and Sunday, October 6, which will be open for free for everyone to join.
But you do not need to be a pro gamer to put your hands on joysticks at Playcon.
Amateur gamers and families are welcome where the entertainment will be free for all the family, youth and adults. Playcon will be an eduactional and entertainment experience for parents and grand parents to learn more about games and spend time playing with their children. There will be a number of game experiences for all ages taking digital games to the next level.
The general public can attend Playcon for free at MFCC Ta’ Qali on Saturday, October 5 between 10am and 10pm and Sunday, October 6 between 10am and 6pm.
Playcon is also supported by the Visitmalta.com and the Ministry for Education and Employement.
“We are very exicted to be organising Playcon, Malta's first game development and esports expo, alongside GamingMalta. This event will provide a unique opportunity for both game enthusiasts and newcomers to experience this exciting chapter in Malta, which will bring new opportunities for the economy, for young people as well as contribute to the development of the local community,” said Kersten Chircop, founder GMR Entertainment.