Photo credit: Murilo Madeo
GamerFest 2023, Ireland’s biggest gaming and esports festival, will take place at the RDS Arena in Dublin on May 27th and 28th featuring a host of esports activities.
The announcement comes after the GamerFest 2022 event saw 5,000+ gamers gather in person for the first time since covid.
Read our report on that event by GrimyRannarr here: How I went to GamerFest to cover the Rainbow Six finals and ended up hosting the event
The GamerFest 2023 weekend will once again be a celebration of all things gaming and will feature the latest gaming releases, VR gaming, esports, challenges and a host of special guests including top Twitch and YouTube creators and a variety of live stage content.
Among those confirmed to attend are Ryan Mar, Mr Gibbon, Antitinkerbell and The Gara Show, Dylan Garbutt, Aaron the Loco and other content creators.
Since its establishment in 2017, GamerFest says it has established itself as ‘a diverse, community-led gaming event for everyone with a passion for gaming, whether that be casual gaming with friends or those who engage in competitive esports tournaments, game development and design or content creation’.
Update (May 27th, as GamerFest 2023 begins): The Prime Minister of Ireland Leo Varadkar visited GamerFest to meet with content creators, developers, aspiring pro gamers and more to discuss the sector and the future of gaming.
Esports at GamerFest 2023
This year, GamerFest 2023 has teamed up with Nativz Collegiate to launch their first ever Collegiate Challenge, which will see Ireland’s top colleges face off on the GamerFest Esports Stage.
Teams from University College Dublin and Technological University Dublin will go head to head on stage in both Valorant and Rocket League matches.
GamerFest is also running online open tournaments in Valorant and FIFA for competitive gamers. The finalists of these online tournaments will then go forward to compete on the Esports Stage in May in front of a live audience.
The LAN event has teamed up with Valorant Éire for the Valorant tournament:
GamerFest 2023 has also confirmed a partnership with Williams Esports.
Five cutting edge Williams Esports sim racing rigs will be available at GamerFest so fans can put their racing skills to the test.
In addition to a Fastest Lap Challenge taking place across the weekend, Williams Esports Irish driver Daire McCormack will also be in attendance, meeting the crowd and chatting about his sim racing career to date.
Industry Zone
GamerFest 2023 will also feature a new Industry Zone which will provide visitors with the opportunity to explore educational and career opportunities within the domestic and international gaming sectors.
A host of companies have announced significant expansion plans for Ireland in recent years. This includes co-development games studio and GamerFest exhibitor Black Shamrock, who are currently adding 80 jobs in Dublin to bring its total headcount to 200 by the end of 2023.
In addition to Black Shamrock Studio, Pulse College will also be on hand to offer a host of educational advice as well as tips to those looking to pursue a career in the gaming industry.
Operating for over three decades, Pulse College has received international recognition for its vocational and practice-driven academic courses in audio, music, film, gaming and animation.
Other activities at GamerFest 2023
Zero Latency VR will be returning to GamerFest with an immersive free-roam VR gaming experience.
Organisers have also revealed a partnership with Sega that will see Sega Frontiers featured at the event along with a host of other titles.
Visitors both young and old can take a walk down memory lane in the popular Retro Zone, which hosts a range of old school games and consoles including Mega Drive and Atari, along with a host of classic retro arcade machines.
The newly launched Industry Zone will also provide visitors a chance to explore the education and career opportunities within gaming.
Pulse College and Black Shamrock Studio will be in attendance to provide advice and guidance for aspiring professionals.
Elsewhere, Club Loaded Energy and Energise Energy have been confirmed as Official Drinks Partners with multiple giveaways and competitions planned at the event.
GamerFest CEO Stuart Dempsey said: “We can’t wait to see everyone at GamerFest Summer for an absolutely packed weekend of gaming!
“Whether you’re a dedicated esports player, or a young casual gamer, we have something for everyone at the event.”
There’s more info and tickets available on the GamerFest website
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Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
