To the Moon Expo Day 2 concludes with dissatisfied attendees in its wake
Birmingham’s first To the Moon Expo has concluded, with attendees sharing their thoughts online after experiencing its debut.
Several individuals have reached out to ENUK across Day 2 to share their experiences across both content creation, cosplay, and general attendance:
To the Moon expo League of Legends tournament left incomplete due to wave of tech issues
A £50,000 League of Legends tournament was expected to be a fixture of Day 2 at To the Moon expo. However, it rapidly became riddled with tech issues.
ENUK has learned from individuals at the event that when the tournament began, the PCs used by competitors were not connected to Ethernet cables. As a result, they experienced frequent issues with their WiFi connection.
When the tournament’s livestream began, it repeatedly crashed. When it went live successfully, multiple comments in the livestream’s chat were spamming cryptocurrency links. There appeared to be no stream moderation, and the stream itself was left untitled.
Following the first livestream and best-of-three series attempt, the continuation of the tournament was postponed to later in the day.
There were so many overall tech issues that To the Moon could not even hold the Final of the League of Legends tournament at the venue – instead, they claim they will run it online.
Despite subpar conditions, the tournament’s casters were praised online for their work guiding the broadcast. At least one complete game was available to watch on the To the Moon Twitch channel.
UK games community reactions: Creator Zones and security-cosplay confrontation
Before the event, many in the UK gaming community were optimistic and excited to experience what To the Moon had to offer.
However, some creators only attended the first day of the expo, despite having tickets for both days of the event.
In fact, day one attendees had already associated To the Moon with “Dashcon but without the ballpit” before the two-day spectacle had concluded.
BigFuzzyYak, who travelled to the event from London, explained that she had booked a hotel in Birmingham but felt so disappointed after the first day that she returned to London instead. She did not return for the remainder of the event.
Other videos online and comments to ENUK describe empty halls, a lack of artists, poorly communicated additional costs (such as prices for autographs and photos not advertised at free meet-and-greets), and other event features abandoned or unused.
Multiple creators have also joined BigFuzzyYak in voicing disappointment over the Creator Zone’s lack of resources and preparation.
In her YouTube video discussing the event, she described it as a “slap in the face,” especially for creators who paid for a ticket.
ENUK was also passed anonymous comments from volunteers who felt unsupported with the additional costs surrounding attending To the Moon for work.
One attendee, ‘Quinn’, who cosplayed for the event, even described an alleged worrying encounter with the event’s security.
As a tactical cosplayer, they were carrying a prop described as “very obviously fake.” They were approached by security and told that they should have been informed that bringing their prop was not allowed.
Further escalating, the event’s security threatened to call armed police.
Allegedly, the security personnel then stated that they were not informed that cosplayers would be in attendance. Cosplay was actively encouraged on the To the Moon website.
Unwavering support for attending indie game developers shines through as a To the Moon expo highlight
Despite there being fewer vendors than suggested pre-event, attendees and creators praised the indie developers at the event. Battling low footfall and unstable WiFi, developers still offered a fantastic experience.
BigFuzzyYak expressed sympathy for the developers, some of whom had spent over £100 on stalls. Vendors were also likely expecting a higher turnout. She declared in her video that they deserve recognition and appreciation for their efforts.
Several other attendees also identified the presence of indie games as a highlight at the To the Moon expo.
Creator LilacNightshade, who attended on a standard ticket, described Indie City (the indie game zone) as “by far the greatest part of the event.”
However, she also noted that “after speaking to some of the devs at the end of the day, most of them seemed really put out and deflated, which was awful to see.”
Other highlights include meet-and-greet experiences. Fans were able to meet voice actors, writers, and developers from titles such as Baldur’s Gate 3 and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II.
Overall, To the Moon was not set up to be a scam. It simply far overstretched what a new event should strive for.
Empty halls and unfulfilled promises do not bode well for happy attendees or a long-term future.
ENUK has contacted To the Moon expo for comment. At the time of publishing, no response has been received.
Stay Updated with the Latest News
Get the most important stories delivered straight to your Google News feed — timely and reliable
From breaking news and in-depth match analysis to exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes content, we bring you the stories that shape the esports scene.
Monthly Visitors
User Satisfaction
Years experience
Latest Games conventions
Trending Stories
More to explore
