Esports events organiser DreamHack has partnered with Sony Music Entertainment to bring its gaming festival to Japan for the first time.
According to the announcement, the event will feature a range of esports tournaments alongside music concerts and cosplay competitions. Sony will also incorporate several IPs into the event, such as its anime, apps, music, esports, VTubers and digital technology.
Specifically, Sony Music Entertainment has become DreamHack’s license holder in the country as part of the collaboration. Information regarding DreamHack Japan’s venue and dates will be revealed at a later date, however, the event will take place sometime in 2023.
In recent months, Sony has expanded its presence in the esports industry following the acquisition of esports tournament platform Repeat.gg and partnerships with the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) and Evolution Championship Series (Evo).
DreamHack’s deal marks its expansion into the Asian market after years of hosting events in Europe and North America. Ahead of the company’s Atlanta event, it added a $100,000 (~£88,396) Fortnite tournament alongside Rocket League, League of Legends, and Super Smash Bros competitions.
Earlier this week, Ubisoft also confirmed that DreamHack Winter in Sweden will host November’s Rainbow Six Siege Major.
Shahin Zarrabi, VP of Strategy and Growth at DreamHack, spoke on the deal: “We are super excited to welcome Sony Music Entertainment and the gamers of Japan to our growing, global community.
“The partnership will allow us to combine Sony Music Entertainment’s IP in diverse industries alongside our 24-hour-a-day festival weekend featuring everything gaming under one roof. Together we will build a new, electrifying entertainment culture that all attendees can experience.”
DreamHack has also continued to grow DreamHack Sports Games, its sports simulation business unit, throughout 2022. This includes securing deals with EA Sports to host the 2022 NHL Gaming World Championship for the National Hockey League (NHL) and teaming up with analytics company HUDstats.
