DreamHack Montreal 2018 is back in time for the third year and will be held from September 7 to 9th. This year sees a slight change as the venue has moved to the Olympic Stadium, out of the bustling downtown and into more of a landmark location in the east end of Montreal. For those unfamiliar with DreamHack, it is primarily a 24/7 three day massive bring your own computer (BYOC) LAN party.
For the general public not looking to sleep over at a venue and game every waking moment, there are a lot of other things available. One of the key elements of Dreamhack are the many competitive tournaments and international e-sports competitions, from preliminary rounds all the way to the finals with respectable loot for winners.
Some of the tournaments happening this year are:
- StarCraft II World Championship Series (WCS)
- DreamHack Open: CS:GO
- Rainbow Six
- DreamHack Canada Amateur Championship 2018
- DreamHack Grand Prix (Hearthstone)
- Street Fighter V – Premier Event
- Brawlhalla
- Shadowverse
- Super Smash Bros.
- DreamHack Fighting Game Championship
If e-sports aren’t really your thing, no need to fret because there are some other cool events going on. The other events are also pretty awesome (at least from what we’ve seen in previous years). Two key ones that always are a ton of fun to watch and interact with is first, the cosplay competition on Saturday afternoon. There are some outstanding cosplayers that show up with awesome costumes. The other is the Indie Game Zone sponsored by Loto-Quebec. The Indie Game Zone is not quite as intense as other gaming events but this year’s roster is looking more packed than previous years with over 20 independent studios showcasing their upcoming projects which are currently in development. It is a great opportunity to explore what games are in the works with some talented game developers and give it a go for yourself.
Other than those booths, this year’s venue seems to draw in a whole bunch of new exhibitors. The biggest being the appearance of both Nintendo and Playstation both having their own play areas. In the spirit of multiplayer gaming, Nintendo brings some free play time with Super Smash Bros (at least from what we can see, we will fill you in once we arrive at the venue). Aperium VR will also be there with their state of the art virtual reality experience that adds the extra layer of reality by using a rolling carpet to mimic walking through the game making it even more immersive than only having the headset.
Aside from actual gaming booths, there are also lots of fun and cool new technology to look at with the many exhibitors in the DreamExpo area showcasing gaming rigs and other technological things to facilitate the entire gaming experience. The big ones to expect:
- OMEN by HP
- Corsair
- NVIDIA
- MSI
- Alienware
- Turtle Beach
- Razer
- Thermaltake
- AMD
- Lenovo
- Seagate
There are a lot of other ones to see there including also vendors for games and other vendors. You can see the full list of the Dream Expo exhibitors HERE.
If you are in Montreal, DreamHack Montreal 2018 has a lot to offer. This is a quick look at what to see and do this weekend. You can see the full schedule HERE. Take note that some of the competition will be available in livestream on Twitch for those remote from the event.