Dutch soccer league Eredivisie and esports operator DreamHack Sports Games (DHSG) have partnered up to launch "GG DreamHack Sports" gaming festival, which aims to combine sports games, esports, and family-friendly festivities. The festival, called GG22 for short, will take place in Maastricht on June 4th and 5th of next year. According to the release, it plans to be the biggest gaming festival in Europe with the hope of hosting up to 10,000 visitors.

"Sports gaming is becoming increasingly popular," said Roger Lodewick, CEO of DreamHack Sports Games. "As DreamHack Sports Games is solely focusing on transforming traditional sports [IPs] into esports, creating and organizing an esports and gaming festival specifically designed at sport and sports gaming is a natural step for our company. We want to bring both the sporting world and the sports gaming world together, cross-pollinating the massive fan base of the traditional sports with the agile and young demographic of sports gamers. Together with our long-term partner Eredivisie and the amazingly newly renovated MECC Maastricht, we foresee GG DreamHack Sports to be a benchmark for all sports gaming festivals around the world."

Aimed at Gen Z and Millenials interested in gaming, physical fitness, and competition, the festival will provide an opportunity to not only resonate with younger audiences, but it will also bring together other sports and gaming fans to interact in a shared festival-style environment.

The festival will feature live on-stage entertainment, an Expo Area, a LAN zone, and multiple areas for console gaming and sports simulators. It will also have areas for traditional sports and "active gaming" — physical activities enhanced with technology, such as interactive wall ball. No sponsors have been named at the time of the announcement, but Eredivisie executives assured that there are multiple business opportunities available for the festival — from marketplace stands to event partnerships.

(All information was provided by Esports Insider)