DreamHack's UK debut ran two events under one roof, sold out the CDL Major II tournament in under 15 minutes, and expanded venue capacity to meet demand, all on Tixr.
DreamHack has been bringing gamers together since 1994. What started in the small Swedish town of Malung grew into one of the world's most recognized gaming festivals, eventually finding its permanent Swedish home in Stockholm and expanding across Europe and the US. Birmingham marked something new: the first time DreamHack had brought its full festival format to the UK.
DreamHack Birmingham took over the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) for a weekend that drew 54,000 attendees, making it the largest first-time DreamHack festival ever held. The festival ran two concurrent events under one roof: the DreamHack Festival, a celebration of gaming culture, cosplay, indie titles, and community, alongside the Call of Duty League Major II Championship and the COD: Warzone Resurgence Series.
DreamHack has been a Tixr partner since 2018, across events in France, Atlanta, and beyond. Drawing tens of thousands of fans across two experiences, the Birmingham festival needed a platform proven at scale and built to adapt. That's where Tixr came in, bringing several years of shared history and strategic partnership.
Running a Gaming Festival and an Esports Championship Simultaneously
The DreamHack Festival and the Call of Duty championship ran simultaneously in one building, selling to two distinct audiences. Festival-goers were there for cosplay championships, the indie game playground, and the communal energy DreamHack is known for. Esports fans were there for professional competition with over £1 million in prize money on the line.
Within Tixr, the experiences lived in one place. Three-day passes, single-day tickets, family packages, VIP access, and esports bundles were organized so fans could navigate their options and check out with confidence. Add-ons including official merchandise, meet-and-greet reservations with creators like the Sidemen and Bov Boys, and premium goodie bags were surfaced to fans conveniently at checkout and after purchase. Shared inventory pools let the team manage both events in a single setup, with the flexibility to shift as demand moved.
Fan-Driven Referrals, Early Momentum, and a 15-Minute Sellout
Gaming communities move on recommendation, and Tixr Rewards gave early buyers a structured way to act on that instinct — sharing the event with their networks and earning perks for every successful referral. For a first-time UK festival, that peer-driven momentum extended DreamHack's reach into gaming communities across Europe well before the doors opened.
When remaining inventory was released, Call of Duty Major II tickets sold out in under 15 minutes. DreamHack secured an additional hall in the NEC to meet demand, releasing 1,000 more tickets that sold out within a minute. Because both events were running through shared inventory pools on a single platform, that expansion happened without disrupting fans who had already purchased or the ticketing structure already in place.
A Destination Event with Global Pull
Nearly 80% of revenue came from fans who traveled more than 50 miles, with orders placed from Manchester, London, Amsterdam, Atlanta, and well beyond. Attendees arrived from 65 countries in total, a reflection of how far DreamHack's community reaches.
For an event making its debut in a new market, that draw is the product of a brand with genuine global pull, a format that gives fans a reason to travel, and a purchase experience that doesn't get in the way. The festival ran without a hitch, across a sold-out championship, a last-minute venue expansion, and three days of back-to-back programming.
Birmingham was just the beginning. DreamHack returns to the NEC in 2027. Birmingham proved what the format can do, and the partnership that made it possible is already carrying that momentum forward.
-min.webp)
