The world of gaming has evolved greatly in recent years to become a catalyst for technological innovations that transcend their niche and impact the entire economy.
Currently, this powerful industry – with more than 2,000 million euros in turnover and 18.2 million players – transcends far beyond video games and connects with new generations who have built their leisure time, culture and entertainment on the pillars of this sector.
The Encom Games company is one of the names in the profound transformation that this industry has faced in our country. Pioneer in landing in Spain the events of esports more than a decade ago, and to contribute with its innovative festivals to taking the video game out of that very niche market, the company led by Arturo Castelló makes a qualitative leap in its proposal in 2024 with the first tokenized digital entertainment festival.
[DreamHack o cómo el “ocio del siglo XXI” conecta los videojuegos con la cultura, el ocio digital y el territorio]
The proposal merges the world of gaming, the esportsmusic, art, fashion, sports and technology in an environment that combines the physical with the digital and that becomes, with the evolution that OWN (Open World Now) represents – until now DreamHack – a test bed to build with the help of the community that supports the event, companies , consumer brands and institutions what is yet to come in this field.
But it is not the first time that Encom Games has positioned itself at the forefront of the gaming industry. gaming. Being at the forefront of this sector is something intrinsic to the company, part of its DNA since its inception.
[“La industria del videojuego crece rápido y es una oportunidad para liderar”]
“We were pioneers in organizing events in Spain esports, which at that time were very niche, and we imported a model that worked in Sweden. What was innovative was that video games were brought to in-person entertainment spaces: people who met to play with their friends and compete, and the novelty was that people came to see it. The first of these festivals was held in 2010 in Valencia,” he tells DISRUPTORES – EL ESPAÑOL Arturo Castelló, CEO of Encom Games.
In its second edition, in 2011, also held in the capital of Turia, competitors from eight different countries attended to measure their skills in StarCraft II. “It was broadcast in five languages, becoming the first time a live broadcast was made on Twitch in Spainwhich at that time was a discreet company with only 40 employees in Silicon Valley,” adds the CEO.
Arturo Castelló, CEO of Encom Games.
It was also the first live broadcast of a video game competition in TV in our country, through Canal Plus Extra.
The company is also behind the emergence of the phenomenon of youtubers in Spain, given that all the content creators that resonate strongly today – back in 2012 known as youtubers, today streamers- “They came to our event as children,” Castelló points out. And the company promoted the genesis of what the sector has been youtuber in Spain. “Only Ibai has resisted us,” the businessman points out with a half smile on his face.
With this letter of introduction, it is not surprising that at this time of greater maturity in gaming and esportswith the new languages and communication platforms of the digital era, Encom Games has taken -again- the initiative taking the concept of a video game festival to a new level.
Video games have become a massive phenomenon and, despite being still far from other types of sports or music festivals, they have incorporated different content that They cover other industries such as music, art or gastronomy, among others.
OWN is the evolution of DreamHack and becomes the first tokenized digital entertainment festival that empowers the participant.
This transversality gives it an enabling power to generate new innovation formats and makes it at the epicenter to connect companies, consumer brands and institutions with this young audience that expresses, communicates and has fun in this ecosystem of innovation that revolves around video games.
In this sense, OWN exemplifies that evolution led by Encom and which will offer this year, for the first time in Valencia from July 4 to 7, a tokenized digital entertainment festival.
The commitment opens the door to endless possibilities, still to be explored, that Encom wants to lead and contribute to developing together with its community and collaborators. Through technology blockchainOWN begins to position itself as a sandbox of the video game industry.
“We want consumer brands to test how to communicate with these participants, who are part of new generations that, otherwise, it is difficult to reach them. We are at the beginning of something very inspiring and we want to be part of it,” says Castelló.
OWN will be the first tokenized digital entertainment festival that empowers the participant and seeks to create new business models through a ‘sandbox’ within this industry
And it is that he blockchain allows progress towards new business models where the user is empowered and multiple avenues are opening up for brands to advance loyalty. “We do not yet know how this scenario is going to take shape, but the future is along these lines and we are in a position from which we can contribute to building it together with the brands.”
The reformulation of its festival has had a magnificent reception to date by the community and collaborators. “Currently, ticket sales are already above last year at this time. In addition, the collaborators who have been supporting us at DreamHack continue with us – among them Telefónica, Monster and Burger King -, in addition to other new ones that are joining this new stage such as Tesla.”
Quote, from July 4 to 7 at Feria Valencia. The new era of the digital entertainment industry has only just begun, and Encom is determined to continue leading the profound transformation that is coming. And, who knows, maybe, this time, the great Ibai Llanos will sign up for the event.
