“Gaming is one of the most powerful cultural forces in the world.”
DreamHack Stockholm 2025 just set a new attendance record. According to an official announcement, the festival drew more than 60,000 fans from 70 countries to the biggest DreamHack festival ever held in Europe.
DreamHack Stockholm 2025 breaks attendance record
The event also welcomed Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and His Royal Highness Prince Daniel to the Stockholmsmässan venue for the first time ever. Shahin Zarrabi, the vice president of festivals at ESL FACEIT Group (EFG), weighed in on this, stating that the presence of Swedish leaders alongside attendees simply reinforces gaming's global cultural impact.
“Seeing Swedish leadership join tens of thousands of players, families, and fans only reinforces what we’ve always known: gaming is one of the most powerful cultural forces in the world," he said.
DreamHack Stockholm 2025 draws major esports titles
In addition to the attendance record and the presence of world leaders, DreamHack Stockholm 2025 also impressed with its esports tournaments. For example, it held the Overwatch Champions Series (OWCS) World Finals for the second time ever. The tournament featured the best Overwatch 2 esports teams from around the world duking it out for the gold. In the end, Twisted Minds claimed victory and represented the power of the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.
Meanwhile, the ESL Impact Season 8 Finals crowned team BIG EQUIPA. This win represented the final ESL Impact season plus the end of the ESL Impact circuit. According to EFG, the company behind the circuit, it's now taking the time to re-evaluate how it can best support the women's Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) esports community.
Other esports tournaments to note include First-ever major for The Finals won by NTMR Gaming and the Brawl Stars World Finals won by Crazy Raccoon.
"We consider this year 0 of THE FINALS esports. This is just the beginning,” Oscar Lundberg, The Finals' community lead, said. “To start off with such an amazing, high-stakes, high-energy event feels absolutely incredible. We’ll be back for more in 2026. We’re just getting started."
DreamHack Stockholm 2026
Speaking of what's next, Zarrabi revealed that DreamHack Stockholm will return in 2026. The new event will happen between Nov. 27 and Nov. 29 next year at the same venue.
That's all for now. Stick around on esports.gg for more news and updates.
