TwitchCon | |
---|---|
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Status | Active |
Genre | Livestreaming, Entertainment, Esports, Internet Culture |
Frequency | Semi-Annual |
Location(s) | North America, Europe |
Inaugurated | September 25, 2015 San Francisco (8 years ago) |
Most recent | June 30, 2024Rotterdam, 2024) | (
Next event | September 20, 2024San Diego, 2024) | (
Attendance | 11,500 (Rotterdam, 2024), 30,000 (San Diego, 2022), 14,500 (Amsterdam, 2022) |
Organized by | Twitch Interactive |
Sponsors | San Diego 2024 - AT&T, CAPCOM, Chevron, Samsung Galaxy |
Website | www |
TwitchCon is a semi-annual convention for the livestreaming video platform Twitch. The convention is organized by Twitch Interactive and focuses on the culture of Livestreaming, Entertainment, Esports and Internet Culture. TwitchCon also serves as an opportunity for streamers and content creators to improve their stream quality and grow their brand.[1] TwitchCon is open to industry professionals, streamers, and fans; the convention allows community members to meet streamers, discover new products, and trial new games.[1]
The first convention was held in 2015 in San Francisco. In 2019, the first European convention was held in Berlin. TwitchCon is hosted twice a year, in Europe for two days and once again in North America for three days.[2] All North American conventions were held in California until 2023, in which an event in Las Vegas, Nevada took place. The North American convention is most frequently hosted in San Diego. The European conventions have cycled between Netherlands, Paris And Berlin; most commonly in The Netherlands.
Events
2015
The inaugural TwitchCon was held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco on September 25 and 26, 2015. The event was organized by Twitch, and featured a keynote by Twitch CEO Emmett Shear. All of the convention's panels were livestreamed on Twitch.[3]
2016
In 2016, the convention was moved to the San Diego Convention Center and expanded to a three-day annual event. This TwitchCon introduced sponsors such as Xbox, Truth, and Amazon Game Studios.[4]
2017
In 2017, TwitchCon took place at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California. This included the first esports tournaments to be held at TwitchCon included H1Z1 Arena, Lineage 2: Revolution 30 vs 30 Fortress Siege Showcase, and Power Rangers: Legacy Wars Showdown.[5]
2018
TwitchCon 2018 took place at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California. The main presentation was held on the first day of the event by djWHEAT, director of Twitch studios, who made numerous statements about forthcoming features for the platform.[6] Twitch Speaks, a speaking series first presented at TwitchCon 2018, featured Tony Hawk, Kevin Smith, Felicia Day, Emmett Shear, and Ninja.[7] The Fall Skirmish final, a competitive Fortnite tournament final, was held at TwitchCon 2018, at the time making it the second largest Fortnite LAN event held.[8][9]
2019
The inaugural TwitchCon Europe took place at CityCube Berlin in Germany on April 13–14, 2019.[10] American actor, singer, producer, and businessman David Hasselhoff appeared as a motivational speaker at the event.[11] Attendees had to be over the age of 18 to enter TwitchCon Europe, Berlin.[12][13]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Emmett_Shear_at_Twitchcon_2019.jpg/170px-Emmett_Shear_at_Twitchcon_2019.jpg)
TwitchCon North America returned to San Diego, taking place from September 27–29, 2019. It introduced the debut of an updated Twitch logo, TwitchCon logo, and brand design. This was the second time the event had been held in San Diego, with the first being held in 2016. This was also the first time a TwitchCon event was held at a venue more than one time.[14][15]
2020
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, TwitchCon North America, which was scheduled to occur at the San Diego Convention Center between September 25 and 27, 2020, as well as TwitchCon Europe, which was scheduled to occur at RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre in Amsterdam between May 2 and 3, 2020,[2] were cancelled.[16] On November 14, 2020, in lieu of TwitchCon, Twitch held a 12-hour virtual convention named "GlitchCon."[17] Over 425 streamers participated in the event. Notable activities included Twitch Rivals tournaments for Fortnite and Fall Guys, the Austin Talent Show featuring judges T-Pain and Andy Milonakis, and a US$1 million donation being made to the AbleGamers foundation.[18]
Neither a GlitchCon or TwitchCon event occurred in 2021. The next event would be held in Amsterdam in 2022.
2022
After a two-year hiatus, TwitchCon Europe took place in July 2022 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre.[19]
TwitchCon North America took place at the San Diego Convention Center in October 2022.[20] This was the third time the event has been held in San Diego. The events required face coverings and had numerous COVID-19 prevention protocols in place.
The TwitchCon San Diego party was held at Petco Park, and featured the artists Meet Me at The Altar, Kim Petras, and Megan Thee Stallion. The party gained significant media attention when an attendee cosplaying as Master Chief from the Halo series of video games was allowed on stage during a performance with Megan Thee Stallion.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/PizzaPrincess_at_Twitchcon_San_Diego_2022_foam_pit.jpg/220px-PizzaPrincess_at_Twitchcon_San_Diego_2022_foam_pit.jpg)
However, many people were critical of the San Diego event. One of the more notable criticisms of the event was the lack of security protocols in place for exhibitors, resulting in overcrowded venues and reported stalking incidents. Legion by Lenovo and Intel hosted an interactive exhibit that involved attendees dueling in an arena using large padded instruments and landing in a pit of foam cubes. However, the arena was not padded properly, causing people to land on hard ground, resulting in various injuries.[21] Of the two injured, streamer Adriana Chechik reported that she had broken her back after landing, and had to undergo surgery to set the fracture with a rod implant. Lenovo and Intel both remained silent on the matter. Chechik posted on social media that neither Intel, Lenovo, or Twitch had contacted her directly about the incident.[22]
At TwitchCon San Diego, Twitch did not announce a location for a potential TwitchCon North America event in 2023 during the closing ceremony, breaking years-old tradition.
2023
TwitchCon Europe took place at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles in Paris, France, on July 8–9, 2023.[23]
TwitchCon North America took place at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 20–22, 2023.[23] This was the first TwitchCon North America event outside of California.
2024
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/LittleBigWhale_receiving_the_new_%27bleed_purple%27_trophy.jpg/167px-LittleBigWhale_receiving_the_new_%27bleed_purple%27_trophy.jpg)
TwitchCon Europe made its return to Europe at the Rotterdam Ahoy in Rotterdam, Netherlands with over 11,500 attendees[24] on June 29–30, 2024. This marks the second time the event has been hosted in the Netherlands, previously being held in Amsterdam in 2022. At TwitchCon Europe 2024's opening ceremony, Director of Community Marketing Mary Kish And CEO Dan Clancy introduced three 'bleed purple' themed trophies awarded for achieving 5 million, 50 million, and 250 million hours of watchtime. The first trophy, for 5 million hours, was presented to /LittleBigWhale at the event, marking a new way to celebrate streamer milestones. An afterparty hosted by the Twitch music community raised over $2,500 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.Twitch CEO Dan Clancy joined the festivities, making the night a memorable celebration and a great way to end TwitchCon Europe.[25]
TwitchCon North America is set to return to the San Diego Convention Center September 20–22, 2024. This event is set to showcase shows such as 'The Table ft. QTCinderella', 'Name Your Price LIVE! ft. AustinShow & WillNeff' and the classic 'Twitch Rivals Ultimate Challenge' and more. Bringing the Twitch community together again, this is the fourth time the event will be hosted in San Diego. This is the seventh time the event will be hosted in California.[26]
2025
TwitchCon is also set to return to Rotterdam and San Diego in 2025 with the precise date to be announced.
Locations And Dates
North America
No. | Dates | Venue | City | Attendance | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 25–26, 2015 | Moscone Center | San Francisco, California[27] | 20,000[27] | |
2 | September 30 – October 2, 2016 | San Diego Convention Center | San Diego, California | 35,000[4] | |
3 | October 20–22, 2017 | Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center | Long Beach, California[28] | 50,000[29] | |
4 | October 26–28, 2018 | San Jose Convention Center | San Jose, California[30] | 30,000[31] | |
5 | September 27–29, 2019 | San Diego Convention Center | San Diego, California | 28,000[32] | |
6 | September 25–27, 2020[2] | - | Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||
October 7–9, 2022 | ~30,000[33] | ||||
7 | October 20–22, 2023 | Las Vegas Convention Center | Winchester, Nevada | Estimated at 30,000 | Attendance numbers never made public |
8 | September 20–22, 2024 | San Diego Convention Center | San Diego, California | TBA |
Europe
No. | Dates | Venue | Country & City | Attendance | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | April 13–14, 2019[10] | CityCube Berlin | Berlin, Germany[10] | 9,500[34] | |
2 | May 2–3, 2020[2] | RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre | Amsterdam, Netherlands[2] | - | Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic |
July 16–17, 2022 | 14,500[34] | ||||
3 | July 8–9, 2023 | Paris Expo Porte de Versailles | Paris, France | - | Attendance numbers never made public |
4 | June 29–30, 2024 | Rotterdam Ahoy | Rotterdam, Netherlands | 11,500+[35] |
References
- ^ a b "What is TwitchCon? FAQs". TwitchCon 2018. Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e Hawkins, Josh (September 27, 2019). "Twitch announces TwitchCon 2020 dates and locations". Shacknews. Archived from the original on September 28, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
- ^ "TwitchCon 2015: What it is, and what to watch". Polygon. September 24, 2015. Archived from the original on March 20, 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
- ^ a b Freitas, Evan (October 12, 2016). "That's a wrap on TwitchCon 2016!". Twitch. Archived from the original on October 11, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
- ^ Albert, Brian. "Announcing TwitchCon 2017's exhibitors, sponsors, and activities". Retrieved September 14, 2017.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Arguello, Diego (October 30, 2018). "Everything that happened at TwitchCon 2018". Digital Trends. Archived from the original on October 11, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ "Twitch Talks: Stories from Tony Hawk, Kevin Smith and Felicia Day". TwitchCon 2018. Archived from the original on December 10, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ "twitchcon 2018". Epic Games' Fortnite. Archived from the original on October 11, 2022. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
- ^ "Epic Games' Fortnite". Epic Games' Fortnite. Archived from the original on October 11, 2022. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
- ^ a b c Crecente, Brian (November 21, 2018). "TwitchCon Expands to Europe in 2019". Variety. Archived from the original on September 28, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
- ^ "Twitch Talks are back for TwitchCon Europe. These are your next speakers". Twitch. Archived from the original on September 26, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- ^ "TwitchCon Berlin tickets". TwitchCon. Archived from the original on September 26, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
- ^ Twitch Username Checker
- ^ Vincent, Brittany (February 20, 2019). "TwitchCon 2019 Returns To San Diego Convention Center With Fifth Annual Event". Variety. Archived from the original on February 21, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
- ^ Garrett, Eric. "Twitch Reveals First Details for TwitchCon 2019". comicbook/wwg. Archived from the original on October 11, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
- ^ GlitchCon [@TwitchCon] (June 18, 2020). "An update on TwitchCon San Diego and what comes next" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Stephan, Bijan (November 2, 2020). "Twitch announces a virtual TwitchCon next week". The Verge. Archived from the original on February 12, 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
- ^ Weiss, Geoff (November 9, 2020). "Twitch Unveils Full Rundown For Saturday's 'GlitchCon' — Its Virtual Reimagining Of TwitchCon". TubeFilter. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
- ^ Holt, Kris (September 22, 2021). "In-person TwitchCon events will return in 2022". Engadget. Archived from the original on September 23, 2021. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
- ^ Garske, Monica (September 22, 2021). "This Is Happening, IRL: 'TwitchCon' 2022 Is Returning to San Diego". NBC 7 San Diego. Archived from the original on October 11, 2022. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
- ^ Sung, Morgan (October 10, 2022). "TwitchCon had a foam pit exhibit. Two attendees say they got injured when they jumped in". NBC News. Archived from the original on October 11, 2022. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
- ^ Serrano, Jody (October 15, 2022). "Twitch Mum on TwitchCon Foam Pit Injuries, Pretends Everything's Fine". Gizmodo.
- ^ a b "TwitchCon 2023, hype intensifies!". Twitch Blog. February 16, 2023. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Everything We Announced at TwitchCon Rotterdam | TwitchCon". twitchcon.com. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Sarkar, Samit (February 18, 2016). "TwitchCon 2016 announced, coming to San Diego this September". Polygon. Archived from the original on February 19, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
- ^ Sarkar, Samit (January 10, 2017). "TwitchCon 2017 announced for late October". Polygon. Archived from the original on January 11, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
- ^ Grady, Angel (October 23, 2017). "Twitch Welcomed Gamers at TwitchCon 2017". OC Weekly. Archived from the original on October 26, 2017. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
- ^ Lumb, David (February 28, 2018). "TwitchCon returns to the Bay Area on October 26th". Engadget. Archived from the original on February 28, 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
- ^ "TwitchCon 2018 Recap: 5 Biggest Takeaways For Marketers". Mediakix. November 7, 2018. Retrieved January 4, 2022.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Sponsor or Exhibit at TwitchCon". TwitchCon. Archived from the original on March 16, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
- ^ Staff, B. G. N. (October 12, 2022). "Here Are The Highlights of What Happened at TwitchCon 2022". Black Girl Nerds. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
- ^ a b Tsiaoussidis, Alex (July 26, 2022). "TwitchCon enjoys big return to Europe: Amsterdam event breaks attendance records". Dot eSports. Archived from the original on July 29, 2022. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:5
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).