Gran Canaria will host a significant event for the first time focused on the video gaming sector, urban cultures, and emerging trends.
Named Gaming Experience Gran Canaria, this gamers’ fair is set to occur from June 13 to 15 at the Alisios shopping centre, with free entry. It will feature official online eSports competitions; complimentary gaming zones for PC and consoles, including the newly announced Nintendo Switch 2; tournament competitions; a K-POP area and Cosplay; activities for children and specialised Networking conferences.
Pioneering
At present, Gran Canaria lacks a central hub for the gaming community. As per the Canarian Association of Video Game Developers (Acadevi), while there are 35 development studios operating in the Canary Islands, attracted by tax incentives in the Canarian Special Zone (ZEC), which presents a strategic link between Europe, Africa, and America, the local scene had yet to organise a video game convention; a scenario quite different compared to Tenerife, which hosts events such as Tenerife GG and Tenerife Lan Party.
“Our goal is international: we develop projects that transcend, innovate, and help evolve the industry,” states Antonio Cabrera, director of A1M Entertainment, the same creative firm responsible for Tenerife Lan Party, Tenerife GG, and the Canarian League Esports, aiming to position Gran Canaria on the global gaming landscape.
The Gran Canaria event revives the spirit of the traditional LAN Party, where participants connect their computers or local console networks for face-to-face interactions but adapts it to a more expansive format. It boasts a diverse schedule of activities and an easily accessible location by moving the event to a shopping centre instead of a traditional fairground. “Twenty years ago, we organised the Lan Palmas: people brought their computers, connected to a network, and spent days playing together,” Cabrera reminisces.
The organising entity, A1M Entertainment, aims to “lay the groundwork for an event and project strategy,” catering to gamers across all age groups. The goal is to grow future editions to accommodate up to 50,000 visitors in expanded venues and to diversify activities by including new technological formats and innovations.
Gaming Experience Gran Canaria Press Conference Moment / LP/ DLP
The director of A1M Entertainment, Antonio Cabrera, aligns the event with the GG Worldwide Festivals initiative, marking the first instance of a fair of this nature being held in a commercial venue on the island. The local industry, still in development, generates highly skilled employment and fosters international technological initiatives.
Agenda
This three-day event will commence in the central square of the Alisios Shopping Centre with eSports competitions, including Wrestling Togs, Shooters, and Battle Sand Multiplayers such as League of Legends, offering up to 10,000 euros in prizes. There will also be free gaming areas available for PC and consoles, including the Nintendo Switch 2.
Among the participating studios, The Game Kitchen stands out; a firm that has been based in Tenerife since 2023 and is known for Blasphemous, one of the most recognised Spanish franchises in recent years. The studio, which is based in Seville and has a presence in the Canary Islands, will showcase its latest video game All on Board! during the event and will partake in the professional sessions of the programme.
Simultaneously, a board games area will be available with wargames and strategy titles, along with a K-Pop and Cosplay space featuring performances, and a children’s area dedicated to Steam workshops and computational thinking activities. Throughout the day, over 20 independent studios will present their projects and conduct Workshops for practical skills, as well as open local talent selection processes. Concurrently, the Yelmo cinema will hold conferences, panel discussions, and specialised screenings.
Throughout the event, demonstrations of virtual and augmented reality will be available, along with an exhibition of classic consoles highlighting the evolution of video gaming, and a retro gaming showcase allowing attendees to try out historical hardware and systems from previous generations. All of this will be integrated into the mall’s retail ecosystem.
Economic Implications
The video game industry stands as the colossal entertainment giant of the 21st century. In 2024 alone, it is projected to generate €257 billion, uniting over 3.42 billion active players and surpassing revenue from the global film box office, which reached approximately €34 billion.
In Europe, the five leading markets (United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain) produced €25.7 billion in 2023, reflecting a 5% increase compared to the previous year. In Spain, the Spanish Video Game Association (AEVI) reported a record revenue of €2.339 billion in 2023, marking a 16.3% growth compared to 2022, positioning Spain as the third-largest EU market by income volume. That year, 6.5 million physical video games, 1.1 million consoles, and 3.15 million accessories were sold, with the player base exceeding 20 million active users.
