Spark announces major gaming festival in Auckland's Spark Arena

Spark has announced Spark Game Arena Live, a gaming festival set to take place in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland’s Spark Arena, on Saturday, September 7th, 2024.

The event aims to bring together the best of the gaming world with interactive experiences, live esports tournament finals, and guest appearances from globally recognised gaming personalities. The festival is expected to accommodate approximately 8,000 attendees throughout the day and will be divided into morning and afternoon sessions, each lasting five hours.

A key attraction of the morning session will be the second instalment of The Rise Cup, featuring Fortnite, delivered in collaboration with Let'sPlay.Live. Last year’s inaugural event attracted over 1,400 participants and offered the largest prize pool for a Fortnite tournament in New Zealand, amounting to NZD $30,000.

This year’s tournament will include two qualifier rounds played online later in the month. The 50 finalists from these rounds will compete in person at Spark Game Arena Live on September 7th. The tournament will also be broadcast live for Fortnite enthusiasts globally. Participants will have a chance to win a share of a prize pool exceeding NZD $140,000, including Logitech G equipment, cash, and more. Registrations, open to New Zealand residents aged 13 and above, will commence on Wednesday, July 3rd, at 11 am.

Matt Bain, Spark’s Director of Marketing and Data, stated, "We know that New Zealand gamers have been waiting a long time to see a dedicated gaming event in our own backyard that brings together some of the best experiences the industry has to offer."

"This festival is about creating a platform for the New Zealand gaming industry to come together and showcase some of the incredible game developers, animators, and visionaries that are building award-winning experiences."

The New Zealand video game industry recorded earnings of NZD $434.4 million in the year ending March 31st 2023, with 95% of this revenue generated from high-value digital exports. "We’re excited to celebrate our homegrown gaming expertise while also bringing in inspiration from offshore," Bain remarked.

According to Bain, "At Spark, we want to leverage the power of technology to unleash an Aotearoa that is full of possibilities. This makes gaming a natural area of focus for us – we are investing in the networks and technology that make gaming possible, and it is one of the fastest growing forms of entertainment not only in New Zealand but globally. Spark Game Arena Live is our way of saying ‘Hello Tomorrow’ to new opportunities and backing New Zealand gamers of the future."

The festival’s morning session, from 9 am to 2 pm, will feature gaming experiences from 10 New Zealand game studios affiliated with the New Zealand Game Developers Association. There will also be activations from well-known game brands, with more details to be announced in the upcoming weeks. Attendees will have the chance to play Fall Guys, a multi-player obstacle game, with matches shown on giant LED screens spanning 653 square metres inside the arena.

The afternoon session, from 3 pm to 8 pm, will be restricted to those aged 16 and above. It will feature activities similar to the morning session, along with an additional esports tournament to be announced. Attendees will also have access to free-play Fortnite and keynote seminars featuring leading figures from the gaming industry.

Ticket prices begin at NZD $80 for family passes, NZD $30 for child tickets, and NZD $50 for adult tickets. Full-day passes will be available for individuals aged 16 and above from NZD $80.

Additionally, Spark will distribute 100 tickets to students across the region to support budding gamers and game developers who might otherwise be unable to attend the event.