Level Up KL goes virtual with Level Up Spacebar and Play-One online conference & festival

• 1st SEA virtual games expo to have events for both businesses and gaming public
• 16 speakers from across the region; showcase of local games; gaming tournaments

The Covid-19 pandemic has put a massive dampener on global video game events. Major game festival and shows, including E3 2020, Tokyo Game Show 2020 and the Taipei Game Show 2020, have all been cancelled.

Those in Southeast Asia (SEA), however, will have something to look forward to. The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) is organising a satellite event to its growingly popular Level Up KL gaming expo.

Set for June 2020, the new online event will consist of Level Up Spacebar and Level Up Play-One. The former, which will run on 16 June 2020, will be targeted towards businesses and game publishers. The latter, on the other hand, is a virtual gaming festival that is open to the public, running on 13 & 14 June 2020.

Both events will be hosted online, essentially making it SEA’s first games expo to be organised virtually.

Additionally, MDEC will be collaborating with Astro’s eGG network to extend selected broadcast streams around Malaysia and its neighbouring countries. The content streams, MDEC says, will be mostly from the Level Up Play-One webinars.

More than 16 speakers from across the region that range from renowned game streamers to e-sports operators will be sharing their knowledge about e-sports opportunities and challenges during the pandemic.

Games will also be streamed during the 12-hour official broadcast on Facebook Gaming, which will feature a diverse range of local and global video game titles.

“The world has been in isolation for months now due to the pandemic. Even so, there are multiple gaming events taking place now on the global and regional fronts. As MDEC, we will take the lead in creating an event that all gamers can get into,” says Hasnul Hadi Samsudin (pic, above), vice president of Digital Creative Content, MDEC.

“After all, we want to show the public our continuous support by hosting Level Up Play-One. The main aim is to help our fellow countrymen, and gamers around Southeast Asia, feel less isolated by continuing to push the local, and regional, gaming industry. Join us as we showcase and play games of all varieties, from AAA types to popular titles that our fellow ASEAN game developers worked on, and big hits that our fellow Malaysians made. Let’s play a part this June – together!”

CK Lee (pic, right), head of sports at eGG Network, Astro, says:  “We look forward to this collaboration with MDEC as we believe that Level Up Play-One is exactly what gamers in the region need at this moment. eGG Network has been engaging our fans with the ‘Stay Home’ message throughout this pandemic via our content streams. We hope that all gaming fans in the region will tune in and enjoy the digital festivities and content we have in store.”

In its two-day run, Level Up Play-One will be showcasing the latest games created by Malaysian studios and publishers. Part of the event will see enthusiasts and professional players all over the world being able to download and play the games, while standing a chance to win exclusive gifts.

On top of that, online tournaments will also be planned and enable players to compete in locally made games and win prize pools of more than US$2,340 (RM10,000) in cash.

Prospective gamers can register now via Level Up KL’s website to secure their place in Level Up Play-One.