Eurogamer Expo coming to Leeds 27th/28th October (07/05/2009)

Thousands of Yorkshire videogamers will get a chance to play the latest game releases before anyone else in the UK when the Eurogamer Expo debuts at The Royal Armouries in Leeds on 27th and 28th October before moving on to London.

Screen Yorkshire and Game Republic have partnered with Eurogamer to ensure 4,000 games enthusiasts will be able to sample games that won't be released until Christmas 2009 and spring 2010.

Taking place alongside the Expo is the GamesIndustry.biz Career Fair, the UK's premier recruitment event for the games industry and a number of Yorkshire's leading games companies will be exhibiting and giving careers advice.

Yorkshire has four of the top 100 games development studios in the world including Wakefield based Team 17 who are responsible for the Worms game amongst others and York's Revolution Software who developed Broken Sword. Eurogamer Expo is also expected to bring major inward investment into Yorkshire for the two days it will take place.

This year's Eurogamer Expo is sponsored by hmv, who are also the show's official retail partner, meaning that gamers will be able to buy games at the event as well as play them. The Eurogamer Expo is about putting the best games in the hands of gamers. Many publishers have already signed up to exhibit their biggest titles of this Christmas and beyond, and these will be announced over the coming months.

The website for the 2009 event is live now at http://expo.eurogamer.net , where tickets are already on sale, priced at £6 per day.

There's also more information on the Eurogamer website:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/eurogamer-expo-2009-article

Sally Joynson, Chief Executive of Screen Yorkshire, said: "Attracting the Eurogamer Expo event to Yorkshire is a major coup for the region at a time when all regions are fighting very hard to secure major events and the associated visitor spend. Yorkshire will be the first place in the UK, and in some cases the world, where these new games can be played for the first time and we're expecting a very exciting two days. Games is now big business with games and consoles sales worth £4.03bn in the UK, more than music and video combined, and is now a major employer in the region so the GamesIndustry.biz Career Fair will be an excellent opportunity for the next generation of games developers to tap into job opportunities in games."

Eurogamer managing director Rupert Loman said: "I think we struck a chord with gamers and the games industry last year. The formula was simple and we're sticking to it - great games to play, a great price for consumers and excellent value for exhibitors. We're delighted to have the support of hmv this year along with Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo again".

Contacts:

Screen Yorkshire press enquiries: Rachel McWatt on 0113 236 8224 or Rachel@screenyorkshire.co.uk

To discuss sponsorship and exhibit opportunities contact David Lilley, business development manager, Eurogamer Network: +44 (0)7779 224 138 / david@eurogamer.net

If you have any questions about the show contact expo@eurogamer.net