Cannes announces the first Cannes Gaming Festival for October 2023

Cannes is continuing to establish itself as the focal point of award ceremonies and trade fairs with the arrival of the Cannes Gaming Festival.

Already home major cinema, audiovisual programmes, series and advertising events, the city of Cannes will launch its video game festival in October 2023 in the Palais des Festivals. Like the other events, there will be an opening ceremony, red carpet and awards ceremonies, a prestigious jury and special happenings conceived by Robin Leproux and the Auditoire agency. “We want to create the reference ceremony to celebrate video game creators”, says Robin Leproux (ex-number 2 of France’s M6 group).

The gaming industry already has the Game Awards, organised every year in the US, while France has its Pegasus ceremony. In early 2022, the Auditoire agency won a call for tenders organised by the city of Cannes, which co-owns the brand. Auditoire is already active in providing event services for the film festival. “The ambition is to set up this festival for the long term and not to seek short-term profitability,” according to Antoine de Tavernost, managing director of the events agency speaking to France’s Le Figaro magazine.

A prestigious event

The Cannes Gaming Festival will award a dozen prizes such as the best soundtrack, the best scenario and best independent game. The nominees will be chosen by a pre-selection committee, made up of specialist journalists. “We need to be legitimate in the eyes of gamers,” explains Leproux.

The professional section, planned for 2024, will bring together players from the video game industry with artists, sportsmen, musicians and brands that are already more or less involved in the gaming world. “We want to make France a major destination for video games,” says Antoine de Tavernost.

Meanwhile, there is no news about Midem, the annual music trade event which the city of Cannes acquired last year.

[wpedon id=6523]