World gaming leaders arrive in Bar

The city under Rumija will be the epicenter of gaming and technology for the third year in a row thanks to the Montenegro Future Festival, which will take place from April 24 to 26. It is a multi-day event that brings together the world of gaming, technology, sports, science, and innovation.

The festival brings together industry professionals, esports teams, investors, universities, technology companies, as well as gaming enthusiasts from all over the world, and visitors can expect a rich and diverse program.

Montenegro Future Festival, through part of the program - European Gaming Summit, will bring together numerous speakers, and for simulation fans there will be several e-sports tournaments with a prize pool exceeding 10.000 euros.

"Bar has already become a natural home for the festival and you can really feel it because we have the support of the city, good infrastructure and energy that accompanies everything we do. This year we have raised the entire event to a higher level. The festival is held in the Bar Cultural Center, where we will have two main stages - one on the summer stage with conferences and panels, and the other in the cinema hall with e-sports tournaments. In addition, there is also the FiveG expo zone, where visitors will be able to try out gaming, new technologies, simulators and various interactive content," the president of the Electronic Sports Association of Montenegro and director of MFF said in an interview with Vijesti. Filip Šoć.

He is particularly proud of the fact that the e-Football World Cup and the Mediterranean Esports Games will be organized as part of the IMF, as well as a series of additional tournaments.

"We expect over 500 international guests from more than 60 countries, with the possibility of that number approaching 1000 participants, which clearly shows that the festival is growing into a serious international event," adds Šoć.

The panel program is divided into IT, sports and gaming industries, and as for how difficult it is to choose topics and guests, he answers:

“Honestly, the hardest part is narrowing down the selection, because this year we have over 100 speakers and huge interest from all over the world. Some of the most important companies and organizations in the industry are coming to the festival, including Tencent, Moonton, Alibaba Cloud, Payment Labs, ESL FACEIT Group, BLAST, BIGG, Good Game Global, LINK, as well as key international institutions such as IESF, GEF, EEF, NASEF and the World Phygital Community (WPC). When we look at the total value of the companies coming, we are talking about a figure exceeding one trillion dollars,” Šoć boasted, pointing out that the speakers will include important people from the aforementioned industries, including HRH Prince Omar Bin Faisal, HH Princess Sofia Volkonski, Vlad Marinesku (IESF), Gerald Solomon (NASEF), Said Šaraf, Micah Li (Tencent) and many others. We have divided the program into three key segments: technology, sports and gaming, because these industries are increasingly intertwined today. "We're talking about AI, blockchain, the digital economy, but also sports science, the phygital concept and the future of competition," reveals Šoć.

There will be a lot of tournaments this year, and Vijesti's interviewee believes that this is the best way to showcase the competitive side of e-sports.

"You can talk about e-sports as much as you want, but only when people see the competition live do they understand what it's all about. That's why we've created a balance between the conference part and the competition. We have over 100 competitors, tournaments on the main stage, as well as additional activities in the expo zone. This is the best way to show that e-sports is not just about gaming, but a serious industry that involves discipline, strategy, and professionalism," believes Šoć.

Such events are very popular around the world, while here there is still not much of an audience.

"It's not that people don't want to, it's more a matter of habit and exposure. These topics are still not talked about enough in our country and people don't often have the opportunity to see what it looks like live. But that's changing quickly. Every year we have an increasing number of visitors, especially young people, but also the business community. What's interesting is that people who come once bring others the following year. This is not just an event, but a process of creating a new industry and a new audience in Montenegro. Montenegro Future Festival is already becoming a global platform today, and this year is a key year in which we expect the greatest growth and international expansion so far," Šoć does not hide his expectations.

The festival will be covered by more than 40 media outlets, with live broadcasts in English and Arabic, he says.