Convention Season

June 05, 2025

This May Be The Biggest Convention You’ve Never Heard Of

When talking about the biggest conventions in the creator economy, you have to put Dream Con at the top of the list. This past weekend, RDCWorld hosted their seventh annual convention to a sold-out crowd of 28,000 people at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, TX. What started as a gathering of 600 people has now become a major event where some of the world’s largest creators travel to Texas to share their love of anime, internet culture, and video games. Brands also had a major presence.

What is Dream Con?

Up until this year, the event had been held at the Austin Convention Center, but due to construction (and the fact that they sold 6,000 more tickets than last year), they had to move it to a new venue. If you weren’t paying attention last weekend, you might have missed everything that happened. In my mind, the biggest moments to come out of Dream Con were Megan Thee Stallion’s panel on storytelling, the charity basketball game, and the gaming tournament where over $30,000 was awarded to top players.

There are a lot of unique activations at the convention, including a cosplay contest, a dodgeball tournament, a Super Smash Bros. Melee esports event, and a massive exhibitor hall featuring anime, gaming brands, and nerdcore art. I also noticed that there were way more creators streaming on Twitch this year. It’s become a cultural moment and a weekend that feels reminiscent of the early VidCon years, when all the creators were making content at the convention.

Fan takes a pic with DDG in the expo hall

Brands Showed Up in Full Force

Brands at Dream Con this year included:

  • Rockstar Games

  • YouTube

  • Twitch

  • Nintendo

  • Red Bull

  • Cash App

  • Chili’s

  • Chicas Divertidas (Megan Thee Stallion’s tequila brand)

You also would have noticed that TONE (AMP’s men’s care brand) created an activation called TONE MART. Attendees could use coin vending machines to dispense lip balm, sample all the scents on the shelves, and take home their own lotions and deodorants.

Agent00 checking out TONE MART

Why Is This Important?

As I mentioned above, when I got into the industry, VidCon was the center. It was the one event each year that acted as the focal point of the creator economy. Creators would travel to Anaheim to do fan meetups, create content, become featured artists, and speak on panels. After COVID, VidCon unfortunately just hasn’t been the same.

Our boy Snipe with the 📸 of Ray

Dream Con has carved out a unique position in the creator economy. It’s a conference that is created and run by creators (RDCWorld), and every single year, we’re seeing more and more creators show up to be part of the moment. I’d expect Dream Con next year to draw between 30,000 and 35,000 attendees as it continues to gain momentum.

The Big Takeaway

Dream Con and RDCWorld have built one of the biggest conventions with an incredibly engaged fanbase. Every year they’ve hosted the event, it has sold out to more people and moved into bigger venues. It feels like what VidCon should be: a place where creators can be themselves, lean into their fandoms, and make content for everyone who wants to follow their experience in the expo halls. I can’t wait to see how this event grows over the next few years.

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