Brand Licensing Europe’s gaming and esports activation–“The Arcade”–is shaping up to be a winner, with the first in a series of high-profile collaboration announcements announced from official BLE partner PowerStation Studios.

Activision, the games publishing heavyweight; Sybo, the mobile gaming developer responsible for the “Subway Surfers” phenomenon; and Bioworld, leading supplier to the licensing industry; are the first key partners in what will be an interactive and innovative celebration of the gaming industry at this year’s BLE.

“Bioworld has been pioneering the pop-culture products industry for 20 years, looking at the licensing industry differently,” says Jason Mayes, director, marketing, Bioworld. “Our priority is connecting consumers globally by creating richer connections between the fans and the things they love. We help cultivate self-expression. We’re thrilled to be a part of the Gaming Activation in 2019 to showcase our innovative approach to bringing brands from screen to shelf.”

“As a pioneer of mobile gaming, it made complete sense for Sybo Games to be part of this celebration on the evolution of the industry,” says Naz Cuevas, chief commercial officer, Sybo Games. “Technology is playing a deeper role in how fans consume entertainment, and gaming is an obvious vehicle to deepen brand connections. We are really excited to be partnering with PowerStation Studios on The Arcade.”

In addition to exhibiting some of the most influential players in the industry, look out for a fascinating selection of gaming memorabilia and more than 15-yards-long timeline celebrating the evolution of gaming, with icons and key milestones over the last 40 years, featuring Pong to PSVR and everything in between.

In the spirit of a true arcade, there will be multiple opportunities to get hands-on and play some of the latest games on the market, as well as reminisce over the classics that we all know and love.

“We’re super excited to announce Activision, Bioworld, and Sybo Games as supporters of the activation,” says Dave Collins, co-founder, PowerStation. “With gaming at the core of what we do, we’ve loved having the chance to draw on our expertise to create a really special, immersive experience for visitors at BLE. The sheer scale of the games industry globally and it’s continued rapid growth mean it has huge potential for licensing, and we are looking forward to showing the size of this opportunity in a really fun way.”

PowerStation Studios will also be arranging retail tours each day of the show, with representatives from each sponsor brand being on-hand to talk through their carefully curated content.

BLE takes place Oct. 1-3 at ExCeL London. Visit the BLE website to register to attend the event.