Tickets

Oct 31 – Nov 2, 2025

Tickets
  • Oct 31 – Nov 2
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Cosplay Competition

Find everything you need to compete here — rules, competition tiers, entry info, and important dates. Open to all fandoms and skill levels. Get ready to show off your work and join the fun!
Applications Open soon

Participate

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DreamHack championship

Acceptance emails will start going out on September 5th, 2025. You will receive a confirmation email once we have your application.

During the event

The cosplay competition at DreamHack Atlanta 2025 will feature a structured schedule, including prejudging, a line-up of contestants, a showcase walk, an intermission, the awards ceremony, and a group photo to celebrate all participants.

Applications Open soon
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Selection process

Participants cannot compete wearing a cosplay that has previously placed in the top three of any category at DreamHack Cosplay Championship. Each contestant will have a few minutes for pre-judging and up to 1 minute on stage from entering to exiting. Experts may send in up to 60 seconds long music file for their catwalk (optional)

Tier & Category

The judges will have final decision and right to interpret our criteria while judging. All decisions are final, and must be respected. The judges have the right to change the contestant’s tier before the stage show based on the contestant’s experience and the cosplay they have chosen to compete in. We may consult with the judges prior to the event if we believe a re-tiering may be in order.

What can you cosplay?

We allow cosplays from all media, video games, role-playing games, comic books, manga, anime, TV or film adaptations, fan art etc. We also allow for gender bends, gijinkas and original characters (e.g. DnD characters, or your character from a game). Important to note that you still need to bring reference materials for your design. Please note that mascot costumes or bought dress-up costumes are not acceptable to compete with.

CONTEST tiers

Think you’ve got what it takes? From novices to cosplay experts, the stage is open. Show off your skills, creativity, and fandom. It’s all about having fun and being part of the show. Check out the competition tiers below and get those glue guns ready — your build journey starts here!

NOVICE

Crafting experience
This category is for cosplayers who have not previously won a DreamHack cosplay competition and do not have formal crafting education (e.g., sewing, welding, 3D printing). Costumes must be self-made, though modified or altered garments are allowed.
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ARTISAN

Highly Skilled
This tier is for contestants who have progressed beyond the Novice level but are not yet ready for the Expert tier. Costumes must be self-made, though modified or altered garments are allowed. Winners in the Artisan tier will advance to the Expert tier in their next event.
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Expert

The Top Tier

Contestants aiming to compete at a higher level must wear self-made costumes—excluding base wigs, shoes, and undergarments—and winners of the Expert category cannot enter Artisan in their next event.

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Apply now
Applications Open soon

faq

Please enter the tier that reflects your previous competition experience. The festival organizers and judges reserve the right to change your category based on your submitted build, and WIP photos.

Cosplay Competition

Nope! Everyone is welcome to cosplay at DreamHack—no sign-up required. Come dressed as your favorite character and enjoy the festival!

  • Cosplay Creators are part of our featured cosplay program. If accepted, you’ll get cool perks like a free badge, lounge access, and other exclusive opportunities.
  • Cosplay Competition is your chance to show off your skills on stage and win prizes. It’s a separate sign-up just for the contest.

Not automatically. The competition and the creator program are two separate things. You need to apply to each one individually if you want to do both.

Absolutely! If you want to be part of our featured Cosplay Creators and compete in the contest, just make sure to fill out both applications.

Links to both applications are right on this page—scroll up!

Rules & Rubric

  1. Contestants must be at both pre-judging and the stage show to be eligible to compete.
  2. All cosplays will be judged based on the rubric shown below 
    1. A valid convention badge is required to compete (If accepted before September 5th, 2025, you will be signed up using your First Name, Last Name, and email for a 3-Day badge after accepting a competition spot). 
  3. Content should not go beyond PG-13, as the con is family-friendly: Offensive language of any kind is not allowed—no racial or sexual epithets; no profanity, etc. No excessive violence. No sexual activity or contact—real or implied.
  4. All costumes must be at least 60% self crafted unless competing in the Expert Category. If chosen to compete in the Expert Category, your build must be at least 80% self crafted. Altering/thrifting/updating purchased pieces is allowed as long as the changes are significant (at the judges discretion)
    1. For Fabrication elements assembled by non-sewing methods such as foam-smithing, 3D printed, pepakura, sculpting or vacuum forming etc purchased patterns count towards your non self-made percentages. Items produced from these patterns will be judged on modifications to base files, construction, finishes, painting, etc. All modifications to patterns must be documented to count towards your self-made percentages during judging.
  5. All WIP images must be sent to the Contest Organizers by August 22nd, 2025 at the latest.  
  6. Judges reserve the right to change your competition tier at any point
  7. Cosplays you are applying with MAY NOT have won a competition previous to October 30th, 2025.
    1. Judge’s choice awards do not count towards competition wins.
  8. “Dabbing”, drug references, etc are not allowed.
  9. All cosplays and props must be self-contained, including no fire, flame, smoke, fog, dry ice, wind machines, lasers, pressurized gasses or liquids, messy substances—wet, dry, or oily, including glitter, flower petals, etc. in the green room or on stage.
  10. No jumping on or off stage—please use the designated stage entrances and exits.
  11. No Stage fighting (one foot must remain on the stage at all times and any mock fighting must be done at a distance and at half speed – no physical contact)
  12. Contestants may not use stage time to make political, religious, insulting, or other demonstrations not related to their entry.
  13. Sportsmanship is important. Any bullying will not be tolerated and result in disqualification and/or removal from the festival.
  14. Any violation of these rules will result in immediate disqualification. 
  1. (10 pts max) Overall cosplay execution and creativity.
  2. (9-10) – Clean stitching, use of highlighting and shadows, clean wig styling, smooth armor edges, finishing techniques etc.
  3. (7-8) – Most details are clean and finished, one technique/element less polished.
  4. (5-6) – Details are present, but finishing touches are missing. Seams may be unfinished, rough armor edges, no shadows/highlights etc.
  5. (3-4) – Minimal details, techniques are mostly poorly executed, cosplay not entirely finished.
  6. (0-2) – No details, techniques are poorly executed, cosplay is unfinished.
  1. (10 pts max) – Level of complexity of the cosplay selected. Variety of techniques used. Purchased items only count against you if no transformation has been done.
  2. (9-10) – Cosplay uses 3 or more main materials, 3 or more techniques used AND less than 10% purchased.
  3. (7-8) – Cosplay uses 2-3 main materials, and 2-3 different techniques AND less than 20% purchased.
  4. (6-5) – Cosplay uses 1-2 materials and 1-2 different techniques OR 30-40% purchased.
  5. (3-4) – Cosplay sticks to a couple basic techniques OR 40 – 50% purchased.
  6. (0-2) – Cosplay relies on a single technique OR more than 50% is purchased.
  1. (10 pts max) – Overall impact of the costume.
  2. (9-10) – The resemblance is really there in terms of the material. Cosplayers have been sure to adapt the cosplay a lot to themselves so that the proportions are correct.
  3. (7-8) –You can clearly see the character, details are mostly there adapted a lot of the proportions to themselves, or use of materials helps to get closer to the reference.
  4. (5-6) – You can see a resemblance, but missing that little extra.
  5. (3-4) – Minimal effort have been done to follow the reference material. The resemblance can be seen but a lot of the details just are not there.
  6. (0-2) – Poor resemblance and straying a lot from the source material and references.

Tier Prize Pools

(subject to change)

1st – $1000, Award, 2x Regular 3-day Badges to a DreamHack event of your choosing (travel not included). 

2nd – $500, Award, 2x Regular 3-day Badges to a DreamHack event of your choosing (travel not included).

3rd – $300, Award, 2x Regular 3-day Badges to a DreamHack event of your choosing (travel not included).

1st – $500, Award, 2x Regular 3-day Badges to a DreamHack event of your choosing (travel not included).

2nd – $200, Award, 2x Regular 3-day Badges to a DreamHack event of your choosing (travel not included).

3rd – $100, Award, 2x Regular 3-day Badges to a DreamHack event of your choosing (travel not included).

1st – $300, Award, 2x Regular 3-day Badges to a DreamHack event of your choosing (travel not included).

2nd – $100, Award, 2x Regular 3-day Badges to a DreamHack event of your choosing (travel not included).

3rd – $50, Award, 2x Regular 3-day Badges to a DreamHack event of your choosing (travel not included).

Each judge will have the opportunity to highlight a contestant of their choice separate from our craftsmanship awards. This is reserved for contestants who have not received recognition within the category awards.

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