52 CONCERTS & TOURING I f you’re reading this and you happen to be anything like me, you probably only know the basics when it comes to gaming. A loose awareness of the wildly popular universes of Roblox , Minecraft , Mario and Fortnite is pretty much as far as it goes. Despite my limited knowledge, there’s an aspect of gaming I am acutely aware of thanks to its overlap into mainstream media. This being that there’s a selection of legendary games that work to push the boundaries of storytelling altogether. They feature rich storylines that often allow the player to have full control of the narrative, meaning that decisions made during gameplay can lead to a variety of outcomes – giving the game both a cinematic and immersive feel. Naughty Dog and Sony’s The Last of Us is a perfect example. Released back in 2013 to critical acclaim for its narrative, gameplay, visuals, sound design and score, it’s an action-adventure game played from a third-person perspective. Many reviewers found the game to have a refreshing take on combat, while the relationship between the two central characters captivated players due to its moving nature. A relationship so poignant, in fact, that HBO recently adapted the game into a multi Emmy award-winning television series starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, with the second season currently releasing at the time of writing. This isn’t a new phenomenon; gaming franchises have often reached such heights of fandom that demand surfaces for cross-entertainment adaptation. Take Angelina Jolie’s portrayal of braided protagonist Lara Croft in the early 2000s, from the popular Tomb Raider games. In more recent years, Super Mario Bros , Sonic the Hedgehog and even Minecraft have become box office hits, similarly featuring some of Hollywood’s most recognisable faces and voices.
But now it’s started to go beyond film and television. Not only are these games visually stunning, they also usually come with ethereal soundtracks to further heighten the player experience. It therefore comes with little surprise that, after its successful world premiere on 19 April in Dublin, Playstation: The Concert is now touring 200 cities all around the world throughout 2025, taking fans on a journey into the epic worlds of God of War , The Last of Us , Horizon, Ghost of Tsushima and more. Live entertainment company GEA Live designed and produced the tour – with AV supplied by Clair Global. “GEA Live specialises in designing and producing live experiences that bring beloved stories and worlds to the stage in fresh and exciting ways,” introduces Floris Douwes, co-founder and managing director of GEA Live. “Our work centres on taking a piece of intellectual property – whether from film, TV, video games or anime – and transforming it into a live stage event that feels both fresh and meaningful to audiences.” The collaboration has led to a show that offers fans a revolutionary live experience, combining performance with cutting-edge visuals and immersive production that redefines what it means to experience video game music. “Every project is different, but the goal is to respect the original work while offering audiences a new experience they can connect with in real time.” The show’s production manager Pinkel Hogenkamp says that Playstation: The Concert “was born out of a shared vision to elevate video game music to the same stage as film and classical scores, while offering fans an emotionally resonant, cinematic concert experience.” INSTRUMENTALLY IMMERSIVE “We work closely with licensors, creative teams and production partners to
Every project is different, but the goal is to respect the original work while offering audiences a new experience they can connect with”
Horizon uses a more intimate sound for its score as opposed to the blockbuster-size themes common in action games
The use of silence and subtle melody during the famous giraffe scene in The Last of Us allows the visuals to take centre stage
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