Culture
Image: PAX West
After a tumultuous few years, video game events are back on track and in full swing for 2023. That means plenty of in-person meet-ups, global showcases, and much more besides. Even if organisers spent the last two years online, many have now transitioned to a hybrid system – providing spaces for those who are able to attend physical events, while keeping fans around the world in the loop online.
From pop culture celebrations to major video game presentations like E3 and The Game Awards, here’s every major video game event for 2023, and what to expect in the coming year.
This article will keep track of all the notable game-related events for developers and video game enthusiasts throughout 2023, and will be periodically updated to reflect the latest information. If you have a video game event you’d like to see listed, get in contact via email. (Last updated: 21 December 2022)
5-8 January 2023
Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, United States
CES is the annual convention for all things in innovative tech and gaming. While the tech side is where the largest attention is devoted, we occasionally get glimpses into the future of video game hardware at these events. Stay tuned for news from the show floor.
13-15 January 2023
Miami Airport Convention Center, Miami, United States
OtakuFest is a three-day festival celebrating the best in geek culture – anime, cosplay, gaming, comics, and a bunch more. If you’re in the local area, it’s the perfect way to connect with like-minded pop culture fans, show off your latest cosplay, and find some snazzy merchandise.
There are currently no game event highlights for February 2023. Stay tuned!
10-19 March 2023
Austin, Texas, United States
South by Southwest returns in 2023, with another in-person show in Texas, United States. The week-long festivities will see artists of all kinds (musicians, film producers, content creators, developers) descend on Austin to attend and share ideas on the industry, the creation process, and other creative tidbits.
11-12 March 2023
Melbourne International Convention Centre, Melbourne, Australia
The Game Expo is a new Australian gaming expo designed to provide an inclusive and welcoming space for everyone who loves gaming and pop culture. The show will take place early in 2023, and provide an alternative take on a local PAX-like experience.
20-24 March 2023
Moscone Convention Center, San Francisco, United States
Game Developers Conference (GDC) will return in 2023 with another in-person conference in San Francisco, United States. Here, those working in the games industry will be able to connect with peers and business partners, learn from a variety of panels, engage publishers, and forge global gaming connections.
23-26 March 2023
Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Massachusetts, United States
PAX East returns for another physical event in 2023, following a successful return to in-person gatherings in prior years. As with all PAX conventions, you can expect plenty of upcoming ‘big name’ and independent video games to appear, alongside tabletop sessions, panels, tournaments, musical performances, and good community vibes. Find out more on the PAX East website.
24-26 March 2023
Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, United States
WonderCon 2023 is set to be a major pop culture convention filled with plenty of celebrity guests, local artists, cosplay, and gaming celebrations. While it is largely comic-focussed, it also features plenty of activities for those into gaming and other pop-culture-related hobbies.
1-2 April 2023
Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre, Perth, Australia
Oz Comic-Con will kick off its 2023 run with a major show in Perth. This will join the worlds of pop culture and gaming together with celebrity guests, special panels, merchandise, featured stalls from local creators, cosplay, and plenty of other activities.
15-16 April 2023
Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre, Gold Coast, Australia
The first major Supanova convention of 2023 will kick off in the Gold Coast, Queensland. During the show, you’ll be able to attend panels, meet celebrity guests, buy merchandise and artwork from local creators, visit a number of pop culture-themed shops, and even sit down for a gaming session with friends.
22-23 April 2023
Melbourne Showgrounds, Ascot Vale, Australia
The Supanova show in the Gold Coast will be followed swiftly by the Melbourne version of the event. This will feature similar activities and celebrity guests, although it will spotlight new local creators and artists, and feature different panels.
28-30 April 2023
Melbourne Olympic Park, Melbourne, VIC
DreamHack, one of the world’s biggest esports events, is returning to Melbourne in April 2023. Attendees will be able to take part in massive LAN tournaments, and there’ll also be a number of other on-site gaming activities throughout the exhibition, including tabletop gaming sessions and showcases from local independent studios.
There are currently no game event highlights for May 2023. Stay tuned!
3-4 June 2023
Adelaide Showgrounds, Adelaide, Australia
The Adelaide leg of the latest Oz Comic-Con tour hits in June, amidst a number of other events, exhibitions, and conventions. Following this, a variation of the same show will hit Melbourne, before moving onto other states.
7-18 June 2023
New York City, United States
The Tribeca Festival is a celebration of all things entertainment and culture, including video games. The 2023 event will feature folks from across TV, film, immersive entertainment, and gaming talking about the global creative industries, and their triumphs.
8 June 2023
Online & YouTube Theatre, Los Angeles, United States
As E3 shifted its gears, games journalist and industry advocate Geoff Keighley, known for creating The Game Awards, started to use his influence to bring developers and publishers together in the middle of the calendar year to collect and curate a clump of new game reveals and announcements. The Summer Game Fest for 2023 will feature exactly that, with everyone invited to tune in for a wallop of new reveals and surprises. Stay tuned for more details as we get closer to the event.
10-11 June 2023
Melbourne International Convention Centre, Melbourne, Australia
As in Adelaide, the Melbourne leg of Oz Comic-Con will feature cosplay, merchandise, gaming sessions, celebrity guests, and plenty of activities for pop culture fans of all ages.
13-16 June 2023
Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, United States & Online
E3 will finally return to a hybrid in-person and online model in 2023, with the doors of the convention opening to the public for the first time in several years. This go around, the major games showcase will be organised by ReedPop, which also helms PAX. As in past years, expect E3 2023 to include new game announcements, surprises, gameplay previews, and more.
17-18 June 2023
Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park, Australia
In June, the Sydney leg of Supanova will kick off. This will feature fresh celebrity guests, new panels, local artists and creators, cosplay, gaming sections, and plenty of activities for all ages.
24-25 June 2023
Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre, Perth, Australia
Finally, the first half of Supanova’s yearly events will hit Perth, giving visitors a chance to enjoy cosplay, gaming with friends, celebrity panels, and pop culture-themed shopping.
14-16 July 2023
Miyako Messe Exhibition Center, Kyoto, Japan
BitSummit is an annual independent games exhibition for Japanese developers, and it returns with a major show in 2023. This year’s theme is ‘to the future’, and this will likely be clear in each showcased title. The event takes place in person and is open to the public, with news trickling out to the rest of the world post-show.
18-20 July 2023
Times Center, New York City, United States
Games for Change is the annual conference that brings developers together to talk about serious games – games for the purposes of education and societal change. It will return in 2023 with a multi-day in-person event, and feature industry spokespeople holding panels about education, wellness, environmental sustainability, and more essential topics.
20-23 July 2023
San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, United States
While not as games-focussed as other events on this list, SDCC is usually worth tuning in for, even if you’re only a fan of gaming. In previous years, comic-adjacent game adaptations have been shown off, and this year’s show may prove to be the same. Keep an ear to the ground for more news.
3-6 August 2023
Indiana Convention Center, Indiana, United States
Gen Con is the largest tabletop gaming convention in North America, with each annual exhibit featuring the latest and greatest in card, board, and TTRPG gaming. This event is where the biggest titans of the tabletop industry gather to show their wares, and it’s a fantastic place to connect with keen players.
23-27 August 2023
Koelnmesse, Cologne, Germany
Gamescom remains one of the world’s absolute biggest consumer video game conventions. Following a successful return to in-person events in 2022, it will again open its doors to the games industry and the public in 2023. Expect to see a number of big game reveals, along with plenty of indie games showcased during proceedings, and potentially some surprise announcements along the way.
21-24 September 2023
Makuhari Messe, Tokyo, Japan
The Tokyo Game Show, as you might expect, plays host to a slew of Japanese developers and publishers. While it used to be quite a significant video game event for Western audiences to keep an eye on, many of the companies typically featured have now established themselves more firmly in other English-speaking events during the year. Still, there should be some surprises from Japanese devs during the 2023 show.
TBC September 2022
Seattle Convention Centre, Seattle, USA
The West Coast version of PAX returns in 2023, featuring all the things you can typically expect from the conference. There’ll be hands-on sessions with upcoming video games, panels with developers and gaming personalities, and areas dedicated to tabletop and free play.
15-22 October 2022
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
For the first time ever, the iconic SXSW festival is coming to Australian shores, with a weeklong celebration of arts, music, film, gaming, and culture coming to Sydney in 2023. This event will directly follow PAX Aus 2023 and pick up similar threads, via panels and showcases for incredible local and international creative minds.
19-22 October 2023
Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre, Suntec City, Singapore
Gamescom Asia returns in October 2023, with a showcase bringing the worlds of computer tech and gaming together. This will largely be an in-person event, and function as a hybrid public and trade show for games and emerging technologies.
TBC October 2023
Various locations, Melbourne, Australia + Online
Australia’s premier calendar event celebrating video games and the local industry encompasses two major conventions, PAX Aus and Games Connect Asia Pacific. In addition, a slew of individual events and workshops that take place both online and in-person across Melbourne feature throughout the week. 2023 will again feature an in-person show, as well as online components.
TBC October 2023
Melbourne International Convention Centre, Melbourne, Australia + Online
The only PAX-branded convention to take place outside of the USA, PAX Aus has been one of the highlights of Australian video game culture since 2013. It plays host to international developers showing off their upcoming titles, as well as panel discussions, workshops, opportunities to play video games and tabletop games, and a whole section dedicated to local indie development.
After a successful 2022 run in a physical format, the convention will return in 2023.
TBC October 2023
Melbourne International Convention Centre, Melbourne, Australia + Online
GCAP represents the industry-focussed side of Melbourne International Games Week, and features a series of talks and workshops for game developers to learn from each other and hone their craft. GCAP also plays hosts to networking events that connect developers to publishers and funding opportunities, as well as students to knowledgeable industry veterans.
The Australian Game Developer Awards feature as part of GCAP.
TBC October 2023
TBC Location
A mini-showcase run by the folks at the Freeplay Independent Games Festival, Parallels is a night to celebrate some of the most promising upcoming work from Australian game developers. In the past, games like Untitled Goose Game, Unpacking, and Frog Detective 3 have been shown, so it’s well worth paying attention to – and attending, if you’re able.
4-5 November 2023
Adelaide Showground, Adelaide, Australia
The second half of Supanova’s yearly events will begin in Adelaide. As in other years, these shows will feature celebrity guests, art and merchandise stands run by local creators, cosplay, panels, gaming sections, and plenty of other activities for all ages.
11-12 November 2023
Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, Brisbane, Australia
The final Supanova show of the year will take place in Brisbane, and feature much of the same activities as in past years: cosplay, art and merchandise stands, comic shops, gaming sections, and more. The event will loop around again in 2024.
TBC December 2023
Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, USA
PAX Unplugged is a PAX convention that focuses primarily on tabletop games. You’ll have opportunities to play unreleased games, attend panels, and visit the numerous vendors in the tabletop space to see their latest wares. While the new dates for 2023 have yet to be confirmed, stay tuned for more information.
TBC December 2023
Streaming Online & United States
Geoff Keighley’s Game Awards finish the year off with a celebration of some of the best games that have been released in the year prior. However contentious the award categories usually are, the reason to tune in is to catch the high number of new games that are revealed.
Xbox even revealed a console there once.
Leah J. Williams is a gaming and entertainment journalist who’s spent years writing about the games industry, her love for The Sims 2 on Nintendo DS and every piece of weird history she knows. You can find her tweeting @legenette most days.
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