Gaming Conventions

The gaming conventions worth knowing

Gaming events split by who they're for. Some are trade events for developers and publishers, some are big public expos where players try new games, and some are built around tabletop, esports or fan culture. Here are the main ones by type. Dates for all of them are in the list above.

Developer and industry events

• Game Developers Conference (GDC) (San Francisco, March). Best for: game developers, designers and studio leads. It's the main professional conference for making games, with talks, tutorials and roundtables.
• Amusement Expo International (Las Vegas, March). Best for: arcade, family entertainment centre and coin-op operators. It's a trade show, not a fan event.

The big video game expos

• Gamescom (Cologne, August). Best for: publishers, press and players. It opens with a business day before the public days and is the largest game show in Europe.
• Tokyo Game Show (Chiba, September). Best for: anyone working with Japanese and Asian publishers and players.
• PAX East (Boston, April) and PAX West (Seattle, September). Best for: players who want hands-on time with new games, and indie studios looking for an audience.
• TwitchCon (San Diego, November). Best for: streamers and creators, and brands that work with them.

Esports and gaming festivals

• DreamHack (Stockholm, November). Best for: esports fans and LAN-party players. It's a festival with tournaments, a bring-your-own-computer area and an expo.
• Super MAGFest (National Harbor, January). Best for: fans of video game music and gaming culture, with concerts and game rooms.

Tabletop and board games

• SPIEL (Essen, October). Best for: board game players and publishers. It's the biggest board game fair in the world.
• GAMA Expo (Baltimore, April). Best for: game store owners and tabletop publishers. It's the industry trade show, closed to the public.
• Origins Game Fair (Columbus, June) and PAX Unplugged (Philadelphia, December). Best for: players who want to try new board games and RPGs.

Comic cons and fan conventions

• Comic-Con International: San Diego (July) and WonderCon (Anaheim, March). Best for: fans of comics, film, TV and games. San Diego is the best known of all the comic cons.
• C2E2 (Chicago, April), Fan Expo Canada (Toronto, August) and MEGACON Orlando (May). Best for: pop-culture fans who want celebrity guests, cosplay and a big shopping floor.
• Anime Central (Rosemont, May). Best for: anime and manga fans in the Midwest.