The team behind SXSW Sydney 2023 has revealed new details about the upcoming Games Festival, a public-facing offshoot event designed to spotlight new and upcoming games from Australian and international developers. While the majority of SXSW Sydney events will be industry-facing, the Games Festival will be open to everyone.
Taking place at Fortress Sydney, as well as Eddy Multi Space and the Mercure Sydney, the Games Festival will take cues from PAX Aus, with a range of activities and activations available for those who purchase tickets. The flagship of the event is the Games Festival Showcase, a hands-on curated selection of 150+ games from around the world, but the event will also include:
- A tabletop expo in the ICC Sydney, where players can get hands-on with new releases or play a selection of their favourites via freeplay tables.
- A festival stage featuring live gameplay, performances, and other screenings.
- A games awards show hosted by musician Tom Cardy, celebrating the best of SXSW Sydney.
- Charity marathon streams featuring a host of Australian content creators.
Read: SXSW Sydney Games Festival 2023: Everything you need to know
So far, a number of local publishers and developers have been confirmed to appear at the show, including Bone Assembly, Studio Folly, Lumi Interactive, and Red Candle Games. Here’s the full list of titles currently set to appear in the Games Festival Showcase:
- Dad by the Sword (Rocketcat Game)
- Another Crab’s Treasure (Aggro Crab)
- The Drifter (Powerhoof)
- Paper Trail (Newfangled Games)
- Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus Squid (Shock Studios)
- Nine Sols (Red Candle Games)
- Kinder World (Lumi Interactive)
- Mika and the Witch’s Mountain (Chibig)
- The Dungeon Experience (Bone Assembly)
- Mortal Sin (Doronik Games Inc.)
- Toroa (Atawhai Interactive)
- Gubbins (Studio Folly)
- The Master’s Pupil (Pat Naoum)
- Knuckle Sandwich (Andy Brophy)
- Surf Club (Olivia Haines)
- Birth (Madison Karrh)
- Repella Fella (Phill Collins)
- The Chef’s Shift (Panitia GameDev)
- Wood & Weather (Paper House)
- The Godfeather (Hojo Studio)
- Fractured Core (Engram Interactive)
As we head closer the event, we can expect more names to join this list.
Those keen to check out the public-facing SXSW Sydney 2023 Games Festival, which takes place across multiple days from 18-22 October 2023 in Sydney, Australia, will soon be able to purchase tickets to the debut event. They’re set to go on sale from Friday, 25 August 2023, with early bird tickets priced at AUD $165. You can check out the SXSW Sydney website for more details shortly.
