The BCN Game Fest, the largest video game fair in the country, is born.

Spain's most attended video game industry fair, IndieDevDay, is evolving and becoming the new BCN Game Fest. The event is consolidating its position as a benchmark in the sector, with greater projection and international presence. "The fair is no longer just a local meeting point; it's the new benchmark in southern Europe," states the organizers. The eighth edition, the most ambitious to date, expects to attract more than 17,000 attendees over the three days. The formula of dedicating Friday exclusively to professionals and students is repeated, while the general public has access throughout the weekend.

The BCN Game Fest aims to channel the changes the event has undergone in recent years, giving greater presence to the business space and expanding its network within the sector. The name change strengthens the link with the local environment and also puts the spotlight on the Catalan capital, which they consider "an essential ecosystem for discovering talent, closing deals, and defining the future of the video game industry." Despite the change, IndiaDevDay preserves its roots, and the team maintains activities and initiatives that have made the fair a benchmark for the indie community. This spirit of continuity and expansion at the festival is reflected in this year's poster illustration by artist Maiku no Koe.

The keys to the new edition

The lineup features prominent names in the industry, publishers Top-level global exhibits and exclusive experiences make the event a must-attend event for video game professionals and enthusiasts. In fact, more than 200 companies have confirmed their attendance, and there will also be a greater presence of exhibitors from both independent developers and artists. The fair transcends borders and invites official delegations from Mexico, Japan, Portugal, France, and Germany, in addition to having a strong Spanish representation (Basque Country, Castile and León, Aragon, and the Canary Islands).

Among the special guests is Yasuhiro Ohori, president of Matrix Software and director of the saga AlundraThere will also be leading figures such as Marijam Did, author of the essay Everything to play for: how video games are changing the world (2024), and Zoé Nguyen, a renowned art director. As for the publishers, or publishing companies, the fair will feature around twenty names, some of them with international prestige.

The business-focused space is growing exponentially and once again fostering business meetings between professionals, an indispensable tool for investors, publishers, and studios themselves. Furthermore, the BCN Game Fest is also positioning itself by collaborating with other major global events, such as Playtopia, Devcom, and the Taipei Game Show, with which it forms a unique intercontinental network.

News and innovative spaces

One of the great triumphs of this edition is the arrival for the first time in Europe of the My Famicase Exhibition, a Japanese exhibition that has been held for two decades in Tokyo. The exhibition includes 250 fictional cartridges for the Famicom console and can be visited at no additional cost within the fair.

The festival also features exclusive video game premieres and the opportunity to try them out at the studios' booths. The most notable games are Duskfade (Weird Beluga), Denshattack! (Undercoders), Painter Boss Paradise (The Behemoth), Starfinder: Afterlife (Epictellers) and Gnaughty gnomes (Sand Castles Studio), the new game from the creators of the successful Bread & Fred.

Another of the most unique spaces is the new Glitch Collection, which introduces projects that explore new forms of interaction far removed from traditional video games as a commercial product. Also new is the Open Screen space, which offers emerging developers the chance to showcase their projects to the public without needing their own booth.

With all this and much more, the BCN Game Fest aims to resonate even further in the Catalan, European, and global video game ecosystem. The fair is at a key turning point to level up, but without forgetting the intimate and authentic experience that has brought them to where they are now (in fact, the now legendary sticker albums will be available for another year).