There are dozens of great gaming events held each year and we’ve listed some of the most anticipated events for 2018 below. There some great events to come though including Paris Games Week, Gamescom, Blizzcon, Tokyo Game Show and more and you’ll be able to see all the hot new games and technologies showcased at them.

Best Gaming Events for 2018

Paris Games Week

Discover the best games and novelties of the year. This event takes place every year in Paris with exhibitors and sponsors from around the world bringing their games to the stage including Ubisoft eSports, games made in France, and the biggest video games of the year. Games from the 2017 event included Battleground, Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite, Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor Martyr, Gran Turismo Sports, and more.

Gamescom

Gamescom 2018 takes place in Cologne from the 21st to the 25th of August. Over 335,000 gaming fans attended in 2017 to see the latest games, software and innovative accessories. Devcom will be there along with industry names include IGN, Gamer Network, and much more. This is the largest trade show in the world with the likes of Microsoft, EA, Blizzard, Nintendo, and more all showcasing new games. Most of the big-name player can be found at Gamescom every year.

Blizzcon

Blizzcon is a massive celebration of epic games from this premier game developer. You get to watch lots of eSports including Overwatch, Hearthstone, Heroes Global Championship, StarCraft II, World of Warcraft, and much more. The date for 2018 hasn’t been released yet but it is normally held in November. It’s a fan convention and a way for them to announce new expansions for their games. It’s also a major eSports event too and the Overwatch league will be launching in 2018 so expect huge crowds.

Tokyo Game Show

This event takes place from the 22nd to the 23rd of September and is the longest running video game conference in the world. At this event, you can expect to get new information from a number of major Japanese game publishers. At TGS 2017, Capcom announced the release date for Monster Hunter: World, Square Enix unveiled its horror game Left Alive and Sony released a new trailer for the Shadow of Colossus remake.

Other events gamers can look forward to include PokerStars events. These are hugely popular with poker players. You may have already missed out on some of the events from the start of the year including the first PokerStars Festival which was held in London as well as the PAX South 2018 which was held in January. During the festival, poker fans get to visit some of the most iconic casinos and poker rooms, play their favourite poker games with friends, including Omaha and Five-Card Draw, and compete for 300 full packages to the PokerStars Players NL Hold’em Championship (PSPC) worth $30,000 each. Each package includes entry to the PSPC event, food and beverage allowance, and accommodation at the Atlantis Resort, Nassau, in the Bahamas.

Other Great Gaming Events for 2018

• PAX South: January 12 to 14. A great event which showcases some interesting titles and a look at new indie games for 2018.
• DreamHack Leipzig: This is the biggest LAN-Party in Germany and offers DreamExpo and receives more than 15,000 visitors each year. Takes place on the 26th January 2018.
• Gaming Instanbul 2018: 1st February 2018 this event is set to be the gaming bridge of EuroAsia and showcasing the Turkish games industry.
• GamesIndustry.biz Marketing Summit: 1st February. Networking event for the UK and European games industry. Will include talks from leading experts.
• VFX Festival: 6th February. A three-day event looking at games, animation, and motion graphics for games developers and more. Held in London.
• Google Play Indie Games Contest: 13th February in London. A public event for anyone who want to try the games being showcased and meet the developers.
• Mobile World Congress: 26th February. Barcelona, Spain.
• Game Developers Conference (GDC): 19th March, Moscone Conference Center, San Francisco, United States. Over 2700 developers, publishers, and service providers. Developeres from around the world come together to discuss the art of game design with keynote speeches on games that have made it big and what to look forward to in the future. There’s also plenty of game news announced. Last year Microsoft’s ID@Xbox indies program showcased 20 titles including Observer and Full Metal Furries.
• PAX East: April 5th to 8th in Boston. This event focuses on giving the public access to current and upcoming games. It boosts exciting indie games and helps to build up buzz. For public attendees, it shows of soon-to-be-released titles.
• London Games Festival: 5th April, London. Events that celebrate the games culture and includes EGX Rezzed and the BAFTA awards.
• EGX Rezzed: 13th April, London. A video games event with plenty of attractions and developer sessions with well-known game designers.
• Reboot Develop: A game developer and games industry conference. Takes place in Dubrovnik, Croatia on 19th April.
• BigSummit: The largest games event in Japan. 12th May in Kyoto, Japan. Dedicated to the indie game development community and includes Indie MEGABOOTH with lots of new titles being showcased.
• Digital Dragons: 21 and 22 May in Krakow. Central and Eastern European game development held in the ICE Congress Center.
• Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3): June 12th to 14 in Los Angeles. E3 is the conference to really take note of every year. They have keynote presentations from Microsoft, Sony, Bethesda, Ubisoft, and more. All the major publishers and console manufacturers will be there to showcase new games and projects and provide the biggest updates of the year. At E3 2017 some great games were revealed including Assassin’s Creed Origins, Far Cry 5, and God of War.
• Tehran Game Convention: 5th July, Tehran, Iran. Biggest international B2B event in the video game industry in the Middle East. Features 100+ companies and 2300+ game developers from all over the world.
• Develop Brighton: 10th July, Brighton, United Kingdom. Game development community including global superstars.
• Game Connection Europe: 24th October, Paris, France. 2700+ developers, publishers, distributors, and service providers come to find out what’s new in the industry.
• PAX Aus 2018 and EB Expo: 26-28 October, Melbourne, Australia. Featuring over 180 companies from around the world with thousands of games and over 150 hours of on-stage content. Will also play host to EB Expo including a dedicated area for publishers to showcase their upcoming titles.
• Montreal International Game Summit (MIGS): 12th November, Montreal, Canada. Largest game conference on the East Coast. More than 3000 game professionals will be in attendance.