The Best UK Games Industry Events
Author: Jennie Burton, Head of Marketing
Category: Guides & Tips
Published: 11/3/2025
Updated: 11/3/2025
The UK is home to one of the most creative and dynamic games industries in the world. For developers looking to network, learn new skills, and showcase their work, the calendar is packed with exceptional events. From major international conferences to grassroots indie festivals, there's an event to suit every goal and budget.
We’ve compiled a comprehensive, but not exhaustive guide to the essential UK conferences and festivals for game developers. While dates and prices can shift, this gives you a year-round view of the best opportunities to connect and grow.
Where possible, we’ve included approximate full-price tickets for individual developers. Cheaper early-bird, student, or online-only passes are often available.
Premier UK Game Developer Conferences
Develop:Brighton
- Location: Brighton, England
- Approximate Full Ticket Price: ~£1,200 (3-Day Pass)
Develop:Brighton is the UK's leading conference for the entire game development community. Held over three days each summer, it offers a friendly, collaborative atmosphere where everyone from AAA veterans to indie newcomers can connect. The event is structured around multiple tracks, including Design, Art, Audio, Coding, and Business, ensuring practical, valuable sessions for every discipline. Its key features include the Indie BootCamp for new studios, a free expo with the latest tools, and the prestigious Develop:Star Awards celebrating the industry's best talent.
Pocket Gamer Connects London
- Location: London, England
- Approximate Full Ticket Price: ~£465
As the flagship event in a global conference series, Pocket Gamer Connects London is a must-attend for anyone in the mobile games space, though its scope now covers the entire industry. Held early in the year, it packs two days with insightful talks and panels. Its main draw is the unparalleled networking. The event features curated meeting systems like "Investor Connector" and "Publisher SpeedMatch" to help developers secure funding and publishing deals, making it a fast-paced, business-focused conference perfect for making crucial connections.
Major Gaming Festivals for Game Developers
London Games Festival
- Location: London, England
- Approximate Full Ticket Price: Varies by event; many are free.
The London Games Festival is a city-wide celebration of video games and interactive entertainment, backed by the Mayor of London. The festival comprises a huge programme of events at different venues across the capital. Highlights for developers include the Games Finance Market, which connects creators with investors, and Now Play This, an exhibition of experimental and artistic games. It's a fantastic showcase of the cultural and commercial power of games.
EGX
- Location: London, England
- Approximate Full Ticket Price: ~£24 (Day Ticket)
EGX is the UK's largest video game event; a massive consumer celebration of gaming. For developers, its primary value lies in the "Rezzed" zone, a huge area dedicated to indie games. This provides an invaluable platform for showcasing your work to thousands of passionate players, gathering direct feedback, and building a community around your game long before launch.
Insomnia Gaming Festival
- Location: Birmingham, England
- Approximate Full Ticket Price: ~£28 (Day Ticket)
Running for over two decades, Insomnia is one of the UK’s longest-running gaming festivals, famous for its giant LAN party. Like EGX, it offers a fantastic opportunity for developers to exhibit in its "Indie Zone." The festival's community-driven atmosphere makes it an excellent place to get real-time reactions from a dedicated audience and build a grassroots following.
W.A.S.D
- Location: London, England
- Approximate Full Ticket Price: ~£24
W.A.S.D has quickly become a favourite for indie developers and publishers. It’s a curated show that puts innovative and artistic games front and centre, focusing squarely on play and discovery. For developers, it’s a brilliant place to get your game in front of press, influencers, and a highly engaged public audience in a more intimate setting than the larger expos.
UK Games Expo (UKGE)
- Location: Birmingham, England
- Approximate Full Ticket Price: ~£18 (Adult Day Ticket)
While UKGE is the UK's largest tabletop gaming convention, it's an increasingly important event for digital developers. It's the perfect place to meet board game designers, explore licensing opportunities for digital adaptations, and see the latest trends in physical game design. The crossover between tabletop and digital gaming is stronger than ever, making UKGE a unique networking opportunity.
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Specialist & Regional Game Festivals
AdventureX
- Location: London, England
- Approximate Full Ticket Price: Free (but ticketed)
AdventureX is a free, community-led conference celebrating narrative-driven games. It's the premier event in the UK for developers and players of interactive fiction and story-based games. The event features talks from leading narrative designers and provides a showcase for new and upcoming titles. If you’re making a game where story is key, AdventureX is an unmissable and incredibly welcoming event.
Guildford Games Festival
- Location: Guildford, England
- Approximate Full Ticket Price: Varies, some events are free.
Celebrating the town known as "The Hollywood of Games," the Guildford Games Festival showcases the incredible development talent based in and around the area. The festival includes workshops, talks, and an awards ceremony, offering a fantastic opportunity for local developers to connect and for those outside the region to see what makes the Guildford hub so successful.
Scotland Games Week
- Location: Various cities across Scotland
- Approximate Full Ticket Price: Varies by event.
Organised by the Scottish Games Network, Scotland Games Week is a nationwide celebration of the country's thriving games ecosystem. It consists of a series of linked events across cities like Dundee and Glasgow, including a conference, workshops, an awards ceremony, and the Glasgow Indie Games Festival. It’s designed to connect the Scottish industry and showcase its talent to the world.
Norwich Games Festival
- Location: Norwich, England
- Approximate Full Ticket Price: Free
The Norwich Games Festival is a brilliant, free-to-attend community event that celebrates games culture, creativity, and play. It offers developers a platform to showcase their work to a diverse public audience in a relaxed and friendly environment. The festival focuses on accessibility and education, making it a wonderful place to inspire the next generation of game makers.
The Power of Local Game Dev Meetups
Beyond the big annual events, the lifeblood of the UK dev community is its network of local meetups. Groups like our local Norfolk Game Devs, Game Anglia, Brum Indies, Good Game Dev Club, Games Wales, Games NI, and dozens more hold regular, informal gatherings in pubs and workspaces across the country. These meetups are the best way to make friends, find collaborators, and share challenges with fellow developers on a consistent basis. Resources like the Ukie website list many of these groups.
UK Games Industry Events Summary
| Month(s) | Event | Location | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | Pocket Gamer Connects | London | Business & Mobile |
| February | Guildford Games Festival | Guildford | Regional Industry |
| March/April | W.A.S.D | London | Indie Showcase |
| April | London Games Festival | London | City-wide Festival |
| Insomnia Gaming Festival | Birmingham | Consumer & LAN | |
| May | Norwich Games Festival | Norwich | Community & Indie |
| May/June | UK Games Expo | Birmingham | Tabletop & Networking |
| July | Develop:Brighton | Brighton | Developer Conference |
| Aug/Sept | Insomnia Gaming Festival | Birmingham | Consumer & LAN |
| October | EGX | London | Consumer & Indie |
| Scotland Games Week | Various | Regional Industry | |
| November | AdventureX | London | Narrative Games |
References
- https://www.developconference.com
- https://games.london
- https://festival.games.london
- https://www.bcu.ac.uk/blog/computing/insomnia-61-the-uks-biggest-gaming-festival
- https://www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk
- https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/10ec8hb/uk_game_dev_meetups_or_conferences/
- https://guildford.games
- https://glasgowindiegamesfest.org
- https://norwichgamesfestival.co.uk/get-involved/showcase-your-work
- https://ukiepedia.ukie.org.uk/index.php/List_of_UK_Game_Development_Meetups_&_Groups
- https://igf.com
- https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/1cndjy7/are_there_any_indie_gaming_events_in_the_uk_where/
- https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/epz4vs/what_are_the_best_uk_game_events_to_showcase_an/
- https://www.oxmag.co.uk/articles/the-top-gaming-show-in-the-uk/
- https://www.stratfordliteraryfestival.co.uk/events/gaming-event-11-16-years
- https://dev.events/EU/GB/game
- https://videogamecons.com/calendar/calendar.php?loc=uk
- https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/gdl-indie-games-expo-gdlx-2025-tickets-1251056576899
- https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/d/united-kingdom/video-game-convention/
- https://www.philmasters.org.uk/RPGs/conventions.htm
