This week, EGX is the place to be

EGX is taking place 22nd-25th September at ExCel London. As you may be aware, EGX is the UK’s biggest video game and digital entertainment expo, in the same vein as the United States’ E3 or Germany’s recently hosted Gamescom.

We thought this was a fantastic opportunity to tell you more about how EGX started, how it’s going, and most importantly, why we are attending this year.

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A brief history

EGX was known originally as the Eurogamer Expo. Organised by Gamer Network — the owners of Eurogamer, GamesIndustry.biz, Rock Paper Shotgun, and VG247, among others — the first EGX took place onOctober 28-29, 2008, at the Old Truman Brewery, London.

The brainchild of Rupert Loman, John “Gestalt”Bye, and Patrick “Gandhi” Stokes, EGX served at first as a showcase for the latest games at the London Games Festival. Attended by 4,000 people, the initial venue success made Gamer Network expand its focus in 2009 and 2010, respectively.

Hosted simultaneously at The Royal Armouries in Leeds and the Old Billingsgate Market in London at the end of October 2009,EGX would eventually move to the now defunct Earls Court Exhibition Centre for the next five years — between 2010 and 2014, seeing an astounding 80,000 attendees in the 2014 edition.

In 2012, Eurogamer and Rock Paper Shotgun created a PC and indie games-only EGX spin-off called Rezzed. While it first took place at Brighton Centre, the following editions of Rezzed would be carried out either as a part of the EGX main venue or at the NationalExhibition Centre in Birmingham.

Following the demolition of the Earls Court Exhibition Centre in December 2014, EGX agreed to move to Birmingham for four years. Meanwhile, Rezzed started taking place at the Tobacco Dock in London. This caused both events to be renamed EGX London and EGX Birmingham, respectively.

In 2018 and 2019, two EGX venues took place at STATION Berlin, Germany, to bring a broader, international audience to the expo. As the COVID pandemic hit all of Europe in 2020, however, this forced Gamer Network to scale down its ambitions.

PAX and EGX joined forces to host a digital, online version of their venues on September 12-20, 2020. From 2021 onwards, EGX returned to London, with the Rezzed/Birmingham event taking place at Tobacco Dock and the main venue at ExCel London. What a wild ride!

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What can you expect at EGX 2022?

EGX 2022 will be the first EGX free of all COVID-related restrictions in two years. That means the 2022 edition will likely — and hopefully — beat all previous attendance records.

In a year where gaming surpassed all other forms of entertainment as the industry's leading sector, it's crucial to re-engage with the people making this possible. Fortunately, EGX 2022 will present us with several ways to do so.

We expect a great deal of these conversations to happen at each studio's exhibition booths. Increasingly innovative and immersive, booth design at the EGX is truly a sight to behold — either from studios or prominent figures from the industry.

EGX is also known for its Q&A sessions and panels featuring the industry's finest leaders, and EGX 2022 will be no different. Whether from a financial, technical, or creative standpoint, such distinguished employees' insights are always worth taking notes on.

This year, in particular, will see excellent panels ranging from how to enter the games industry to game development, voice acting, business development and diversification, among others. You can view the whole panel calendar here.

But what would be EGX without game previews and trailers? We also expect several of these, blended with playable demos of our favourite games coming in 2022 and beyond.

Of course, we also expect to be surrounded by the usual amenities and side activities: cosplay, official merchandise from EGX and its guests, tabletop RPGs and board games, live music, and more.

EGX is a place to make connections, get in touch with the current state of the gaming industry, and have a wonderful time. If you're attending, feel free to send us a DM or hit us at the expo on Friday, September 23rd.

Let's have a good time there!