PLAY Expo, the north’s biggest videogames event, is coming to Manchester for the seventh time this Saturday and Sunday, May 4-5th. Held at Manchester Central Exhibition Centre, the event will welcome over 25,000 videogames fans through the doors for two days of gaming brilliance.
PLAY Expo features almost 1,000 free to play gaming consoles, handhelds, PCs, arcade and pinball machines, with a huge range of games to play – from retro favourites like Pac-Man and Mario, right the way up to current blockbusters like Fortnite and Minecraft, VR and an indie game zone.
The perfect day out for games enthusiasts of all ages, the event also features eSports tournaments, cosplay, escape rooms, education, live shows, industry panels and YouTuber meet and greets.
Latest feature announcements include:
- The PlayStation Revolution: The third instalment of the ‘From Bedrooms to Billions’ film series is coming to PLAY Expo. Writers and directors, Anthony and Nicola Caulfield, will be showing exclusive clips and discussing this hotly anticipated documentary.
- Spectrum Next: Meet the devs, discuss the hardware and find out what games are in development for Spectrum Next!
- Antstream, the team from Antstream will be showcasing their new retro gaming streaming service. Get a hands-on with “the Netflix of retro gaming”!
- Immersive live experiences, including John Robertson’s critically acclaimed ‘The Dark Room’, Breakout Escape Rooms and ‘Knightmare Live’, the celebrated stage adaptation of the 80s-90s cult TV show Knightmare*.
- Talks from gaming celebrities and YouTubers, including Jet Set Willy Creator, Matthew Smith, Hogs Of War Creator Jake Habgood and Steve McNeil creator of, and team captain on, “Dara O Briain’s Go 8 Bit”.
- eSport tournaments hosted by Manchester Battle Arena, RetroCollect and StreetSmash Manchester.
- Twitch channel ‘Streamers Connected’ will also be broadcasting live from the show across both days, bringing viewers at home the best content, interviews and action from the north’s biggest gaming event.
- Indie zone with over 30 titles from studios including Prospect Games, RetroBurn Games and Flump Studios plus a huge Spectrum Next games showcase.
Tickets cost: Adults £20, Child £14, Family (2 adults, 2 children) £58 per day or Adults £34, Child £24, Family £96 for the Weekend ticket and can be bought from playexpomanchester.com. *Knightmare Live costs £10 and The Dark Room costs £5 per person.
