Games are big business in the Seattle area. 

The city is home to many major gaming studios such as Bungie, Nintendo, Valve, and Wizards of the Coast, plus a thriving independent developer scene. Maybe it’s the rainy weather (or all the coffee) that fosters creativity and draws people together to play their favorite games, whether on a console or around a table. Once a year, we get to celebrate the hard work of the industry and the gaming fandom here in Seattle and beyond during PAX West.

PAX West is a gaming convention co-organized by ReedPop. It began in 2004, founded by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, authors of the popular web comic Penny Arcade. Since then, it has grown to average about 120,000 attendees a year and is held annually at the Seattle Convention Center over Labor Day weekend. 

PAX West is for everyone—fans, occasional dabblers, and creators of all ages. It’s more than a video game convention; it’s a place of inspiration and community. Cosplay is welcomed and is always a highlight. My personal favorite this year was the Sandworm from Dune wobbling around the expo floor.

PAX West transforms downtown Seattle into a playground for gamers of all kinds.

Photos by Kiko Villaseñor

Attendees can meet the people who make games at panels or talent meet-and-greets. If you’re looking to get into the industry, you can network and interact with insiders. This year, Latinx in Gaming held morning sessions to help people foster their skills and learn one-on-one from experts. Another valuable event for indie developers was Seattle Indies Expo, where developers showcase their games. For the PC enthusiasts, there’s Bring Your Own Computer, where people can present their personal rigs, case mods, and play in tournament-style games. 

The main expo floor, showcasing the latest and greatest games and gaming technology, was buzzing this year. Amongst the booths was a lot of chatter about the future of cross-platform gameplay, which is the ability to play and develop games across multiple platforms that sync with each other. 

The lush, atmospheric world of Hollow Knight: Silksong, coming soon to Nintendo Switch 2.

Image courtesy of Nintendo

As far as upcoming releases, I was fortunate to experience some of Nintendo’s unreleased titles for the Nintendo Switch 2, including Kirby Air Riders, a vehicle combat game. It’s a fun, fast-paced racing title with environments that envelop you, such as a water based level that makes you feel like you’re on a high-speed waterslide, splashing through twists and turns at every corner. I love the competitive, multiplayer aspect of the game and could easily see it becoming the next great party game since Mario Kart. 

Hollow Knight: Silksong—an action-adventure game for Nintendo Switch 2—was hands down my favorite of the show. It’s an absolutely breathtaking masterpiece from the score to the beautiful environments created by Team Cherry, a small, independent studio in Australia. 

Gearbox was ramping up the much-anticipated launch of Borderlands 4 and offered a very popular “Rage Room” if you needed to smash something with a bat. But if you were looking for something softer and more cuddly, Seattle Humane had the winning experience of PAX with the adorable and adoptable kitten playpen. 

Large multi-day conferences and lots of socializing can be overwhelming for many attendees and exhibitors. This year, PAX West teamed up with Take This for the AFK Quiet Rooms. These were relaxing, sensory-friendly rooms for decompressing or talking with a trained volunteer. There was also PAX Together, a program that included The Intersection Games Library in providing safe-space gaming tables. 

There’s always a vibrant nightlife at PAX West, with official concerts and unofficial events within the industry, plus community parties held offsite at various venues and businesses downtown. This year, one Tron-themed event, “Enter the Grid,” showcased local musical talent inspired by games. Seattle is home to many musicians who work in the video game industry and produce music and sound for games. 

Whether at the expo during the day or the events at night, there’s such a welcoming sense of community and connection at PAX West. It’s a place to connect in real life with those you might only get to chat with online or on Discord. There are countless stories of longtime online gaming friends meeting in person for the first time, or multiple generations now attending together. PAX holds a place in my heart in this regard—it’s where I met my husband while he was working the expo floor over a decade ago. 

If you’re interested in attending PAX West next year, I recommend grabbing a badge as soon as they go on sale. Tickets can be hard to come by as the date gets closer, but Sunday and Monday badges are usually easier to buy at the door. And don’t try to sneak in—there’s a good chance you may be politely ousted by a six-foot-tall Pikachu.