Toronto Games Week
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2026 Toronto Games Week Recap

Numbers aren't everything, but...

For the curious, our 4th year had:

  • Nearly 9000 combined attendees!
  • Almost 60 events!
  • Special guests from Portland, Ecuador, New York, and Montreal!
  • 25 different organizations running events!
  • 81 volunteer registrations!
  • Almost 40 supporters and sponsors (see our thanks below!)

Photos Ahoy!

We struggled to get these down to a round dozen photos... we'll start with the ending!

A performer leaps into the air with arms raised under pink and purple lights as a crowd watches at the TGW Closing Celebration

TGW Closing Celebration (photo: Dean Tomlinson)


A hand holds a green custom-built game controller badge reading Toronto Games Week, Play Outside the Box

Custom Controller Design & Build Workshop (photo: Douglas Gregory)


A group poses in front of red curtains holding money bag props

Toronto Escape Room Meetup and Many Happy Returns Kick-off Party (photo: Julie Cohn)


A crowd of attendees applauds in a cozy bar strung with fairy lights

Bonus Stage (photo: Luma)


Two players face off at a tabletop arcade cabinet

CTRL-ALT-DELICIOUS (photo: Marisa Ranelli)


Three commentators wearing headphones react during a speedrunning broadcast

Out of Bounds Torontrois (photo: Izzy Hope)


Players chase a giant inflatable soccer ball across a sunny field

Gym Game Gauntlet (photo: Nick Xie)


Two players hold plush controllers in front of a television showing an arcade game

CTRL-ALT-DELICIOUS (Photo: Kevin Ly)


A speaker at a podium presents a slide to a seated audience at DEI or DIE v2: DEI Harder

DEI or DIE v2: DEI Harder (photo: Douglas Gregory)


Attendees gather around a glowing projector screen in a dark park at night

Night Parkcade (photo: Nikita Stulikovd)


A speaker addresses a seated audience beneath two screens showing colourful game art

An Afternoon With Sago Mini (photo: Natalie Skillen)


A group of attendees walks down a path toward the water on Toronto Island

Walkin' with Droqen... on the Island (photo: Sam Ollmann-Chan)



~~~

Thanks for Playing!

Many of you know the TGW isn't a traditional festival, but rather a coalition of independent organizations and organizers who each contribute a wonderful event. This year our presenting organizations included Baby Ghosts, Bonus Stage, Broken Games Collective, Demo Room, Dirty Rectangles, Droqen, GAIN, Hand Eye Society, Hypergame Storytime, IGDA Toronto, InterAccess, Kitten Cup Studio, Lady Arcaders, OCADU, Team Hero Coder, The G.R.I.D., Toronto Escape Room Meetup, Toronto Game Audio Collective, Trainwreck Labs, Vivid Foundry, GamerELLA, and Wero.

We couldn't have done it without our funders at the City of Toronto and Ontario Creates.

The following heroes sponsored TGW this year: CWA Canada / CODE-CANADA, Drinkbox Games, Ravine Studio, Unreal Education / EPIC, York University, Sago Mini, Unity, & Interactive Ontario.

We also received venue and equipment support from the following stellar institutions: Toronto Public Library, George Brown College, Level Up, Red Bull, ROM (Royal Ontario Museum), TO Jam, Toronto Metropolitan University, TTL Makerspace, XP Gaming Inc., Morty, UTM Library, Funland, AMD, Music Publishers Canada, Screen Composers Guild of Canada, University of Toronto Electronic Music Studio, & Get Set Games.

And of course! Thanks to the TGW 2026 team: Marie LeBlanc Flanagan and Jim Munroe (co-organizers), Marisa Ranelli (social media & program design), Sofy K. (volunteer coordination), Andrew Tran (website assistance), Richard Cuartero (AV management), Tanner Blackburn and Bennett Liu (press) & Shana Wang (documentation).