PAX Aus 2026: Indie Gems, Randomised Dungeons and Faster Queues!
Ahhhh! Another year, another packed PAX.
This 2026 event ran from 9–11 October at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, with major attractions including COD: Modern Warfare 4, Alien: Isolation 2, Persona 4 Revival and more than 90 games across the indie space.
With devs showing off their latest creations, live events bringing the community together, a new area for classic games/pinball machines and plenty of familiar faces roaming the halls, there was no shortage of reasons to get amongst it. I spent the Saturday sampling a handful of indie games, catching live entertainment and snapping photos of the cosplayers who helped give PAX its unmistakable personality. Here’s what went down.
Indies Galore
As always, the indie scene was a major part of what made PAX worth exploring. While the big-budget blockbusters might grab the headlines, there’s something satisfying about wandering through the expo floor and stumbling across a game you probably wouldn’t have discovered otherwise.
This year, my hands-on selection included Dungeons & Dining Tables, Atlanta TD, Bravecart and The Last Terminator. It was a bit of a mixed bag, with certain experiences leaving a stronger impression than others, but that’s part of the territory when you’re sampling games from a diverse range of independent developers. Not everything is going to be your cup of tea, and that’s perfectly fine. The beauty of PAX is having the opportunity to find out for yourself rather than judging everything by a trailer.
A Real Life Party was the highlight of my hands-on sessions. Taking place inside your mate’s house, strange things start happening with its grid-based movement system. Each movement displays different photos that continually get more and more suss as you party along, and you’ll witness some quality Aussie/across-the-ditch humour to keep you entertained. It felt like I was attending a Sunday afternoon get-together, and I was intrigued to see what would happen given my relatively short playtime. You won’t get any spoilers from me, but definitely keep an eye out for this one on Steam.
Speedrunning All Weekend
Another highlight of my time at PAX was watching the myriad of speedruns past the Expo Hall. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time – Dungeon Randomiser was probably my favourite of the day, as it takes a beloved classic and throws its familiar progression into the blender, making for some wacko spectacle. Particularly when the runner has to adapt to an algorithm that refuses to play by the rules most of us remember.
It was a different kind of challenge from a conventional speedrun. Knowledge of the original game is still valuable, but being able to think on your feet is just as important when the next dungeon or essential item isn’t quite where you’d expect it to be.
Watching a skilled runner work through that sort of organised chaos is a reminder of just how much depth there is to games we’ve been playing for decades. People always find another way to break them, bend them or make them considerably more complicated than the developers intended. That’s before you account for the audience watching someone do in minutes what would take the rest of us an entire afternoon.
Standout Moments
The Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reburned panel on the main stage was another great time. Popular figureheads from the game, Koji Fox and Toshio ‘Foxclon’ Murouchi shared stories from their time marketing and producing Final Fantasy XIV while eating increasingly spicier samples of hot sauce. They did surprisingly well not to spit it out or refuse to eat anymore, because I would’ve hard-quit pretty early on. That said, the host from Square Enix did them dirty by giving both yoghurt sachets instead of milk, making them look like babies sucking milk for a solid 30 minutes. So good photo ops, for days.
I wasn’t able to attend The Witcher 3 panel afterwards, but there’s something special about seeing a gaming community come together in person. Whether it’s to hear from the people behind a favourite game, share a laugh over familiar experiences or simply enjoy being surrounded by people who get it. It’s the sort of experience that a YouTube video or livestream doesn’t quite replicate, and the mainstage provides a welcome change of pace from spending the day navigating the expo floor. Because holy moly, do you get tired walking and standing around all day, or what?
Of course, no PAX visit would be complete without encountering the cosplayers. I took a couple of photos throughout the event, and it’s always impressive seeing the creativity and effort people put into bringing their favourite characters to life. From the costumes themselves, to the little details that bring a character together, cosplay remains one of the most photogenic parts of the convention.
Less Wait Time, Please!
Then we have to consider the crowd situation, which is always worth discussing when you’re attending an event of this size.
The halls felt just as busy as last year, so there obviously wasn’t any miraculous disappearance of the masses. Though PAX remains a popular destination, and you’re still going to find yourself weaving between people as you make your way from one booth to another. However, the queues felt noticeably faster this time around, which made a real difference to the overall experience.
Nobody wants to spend half their day standing in a line when you want to catch everything you possibly can. Faster queues mean less time staring at the back of someone’s shirt and more time actually enjoying what the convention has to offer. It’s not the most glamorous improvement, but it’s an important one for long-term sustainability.
The Takeaway
PAX Aus 2026 was a better overall experience than last year, delivering another enjoyable celebration of gaming and the people who make it such a diverse hobby. Between the indie discoveries, the Ocarina Randomiser, the Final Fantasy XIV panel and the cosplay on display, there was plenty to keep me entertained.
Could everything have been seen in a single visit? Of course not. PAX remains a juggling act of deciding what to play, what to watch and what you’re willing to miss while you’re busy doing something else. But that’s part of the charm, and a smoother experience makes that balancing act a little easier to manage.
Ultimately, PAX Aus continues to be a great excuse to get out of the house, discover new things and spend a weekend surrounded by people who love games as much as you do. Not every demo will be a winner, and not every activity will appeal to everyone, yet PAX has enough variety to make the trip worthwhile.
Here’s to another year of indie surprises, ridiculous speedruns, fantastic cosplay and the eternal struggle of trying to fit everything into one weekend. If PAX Aus 2026 is anything to go by, there’s plenty of reason to come back for another round.
