PAX Australia and EB Expo are combining to form one mega-gaming convention. The two events, which are the largest gaming shows in the Southern hemisphere, are joining forces in 2018 for a show that stands to be bigger than any PAX Australia in the show's five years.
PAX Aus, a community event, has been running for five years now in Melbourne, offering attendees things like hands-on time with upcoming games, developer panels, concerts, eSports tournaments, and more. EB Expo, meanwhile, has a history of being more focused on the commercial side, which makes sense given the event is run by a retailer.
For 2018, however, PAX Aus will include the EB Expo. What this means is that more publishers than ever will attend and the number of panels is increasing. There will be an EB Expo Live Theatre this year, as well as the biggest pop-up EB Games store in Australia.
PAX Aus takes place October 26-28 in Melbourne. More than 180 companies are already confirmed to attend, with "thousands" of games playable on the show flow.
"PAX Aus grows every year, and in 2018, EB Expo is the red mushroom to our Italian plumber," PAX Aus event manager Jono Whyman said. "We're incredibly excited to partner with EB Games to level up PAX Aus and continue to put on the biggest, best gaming show for our die-hard fans and new members of the PAX family."
PAX Aus and EB Expo have always been held in October, just a few weeks apart, which puts some amount of stress on people hoping to attend both events. Not only that, but the events were held in different cities.
This kind of sucks, well I suppose it's great for people who live in Melbourne but for those who don't it's kind of shitty.