Ah yes, Summer Game Fest 2025, where dreams go to die and wallets go to cry.😭 But fear not, fellow gamers, for Toronto Games Week 2025 is here to pick up the pieces – or at least, pretend to. Because after enduring Geoff Keighley’s annual cringe-fest, what better way to cleanse your palate than with…more games?🎮
As Summer Game Fest 2025 mercifully slams its doors shut (until the next soul-crushing installment in 2026), Toronto Games Week 2025 emerges from the shadows, promising to be the “biggest” yet. Since its earth-shattering inception in 2023, this behemoth of an event will sprawl across the vast, untamed wilderness of…Toronto. Brace yourselves for a staggering 40 events!🎉 A “celebration of playful arts and culture,” they say. From video games (because, duh) to “immersive theatre” (whatever that is), board games (grandma’s basement, anyone?) and “every kind of play” (interpret that as you will). It’s “for the community, by the community,” which roughly translates to “expect a lot of free pizza🍕 and slightly awkward networking.”
Marie LeBlanc Flanagan, Co-Founder and apparently chief dreamer of Toronto Games Week, describes it as a “collective fever dream.” 😵💫 Yes, because that’s *exactly* what I want from a gaming event – to feel like I’m hallucinating after a week-long bender. She boasts about 75+ volunteers, which is just another way of saying “we’re severely understaffed.” But hey, at least they “believe play belongs everywhere and to everyone.” Even in the checkout line at the grocery store? Even during a funeral? 🤔 The possibilities are endless! She then asks, “Where else can you play massive video games projected onto historic concrete silos at sunset, then search for magical creatures in High Park the next morning?” My answer? Literally anywhere else I choose to be, because both of those sound equally underwhelming.
And because one Toronto-based gaming event isn’t enough, we have Pixel PowerPlay on June 14th. Steve Vegvari, one of the event organizers, graced CP24 News with his presence to explain the “importance” of Toronto Games Week 2025. According to Steve, “There’s a game for everyone.” Even for people who hate games? 🤯 He then drops a philosophical bombshell: “Video Games is a form of expression and art.” Groundbreaking stuff, Steve. Really making us rethink our life choices here. Thanks to Steve, we can now appreciate the “importance of gaming culture” while simultaneously questioning why we aren’t curing cancer instead.
But wait, there’s more! Toronto Games Week 2025 will feature projected games on the historic Canada Malting Silos – because nothing screams “cutting-edge gaming” like ancient industrial structures. And if that wasn’t hipster enough for you, there’s a Secret Night Bike Parkcade, where LED-lit cyclists pedal to a mystery location for a pop-up arcade featuring “protest bike games” (???) and a preview of Molleindustria’s upcoming *Solarpunk*. I’m not entirely sure what any of that means, but it sounds like something out of a dystopian YA novel. 🚲
Toronto Games Week 2025 will be gracing us with its presence from June 12 until June 18, while Pixel PowerPlay unleashes its pixelated fury on June 14th. If you’re feeling particularly masochistic, head to the official site.
Pixel P. Snarkbyte, widely regarded as the “Shakespeare of Sh*tposts,” is a video game expert with a unique knack for turning pixels into punchlines.
Born in the small town of Respawn, Pennsylvania, Pixel grew up mashing buttons on an ancient NES controller, firmly believing that “blowing into the cartridge” was a sacred ritual passed down through generations.
Pixel P. Snarkbyte: proving that life, much like a buggy open-world game, is better with a little lag-induced chaos.
