The Powerhouse’s celebration of the local and international games industry, ALT:GAMES 2026, takes place from 18 to 19 April in Parramatta, New South Wales.
Those keen to attend will find a starry array of local and international guests speaking about the games industry and games creation. There’ll also be chances to play new and upcoming locally-made games, connect with local developers, and more.
The headlining speakers are PlayStation veteran Shuhei Yoshida, writer and producer Alanah Pearce and solo developer and founder of Shared Memory Games, Billy Basso. Developers from across Australia, working at Studio Folly, Summerfall Studios and Riot Games will also deliver key talks.
Here’s everything you need to know about ALT:GAMES 2026 ahead of the weekend.
ALT:GAMES 2026 – quick links
ALT:GAMES 2026: full games line-up
As announced, the full program line-up for ALT:GAMES 2026 includes four unique segments: ALT:PLAY, ALT:EX, ALT:SESSIONS and ALT:FEATURES.
ALT:PLAY, taking place at Parramatta Town Hall from 10am to 3pm daily, is a free ticketed event where attendees can explore 35 new and in-development video and tabletop games created by teams from across Australia. As confirmed, the showcase will feature the following highlights:
- Cow Chess by Lab Lab
- Enfant by Zebrar
- Janet DeMornay by Fuzzy Ghost
- Noibs by Oddlark
- Nonolith by Justcamh
- Shape Sender Deluxe by Dead Teapot
- Slumbering Woods by Chunky Quail
- Wyrmspace Tactics by Wali Studios
ALT:EX, also at Parramatta Town Hall from 10am to 3pm daily, is an accompanying showcase of more experimental games, developed by emerging creatives. You’ll be able to check out works curated by the NSW games collective Serenade, as well as projects supported by ACE (Arts & Cultural Exchange) Parramatta and Made in the West Creative.
ALT:GAMES 2026: full speaker line-up and timetable
ALT:SESSIONS and ALT: FEATURES are both part of the ALT:GAMES talks series, offering knowledge and insight into various aspects of the games industry. These talks are hosted at Riverside Live at PHIVE.
ALT: SESSIONS will feature the following speakers:
- Benjamin Ee: The Illustration Technique (10am 18 April) – ‘Acclaimed artist Benjamin Ee, Art Director at Summerfall Studios and an artist for Magic: The Gathering, will share his illustration techniques and practices that can be applied across all creative mediums.’
- Jessica Shipard: Colour Matters: Creating Evocative Palettes for Indie Games (11.30am 18 April) – ‘Jessica Shipard, designer and co-founder of Studio Folly, will demonstrate her approach to building memorable and unique colour schemes in a workshop for creatives, drawing from her award-winning works Gubbins, Real-Bird Fake-Bird and Dogpile.’
- Liz Palmer and Dan Potra: Outfit to Identity: Building Characters for Creative Mediums (2.30pm 18 April) – ‘Award winning designers Liz Palmer and Dan Potra will explore the process of games development from ideation to final design, demonstrating how to create visually distinctive characters for your works. Presented with the Australian Production Design Guild.’
- Riot Games Sydney: Game Dev: Getting In, Staying In and Making a Career (10am 19 April) – ‘Game professionals from award-winning global studio Riot Games will discuss their diverse pathways in the industry, and share the essential knowledge and skills that have powered their careers.’
- Carla Dobbie and Patrik Jarlestam: Musical World Building for Two Very Different Games (12.30pm 19 April) – ‘Composers Carla Dobbie and Patrik Jarlestam will share insights into how they built worlds through their soundtracks for two games: Valheim and Deliver At All Costs. Examining the challenges posed by each game design, Dobbie and Jarlestam will explain how they enriched and communicated two distinct game designers’ visions to create whole and immersive experiences.’
- Shuehei Yoshida: What Makes an Indie Game Successful? (2.30pm 19 April) – ‘Renowned Tokyo-based software developer and former Sony Interactive Entertainment veteran Shuhei Yoshida will share his knowledge of what elevates a game for players versus what can hinder it, drawing from his decades of industry experience.’
ALT: FEATURES will spotlight three additional talks:
- Alanah Pearce (1pm 18 April) – ‘Join Alanah Pearce, a renowned US-based Australian writer, producer, actor, content creator and games thought leader, as she delves into her extensive and multifaceted career working with critically acclaimed games and studios.’
- Shuehei Yoshida (5.30pm 18 April) – ‘Tokyo-based games industry legend Shuhei Yoshida will discuss his career at PlayStation with games thought leader and media personality Alanah Pearce. Yoshida will share his experiences working on groundbreaking games at Sony and insights on how to get a game published.’
- Billy Basso (1pm 19 April) – ‘For the first time in Australia, join US-based solo developer Billy Basso, founder of Shared Memory Games, as he looks back at the making of the critically and commercially acclaimed Animal Well.’
