Freeplay Parallels, Australia’s long-running showcase of independently-made video games, was in danger of being cancelled permanently in 2026 after a funding shortfall gutted the Freeplay team and its ambitions.
In a post made in January, it was confirmed that the future of the festival was unclear, as organisers hadn’t been able to secure funding for 2026 or beyond. As a result, the team’s co-directors were let go, and plans for the festival fell into disarray.
But hope remained on the horizon and it’s now growing brighter, as a new fundraiser for Freeplay Parallels 2026 nears its target of $15,000.
As shared by the Freeplay board, which has taken over operations of the annual festival in a volunteer capacity, Parallels 2026 is once again possible – although it’s likely it will only be with the support of the local Australian games industry that it will survive.
Freeplay Parallels 2026 return – quick links
Freeplay Parallels 2026 will be made possible with direct support
Currently, the fundraiser sits at 76% of its target, or $11,350 of $15,000, with 64 days to go.
While many of the donations are anonymous, the list of public supporters includes various leaders from the local Australian games industry, including the team at Massive Monster (Cult of the Lamb), and the folks of Strange Scaffold (Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator, I Am Your Beast, El Paso, Elsewhere).
With quite some time before the fundraiser ends, it feels more than likely the Freeplay team will hit its goals, allowing the annual festival to continue at least through 2026. While the future beyond this is murkier, there is hope that enduring support will allow it to continue in a longer-term capacity.
As we previously wrote, Freeplay Parallels is one of Australia’s most important creative showcases, with it being a frequent highlight of Melbourne International Games Week as an introduction to the talent of local and international developers:
‘In all of the talks at Freeplay Parallels, across the years, there has been a common theme: one of highlighting the diverse magic and power of video games. This is an entirely unique medium. One that allows players to step into new worlds, to experience new sights and sounds and to have agency over the journey told.
‘More than being transportive, educating and illuminating for players, video games allow developers to share their passions and their stories. They allow new forms of creativity and self-expression. They make people think.’
What Freeplay Parallels 2026 will look like
Freeplay Parallels 2026 will likely be a thriftier showcase than in past years, as made necessary by its recent funding shortfall. What it looks like will depend on the support received, with plans for all money raised to go directly to showcase participants.
‘To make Parallels 2026 possible, the board is moving from advisory to active, taking over (almost) all the jobs needed to deliver Parallels 2026 as volunteers, and hiring amazing (paid) collaborators to help fill the gaps,’ the team announced in a statement.
‘We’re looking for support to help pay those artistic collaborators – our event producers, designers, composers and installation artists – and make sure tickets stay affordable to working artists and freelancers.’
Once Freeplay Parallels 2026 hits its funding goal, the team will work towards curating a new show focused on games and their artistic potential.
As the team’s statement says: ‘In a world where the economic case for games is valued politically far more than the artistic, positioning and championing games as art is vital.
‘Events like Parallels bring together our community, strengthening decades-old bonds and forging new ones between creative minds from games and beyond. Parallels provides a bright spot of hope and togetherness in a difficult game-making landscape. Unearthing games so weird you never dreamed they could exist, yet somehow resonate so deeply.
‘Freeplay has persisted in hostile economic conditions before and we will do it again. By continuing to show up, we reinforce a sense of continuity and history that makes the Australian games space what it is.’
