New Zealand’s own video game festival, NZGamesFest, is back for 2025, running all week long from Friday 25th April to Saturday 3rd May.
NZGamesFest is a celebration of our growing industry full of game jams, guest speakers, and our very own NZ video game awards known as The Pavs. NZGamesFest 2025 will feature a number of great events such as:
Pb and Jam 2025
PB and Jam is a 48-hour game jam involving a number of teams creating games with a focus on a hidden theme. Everyone is welcome, from newcomers to industry veterans.
When: Friday 25th April – Sunday 27th April 2025
Friday – 6pm start.
Saturday – 9am – 10pm
Sunday – 9am – 6pm
Where: Massey University
Museum Building
Entrance D (off Tory St)
Buckle Street, Mount Cook,
Wellington 6011
Level Up Exhibition
Level Up is a series of educational workshops that aims to introduce Kiwis to the video game industry and what goes into creating our many amazing video games.
When: Sunday 27th April – Friday 2nd May 2025
9am – 5pm daily
Where: Te Auaha Gallery
65 Dixon Street, Te Aro,
Wellington 6011
Joypad 2025
JoyPad is a casual social evening with nibbles and a great Jackbox party game lineup celebrating the overlap of the LGBTQIA+ community and our growing gaming industry.
When: Tuesday, 29th April 2025
Time: 6:30pm – 9pm
Where: The Library Bar
1/53 Courtenay Place, Te Aro,
Wellington 6011
Super Quiz World 2025
Super Quiz World is back for the 4th year running, a video game-themed pub quiz that is sure to be full of head scratching game trivia and one too many (drinks?) bad video game puns.
When: Wednesday, 30th April 2025
Time: 6.30pm – 9pm
Where: Meow
9 Edward Street, Te Aro,
Wellington 6011
Play By Play 2025
The Play By Play conference returns in 2025 with a number of industry talks on this years theme, “Joy Sparks”, featuring speakers such as Vee Pendergast from CODE NZ, Tana Tanoi from Dinosaur Polo Club/Dead Teapot, and Rick Stemm, Design Manager and Narrative Director at PikPok, currently working on a number of titles including Into The Dead: Our Darkest Days.
When: Thursday 1st – Friday 2nd May 2025
Where: Tapere Nui
Te Auaha
Wellington
Treat & Greet
Treat & Greet is a nonalcoholic networking event involving waffles. A relaxing environment for like-minded industry attendees to meet and reminisce.
When: Thursday 1st May 2025
Time: 6:30pm – 9pm
Where: Fishcube Gallery
111 Dixon Street, Te Aro,
Wellington 6011
The Pavs NZ Game Awards 2025
The Pavs are a celebration of ANZ video games, from tabletop to digital in a number of award categories, including Design, Narrative, and Visual Art excellence. The Pavs also feature awards for individuals in the industry demonstrating an integral pillar in today’s video game landscape.
When: Friday 2nd May 2025
7pm – late
Where: Te Auaha
65 Dixon Street, Te Aro,
Wellington 6011
The GamesNight team will be out and about during this year’s festival, so be sure to say hello, we’d love to chat!. Tickets are available now for NZ Games Festival 2025, be sure to get in quick!
