Level Up at PLAYTOPIA, Cape Town’s Biggest Indie Gaming and Interactive Arts Festival

Cape Town’s biggest indie gaming festival, PLAYTOPIA, is back with an exciting lineup of independent games, interactive art, industry speakers, and music.

Hosted at the Homecoming Centre on 8 and 9 December, this exhilarating two-day experience draws inspiration from global alternative gaming festivals and spotlights South Africa’s multifaceted game development and immersive arts community.

PLAYTOPIA guarantees an unparalleled African celebration of gaming and technological artistry with a curated selection of local artworks and games, alongside contributions from international counterparts. The festival aims to capture the essence of the future of entertainment, showcasing a convergence of creativity and technology.

Here’s what you can look forward to:

playtopia gaming festival cape town 2023 — Photographer credit: Jono Ferreira

1. PLAYTOPIA gaming talks

This year’s programme includes a 2-day conference, featuring inspiring talks from a hand-picked selection of trail-blazing game developers, interactive artists and playful creators.

The short and engaging talks aim to fuel the passion of Africa’s current game-changers, to being a catalyst for the next wave, the Playtopia Conference celebrates and grows South Africa’s emerging indie games scene, and continues pushing it toward being one of the most vibrant and innovative hotspots in the future for indie games and the playful arts.

Click here to view the full list of speakers

2. Super Friendship Arcade

Super Friendship Arcade (SFA) offers game jams and workshops celebrating games that are approachable, easy to engage with, and promote shared moments that unite people.

SFA represents an ever-expanding coalition of friends who employ games as a means to influence people creatively. By establishing impromptu arcades in unconventional spaces, SFA dismantles the conventional notion of a ‘gamer’ and makes it inclusive.

The SFA room also showcases games played with custom controllers, VR rooms, and much more!

3. Indie Planet

Indie Planet is a curated exhibition space at PLAYTOPIA, showcasing highlights from other gaming festivals around the world.

4. Art installations

A selection of interactive and immersive art installations by local artists will be on exhibit. Creatives who embrace technology to express themselves will exhibit their artworks for festival-goers to experience.

5. PLAYTOPIA main arcade

At the heart of PLAYTOPIA lies the main exhibition arcade – a curated collection of games, immersive encounters, and interactive narratives.

This showcase embodies a gathering of the most ingenious, dynamic, and emotionally resonant games from the recent past. Encompassing a mix of titles hailing from South Africa and around the globe, this exhibition encompasses lauded indie releases and hidden treasures that deserve more recognition. Its purpose is to honour the evolution of digital storytelling and the realm of playful art, presenting a testament to the future of these creative domains.

Click here for a list of featured games.

PLAYTOPIA is proudly sponsored by Devolver Digital, Free Lives, Landfall, Super Hot, Raw Fury, Institute Francais and 24BitGames, and will close the festival on Saturday evening with an official after-party at Tommy’s Chop Shop, hosted by Diskotekah.

Click here to view the full programme.

When: Running on 8 & 9 December 2023, various times
Where: Homecoming Centre (Former Fugard theatre), Corner Buitenkant St & Caledon St, District Six, Cape Town
Cost: From R300pp for a day pass, book via Quicket