Gaming Events 2026
2026 is one of the densest years on the gaming calendar — major esports finals, PAX East/West/Unplugged, EVO Las Vegas, Anime Expo Los Angeles, and dozens of regional fighting game majors all happen this year. Here's the master calendar.
Esports & Gaming Conventions
- CES 2026 — January 6-9, 2026 · Las Vegas, NV. Gaming hardware announcements (peripherals, GPUs, monitors)
- DreamHack Anaheim 2026 — February 27-March 1, 2026 · Anaheim Convention Center, CA. BYOC LAN, esports, cosplay, indie games
- PAX East 2026 — March 19-22, 2026 · Boston Convention Center, MA. Largest US gaming convention — AAA, indie, FGC, tabletop
- Combo Breaker 2026 — May 23-25, 2026 · Schaumburg, IL. Major FGC tournament — Street Fighter, Tekken, Smash, Guilty Gear
- EVO 2026 — August 7-9, 2026 · Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV. World's largest fighting game tournament
- PAX West 2026 — September 4-7, 2026 · Washington State Convention Center, Seattle, WA. Hometown PAX — Penny Arcade's flagship event
- TwitchCon San Diego 2026 — September 25-27, 2026 · San Diego Convention Center, CA. Twitch's flagship creator/streaming conference
- Halo World Championship 2026 — October (TBD), 2026 · TBD US venue. HCS season-ending championship
- Call of Duty League Championship 2026 — June (TBD), 2026 · TBD US venue. CDL season finals
- VCT Champions 2026 — September (TBD), 2026 · TBD international. Valorant Champions Tour world finals
- RLCS World Championship 2026 — TBD, 2026 · TBD. Rocket League Championship Series finals
- PAX Unplugged 2026 — December 4-6, 2026 · Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, PA. Tabletop and board games focus
Anime Conventions
- Katsucon 2026 — February 13-15, 2026 · Gaylord National, National Harbor, MD. East Coast anime con — heavy cosplay focus
- Sakura-Con 2026 — March 27-29, 2026 · Washington State Convention Center, Seattle, WA. Pacific Northwest anime con
- Anime Boston 2026 — May 22-24, 2026 · Hynes Convention Center, Boston, MA. New England's largest anime con
- Fanime 2026 — May 22-25, 2026 · San Jose Convention Center, CA. Bay Area's largest anime con
- Anime Expo 2026 — July 2-5, 2026 · LA Convention Center, Los Angeles, CA. Largest US anime convention — ~110,000 attendees
- Otakon 2026 — August 14-16, 2026 · Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington DC. Mid-Atlantic anime convention
- Anime NYC 2026 — November (TBD), 2026 · Javits Center, New York, NY. NYC's largest anime convention
Industry & Tabletop
- GDC 2026 (Game Developers Conference) — March 16-20, 2026 · Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA. Largest game industry conference — design, tech, business
- IndieCade 2026 — October (TBD), 2026 · Santa Monica, CA. Premier indie game showcase + awards
- GenCon 2026 — July 30-August 2, 2026 · Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis, IN. World's largest tabletop gaming convention
- MagicCon Chicago 2026 — TBD, 2026 · Chicago, IL. Magic: The Gathering flagship event — Pro Tour weekend