Columbus is in the middle of one of its biggest gaming weekends. GDEX 2026, the Midwest's premier gaming expo and developer conference, is celebrating its 14th year at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, and it runs from Thursday, October 15 to Sunday, October 18. The whole thing is put on by Multivarious, an Ohio-based game development and events company, and it pulls together indie developers, publishers, educators, players, students, investors and content creators for four days of interactive exhibits, tournaments, workshops and networking.
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The weekend is split into a few distinct tracks, so it's worth knowing which one you're buying. The GDEX Expo is the heart of it: access to the exhibition hall, community events, talks, main stage presentations, the 'Underworld' tournaments, free game consoles, free arcades, live concerts and the gaming areas in the hotel. That's the part most people come for, and it's the most affordable way in. A weekend pass covers Friday through Sunday for $85.35, or you can pick a single day: $32.21 for Friday, $42.84 for Saturday and $26.90 for Sunday. There's also a Family Day pass on Sunday — four passes for $85.35 — and kids 12 and under get in free with an adult. If you want the conference sessions, workshops, VIP mixers, pitch presentations and portfolio reviews, you'll need a GDEX+ pass, which runs $319.14 for Friday through Sunday and comes with an official t-shirt. You can also add conference room access to an Expo pass day by day: $74.72 on Friday, $95.97 on Saturday and $64.09 on Sunday.
Thursday was the industry-heavy start. GDEX Dev Day, which ran from 10:00 AM to 6:00 AM, is a one-day event for high-level professionals to talk technology, business development, marketing and legal, and it doesn't include Expo access. The most comprehensive ticket, GDEX+ Pro, covers the whole run from Thursday to Sunday for $372.27, with Dev Day, full conference and Expo access, a t-shirt and reduced hotel rates. Students, IGDA members and veterans get a discounted rate of $212.87 for Pro and $159.73 for GDEX+.
As for the rest of the weekend, the Expo hours are 10:00 AM to 11:00 PM on Friday and Saturday, and 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM on Sunday. The guest list is long, with names like R. Philip Bouchard, Andrew Wong, DB Cooper, Bradston Henry, Juniper Dev, Brian Colin, LordMinion777, Guy Blomberg, Chris Volpe, Geoffrey Long, Andrii Nepodymka, Liv Tehela, Beth Brennen, Graham Gettel, The Mirandalorian, Michael Haywood, Aaron Cloutier, David Echeverria, SonikBuster and Aidan Nabass among them. There's also a 'GDEX Pitch Battle' where a five-minute presentation can land a Unity Pro license, $1,000 in cash and IGDA memberships. Getting there is easy: parking is free in all available surface spaces, and COTA buses 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 13, 102, AirConnect, CMAX and Night Owl, plus CoGo bikes, all serve the area. Just a heads-up that everyone has to accept the GDEX Code of Conduct, and the organizers ask that you stay home if you're feeling sick.
Published Date
16 October 2026
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