Over 5500 people attended WX Games Weekend on 8th and 9th March at the newly opened WX in Wakefield. The event was featured on BBC Radio Leeds, York and Sheffield and on BBC Look North in the run-up to the event and on the day.
Jamie Sefton MD of Game Republic is delighted with the turnout and the event. “The huge new space that officially opened on 21st February provided an excellent venue for the Games Weekend for Wakefield Council. It was great to bring the event together with so many partners across The North and in Wakefield. Our indie game developers were able to experience the space in November 2024 for GaMaYo, and many returned to showcase their games to the public, many for the first time. The feedback has been excellent.”
Alongside the 27 indie game studios sharing 36 new games in total, the event featured a celebration of retro games with an old school arcade courtesy of Replay Events including a playable selection of the very best consoles and computers – from 8 Bit / 16 Bit wonders like the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum, Super Nintendo and Sega Megadrive through to the last few generations of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo consoles and a wide selection of modern PlayStation 5 and Xbox games to play
Endpoint esports brought Multiplayer competitions and challenges for Rocket League and attendees were given the opportunity to challenge various influencers including Miss Carpenator, Jademclaire and Hoppytye with live streams from the event.
Over 500 people attended Wakefield College’s drop-in workshops throughout the day and over 200 characters were created that appeared in a playable game at the end of the weekend. You can play WX Invasion in any browser here!
Throughout the weekend, there were talks on all aspects of the games industry from esports, to careers, setting up a studio and game development. Speakers included Miss Carpenator and Cavade from Endpoint Group, Yasmina Fadel from Maximalist Ltd, Tony Warriner from Brazen, Sarah York from Panda Cat Games, Ashley Day from Team17, Nigel Twumasi Mayamada and Do I Look Like a Gamer? campaign, Ben and Ollie Chisman from Melon Games and Rob Charlish Wakefield College / Heart of Yorkshire education group.
Alongside all the entertainment and activities, attendees were able to browse all kinds of game-related merchandise and enjoy a great range of food and drink.
