We went into ENDIX not entirely sure what to expect.
A digital gaming expo you download through Steam or the Epic Games Store sounds interesting on paper, but there’s always that question of whether it actually feels like an event… or just a glorified menu with trailers.
After spending some time exploring it ahead of launch as part of the press and creator preview, it’s safe to say this is a lot closer to the former.
And honestly, it’s more impressive than we expected.
A slightly rocky start… but a strong recovery
We’ll get this out of the way early.
It wasn’t a perfect first session.
We got kicked from the servers not long after jumping in, which is never the ideal start. But, to be fair, this was early access before the full public rollout, and once we got back in, things settled down, and we were able to properly explore what ENDIX has to offer.
And there’s a lot to explore.
What is ENDIX?
At its core, ENDIX is a fully online, completely free digital gaming expo.
You download it, create your avatar, and step into a large interactive world filled with different areas, themed zones, and exhibition spaces. It’s designed to replicate that feeling of wandering around a real event, just without the travel, queues, or overpriced food.
You’ve got major publishers dotted around the space, with the likes of THQ Nordic setting up their own island complete with a treasure hunt tied to a giveaway, and 505 Games showing off a couple of titles with some nicely put-together booth designs.
But if you know us, you know where we spent most of our time.
The indie expo hall is where things really shine
Step into the main ENDIX expo hall and you’re greeted with three floors, plus a rooftop area, packed with indie booths covering just about every genre you can think of.
This is where ENDIX really comes into its own.
There’s something genuinely enjoyable about just wandering from booth to booth, discovering games you’ve never heard of, chatting to developers, and stumbling across ideas that are a bit rough, a bit weird, but clearly full of passion. And the booths, each one is curated to the game, bring parts of their worlds to life.
We’ll be putting together a full roundup of our favourite finds once we’ve had more time with everything over the weekend, but just to give you an idea of what’s there, we came across games like Alpha Nomos, Dreampainters, Forgery Craft, Mexican Ninja, Pizza Bandits, and Under a Rock.
And then there was one that stood out immediately.
“Do Not Buy This Game” might be the most honest booth there
This one deserves a mention on its own.
You walk into the booth and are immediately greeted with what looks like an error message for a game that didn’t get finished in time. Naturally, it tells you not to go looking for hidden corridors, because there definitely aren’t any.
So obviously, you go looking.
What follows is a string of corridors and messages that lead to a trailer that plays out like a developer scrambling to put something together in real time while everything goes wrong around them. It’s chaotic, self-aware, and genuinely funny in a way that a lot of booths just aren’t.
It’s exactly the kind of creativity you hope to find at something like ENDIX.
It’s not just booths either
ENDIX isn’t just about walking around looking at trailers.
There are little touches throughout the event that make it feel more like a space than a showcase. A waterfront area featuring a pop-up bar themed around Dave the Diver and its upcoming DLC. A frozen district with more games tucked away. And Theatrum Obscurum, an abandoned theatre-style space dedicated entirely to horror trailers.
We only dipped into some of these briefly, but they’re the kind of areas you could easily lose time in.
There are also mini-games dotted around the event, including a climbing obstacle course and a labyrinth challenge, both tied to leaderboard times and prizes in partnership with Alienware.
We did manage to get ourselves onto the scoreboard at one point.
We did not stay there long.
Free games, giveaways, and reasons to stick around
There’s also a giveaway terminal offering over 600 random Steam keys to visitors.
The catch is you need to spend at least 20 minutes in the event before you can claim one, which is actually a nice way of encouraging people to explore rather than just dropping in, grabbing something, and leaving.
That said, they’re likely to go quickly.
So maybe don’t hang about too much.
It’s not perfect, but it doesn’t need to be
There were bugs. A few rough edges. The occasional bit of jank.
But honestly, that’s expected.
ENDIX is a live, online event, being stress-tested before thousands of people jump in. And even with those issues, what’s already here is impressive.
More importantly, it shows what a gaming expo can be.
No expensive tickets. No travel. No hotel bookings. No standing in queues for hours just to get five minutes with something.
Just a space you can jump into, explore at your own pace, chat to people, discover new games, and, if you really want to, join a random dance circle in the middle of it all.
We’ll definitely be back
We didn’t attend ENDIX last year.
Mostly because we didn’t even know it existed.
That won’t be the case going forward.
Because, for a first proper look, this has already shown more creativity and accessibility than a lot of traditional events manage. And once the full weekend kicks off and the crowds roll in, it’s going to be very interesting to see how it evolves.
Oh, and one last thing.
We’ve got our own little space in the press area.
Which is still slightly surreal to say.
So if you do jump in, head over, scan the QR code, and come say hello. And if you spot indiecentjosh or indiecentben wandering around over the weekend, feel free to stop us.
We’ll probably still be getting lost in the expo hall anyway.
To make sure you don’t miss more coverage from ENDIX, be sure to come back to our features section and check out our top picks post when it goes live.
One Response
Such a great concept and event!