Playtopia, the Indie Games & Immersive Arts Festival and Summit, returns in December 2025. With over 1000 festival goers, it has become a one-of-a-kind African celebration of video games and interactive playfulness.
With a decor team headed up by Natasha Davidson (Africa Burn, Bazique), fabrication has begun on ‘Arcadia’ - a fantasy styled library with portholes, spell books, potions and magic crystals to transport players to the deepest parts of their childhood imaginations while inside the festival.
Festival-goers can look forward to a showcase of the freshest cutting-edge games in Playtopia’s Arcadia, as well as the premiere of local studio (in collaboration with Devolver Digital), Teamlazerbeam’s ‘Shroom and Gloom’ game with its own large scale Shroom tunnel and cave!
The Super Friendship Arcade returns with custom-controller experiences, a new roster of renowned international speakers such as Abubakar Salim (UK), Iris Compiet (NL), Doug Wilson (AUS), Meg Clarke (UK), Seth S Smith (US) and many more, and of course, the return of the Indie Planet Exhibition featuring the best in show games from BCN Games Fest (Barcelona), Freeplay (Australia) Bitsummit (Japan) and A.Maze (Germany).
This year, Playtopia enters an exciting new chapter. For the first time, the festival’s immersive art installations will be curated and created by The Art Massive, a new community of artists co-founded by the festival director and established interactive creatives who have exhibited at Playtopia before.
In the run-up to the festival, The Art Massive have been actively building community through meetups and jams, echoing the grassroots model that has made the local gaming scene so vibrant.
Their work will bring a new depth of collaboration and artistic energy to the festival floor.
Playtopia is more than just a festival - it is part of a movement positioning South Africa and Africa as global players in indie games and immersive arts. Over the years, the reputation of the festival has grown steadily, becoming a calendar event for some of the most prominent names in the global indie games space.
By spotlighting African developers whose unique creations are gaining traction internationally, Playtopia provides a vital platform for local talent to shine. It bridges disciplines and borders by bringing together immersive artists, game developers, and international partners, fostering cross-pollination of ideas and practices that elevate African creativity on the world stage.
At the same time, it nurtures emerging talent through year-round community building, workshops, jams, and mentoring, ensuring a sustainable pipeline of future innovators.
The Playtopia Foundation lies at the heart of this mission. Established to support creators and broaden access to game development and immersive arts, the foundation runs a range of initiatives that extend beyond the festival itself.
These include mentorship programmes, grants, workshops, and outreach projects designed to empower underrepresented voices and help cultivate the next generation of African game developers.
Through this work, the foundation ensures that Playtopia is not only a festival to attend, but a catalyst for real change within the industry.
With its sharpened focus, expanded international presence, and deepened community roots, Playtopia 2025 promises to be bigger, bolder, and more unforgettable than ever.
Playtopia will close the festival on Saturday evening with an official after party at Tommy’s Chop Shop, hosted by Discotekah.
Playtopia is proudly sponsored by Free Lives, Devolver Digital, Landfall, UWU Biz, Innersloth and Critical Reflex.
Tickets to the festival and after party are available on Airdosh.co.za or via the festival website.
