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, VCT Champions, The International, and dozens of regional fighting game majors. 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.
• Call of Duty League Championship 2026 — June 2026 (dates TBD) · TBD US venue. CDL season finals — top 8 teams compete for the title.
• EVO 2026 — August 7–9, 2026 · Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV. World's largest fighting game tournament.
• The International 2026 (Dota 2) — August 13–23, 2026 · Oriental Sports Center, Shanghai. Dota 2's annual world championship — the largest prize pool in esports.
• Halo World Championship 2026 — October 2026 (dates TBD) · TBD US venue. HCS season-ending championship.
• VCT Champions 2026 — September 24 – October 18, 2026 · Shanghai, China. Valorant Champions Tour world finals — the year's top teams.
• RLCS World Championship 2026 — TBD, 2026 · TBD. Rocket League Championship Series world finals.
• TwitchCon San Diego 2026 — November 13–15, 2026 · San Diego Convention Center, CA. Twitch's flagship creator and streaming conference.
• PAX West 2026 — September 4–7, 2026 · Washington State Convention Center, Seattle, WA. Penny Arcade's flagship West Coast event.
• 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.
• Anime NYC 2026 — August 20–23, 2026 · Javits Center, New York, NY. NYC's largest anime convention.
• Otakon 2026 — August 14–16, 2026 · Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington DC. Mid-Atlantic 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.
• GenCon 2026 — July 30 – August 2, 2026 · Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis, IN. World's largest tabletop gaming convention.
• IndieCade 2026 — October 2026 (dates TBD) · Santa Monica, CA. Premier indie game showcase and awards — best indie games of the year.
• MagicCon Chicago 2026 — TBD, 2026 · Chicago, IL. Magic: The Gathering flagship event — Pro Tour weekend.