The Latinx Games Festival 2023 will return for its fifth year on the weekend of September 23rd to the 24th. . This two-day event will take place at the Columbia Memorial Space Center in Downey, California, and will welcome an in-person crowd for the first time since 2020.
Jason Vega, the founder of the festival, wanted to create a space for Latinx people in the video game industry to promote themselves and also gain knowledge from others in the industry. The event hosts a variety of panels from people working for companies such as Blizzard Entertainment, Respawn Entertainment, SEGA of America, and more.
These panels are meant to encourage inclusivity in an industry that has historically been straight, white, and male, which Jason has actively spoken against. Activision Blizzard, parent company of Blizzard Entertainment, which has several panels for this event, recently went through major internal shifts after being accused of creating a “frat boy workplace culture”. Now, the video game industry wants to turn away from that image and create workplaces that are as diverse as their games.
Latinx Games Festival will also feature a variety of games made by Latinx teams or from companies based in Latin America, and their official game selection for 2023 can be seen on their website. These games will serve as nominations for the future winners of the Latinx Game Awards, which will also take place during the event.
The event is sponsored by Respawn Entertainment, responsible for Apex Legends and the Star Wars Jedi series, and ID@Xbox, which is Microsoft’s platform for promoting indie games on Xbox.
Tickets for Latinx Games Festival 2023 are currently on sale on their website up until the day of the event. If you want to support Latinx in gaming but cannot attend, the event is also being streamed for both days on their Twitch channel.