We’re gearing up to attend South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, TX this coming March 7-15!
As with any big event, there are many, many parties surrounding it. We’ve got a solid list below of the key parties focused on gaming and gamers you may want to check out during SXSW. If you are in the city for a longer period of time around other SXSW festivities, literally dozens, if not hundreds, of other parties for everything from environmental activism, to the future of food, to movie screenings, and live music shows happening elsewhere. If you want to know what topics are covered in the SXSW 2025 Game Industry Track and who is speaking, check out the agenda.
If we missed any relevant parties, showcases, or other events associated with SXSW that you know about and want us to share, please let us know! We’ll be updating the list, if new events come to our attention or there are important changes to the events or their status.
(image by Adam Kissick/SXSW)
Wednesday, March 5:
Event: Games for Change Game Night
Time: 4:00PM-5:00PM
Cost: Free
Tickets available: Yes
SXSW badge required? Yes
Location: Hilton Austin, 500 E 4th St, Austin, TX 78701
Link: https://schedule.sxswedu.com/2025/events/PP151828
Description: “Calling all gamers, game lovers, game-based pedagogues, and play-curious people. Join us for a play-based meetup where we will play both analog and digital games with purpose. We will nourish and restore conference energy, learn about opportunities to bring game-based learning to your school or organization, and build community with like-minded educators who are looking to unlock the power of games in their teaching practice. This meetup invites attendees to explore the capacity of games as transformative teaching tools at the intersection of learning and impact.”
Event: The Attention Economy: How to Entertain in 2025
Time: 6:00PM-9:00PM
Cost: Free
Tickets available: Yes
SXSW badge required? No
Location: Hi Sign Brewing, 730 Shady Ln, Austin, TX 78702
Link: https://lu.ma/w59ef8hj
Description: Meet and circulate with entrepreneurs, be one of the first 15 to show up and receive a drink ticket. And the gaming side of this event is SideHustle, the party game for entrepreneurs (think Shark Tank meeting Apples to Apples).
Friday, March 7:
Event: SXSW25 | CreativeNL – Immersive Morning: Friday
Time: 8:00AM – 9:30AM
Cost: Free
Tickets available: Yes
SXSW badge required? Yes
Location: East Austin Hotel, 1108 East 6th Street Austin, TX 78702
Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sxsw25-creativenl-immersive-morning-saturday-tickets-1246108216219
Description: Stop by for the breakfast, stay for the insightful talk on XR and health and wellness! “On Friday March 7th we’re welcoming Sarah Ticho, a multi-award-winning artist, strategist, and entrepreneur at the forefront of immersive storytelling and healthcare innovation. As the director of SOUL PAINT, co-produced with Dutch Monobanda, and winner of the SXSW Special Jury Prize, Sarah merges art and technology to create powerful, transformative experiences.
Note: “Right after this session on Friday 7 March – 9:30 – 10:30 AM at the East Austin Hotel, you can join the Makers meet-up and introduction to the CIIIC-program Artistic & Design Research for Immersive Experiences by the Creative Industries Fund NL.”
Saturday, March 8:
Event: SXSW25 | CreativeNL – Immersive Morning: Saturday
Time: 8:00AM – 9:30AM
Cost: Free
Tickets available: Yes
SXSW badge required? Yes
Location: East Austin Hotel, 1108 East 6th Street Austin, TX 78702
Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sxsw25-creativenl-immersive-morning-saturday-tickets-1246108216219
Description: Come for the breakfast, stay for the insightful talks on narrative design in games and XR! “In this interactive session, Joshua (Rubin) will share his insights on narrative innovation in games and XR, the challenges of world-building for emerging platforms, and the future of AI-powered storytelling. Bring your questions and join the conversation!”
Event: SXSW25 | CreativeNL Session: Immersive Nightmares
Time: 1:00PM – 2:00PM
Cost: Free
Tickets available: Yes
SXSW badge required? Yes
Location: Fairmont Austin, 101 Red River Street Park View Ballroom 7th floor Austin, TX 78701
Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sxsw25-creativenl-session-immersive-nightmares-tickets-1236617047879
Description: “In this session, researcher Luuk Ex presents a new report from the Dutch Rathenau Institute on the critical need to establish neuro rights.
Join us for a presentation followed by a thought-provoking discussion on the risks, responsibilities, and future of neurotechnology in an increasingly immersive world.”
Event: SXSW25 | CreativeNL Session: Immersive Dreams
Time: 2:00PM – 3:00PM
Cost: Free
Tickets available: Yes
SXSW badge required? Yes
Location: Fairmont Austin, 101 Red River Street Park View Ballroom 7th floor Austin, TX 78701
Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sxsw25-creativenl-session-immersive-dreams-tickets-1236541612249
Description: “The Immersive Dreams session is the second part of two sessions. Right before this session, on Sunday March 9th from 1-2pm, the ‘Immersive Nightmares‘ session takes place.”
Event: SXSW25 | Experiential Happy Hour
Time: 5:00PM – 7:00PM
Cost: Free
Tickets available: Yes
SXSW badge required? No
Location: Fairmont Austin, 101 Red River Street Park View Ballroom 7th floor Austin, TX 78701
Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sxsw25-experiential-happy-hour-tickets-1254636133449
Description: “Join Dutch and Quebec top creators for an exclusive and fun happy hour, where innovative thinkers come together to connect, share ideas, and enjoy great conversation over drinks. Whether you’re an artist, entrepreneur, geek or just passionate about creativity, this is the perfect opportunity to mingle and spark new collaborations in a relaxed and inspiring atmosphere!”
Sunday, March 9:
Event: Canadian Innovation Lounge at SXSW 2025
Time: 11:00AM – 6:00PM (Sunday, March 9 – Tuesday, March 11 daily)
Cost: Free
Tickets available: Yes
SXSW badge required? No
Location: Fairmont Austin, 101 Red River Street Park View Ballroom 7th floor Austin, TX 78701
Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/canadian-innovation-lounge-at-sxsw-2025-4099733
Description: “The Canadian Innovation Lounge will showcase projects ranging from XR experiences for both at-home and out-of-home destinations, to VR and AI solutions transforming learning and lifestyle.” Follow the link to the XR, AI and other projects the Canadian Innovation Lounge is spotlighting each day, and register for the program you want to visit and explore.
Event: 4th Annual ATX Game Makers Showcase! (Day One)
Time: 11:00AM – 7:00PM (also on Monday, March 10)
Cost: Free
Tickets available: Yes
SXSW badge required? No
Location: Valhalla, 710 Red River Street Austin, TX 78701
Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/4th-annual-atx-game-makers-showcase-tickets-1242343004369
Description: “ATX Game Makers is an amazing community focused on creating video games and increasing the diversity in the games industry. This is our annual spring event where we show off and show out! During the event we will have speakers to educate our attendees and offer a space for local studios and indies to show off their games.” From 5-7PM is the event’s happy hour, which is hosted only on day one.
Event: The Attention Economy: How to Entertain in 2025
Time: 12:00PM-1:30PM
Cost: Free
Tickets available: Yes
SXSW badge required? No
Location: Palm Door on Sixth,508 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78701
Link: https://lu.ma/9jyfkooe
Description: Hosted by UK Advertising, this panel talk brings speakers from Activision Blizzard Media, Dr. Squatch, Small World, and Hasbro together to discuss cutting “through the noise to debate whether brands should create culture or stop chasing trends—and what brand fame really means.” Of course, games and gaming are very likely to be a big part of this discussion, given the speakers participating.
Event: Event Tech Meet Up
Time: 2:30PM-3:30PM
Cost: Free
Tickets available: Yes
SXSW badge required? Yes
Location: Hilton Austin, 500 E 4th St, Austin, TX 78701
Link: https://schedule.sxsw.com/2025/events/PP1147689
Description: “Are you passionate about the intersection of technology and events? Whether you’re at the forefront of managing event technologies, actively involved in producing software for event management, or simply intrigued by the innovative world of event tech, this Meet Up is for you.”
Monday, March 10
Event: 4th Annual ATX Game Makers Showcase! (Day Two)
Time: 11:00AM – 4:00PM (also on Sunday, March 9)
Cost: Free
Tickets available: Yes
SXSW badge required? No
Location: Valhalla, 710 Red River Street Austin, TX 78701
Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/4th-annual-atx-game-makers-showcase-tickets-1242343004369
Description: “ATX Game Makers is an amazing community focused on creating video games and increasing the diversity in the games industry. This is our annual spring event where we show off and show out! During the event we will have speakers to educate our attendees and offer a space for local studios and indies to show off their games.” From noon -1PM is the event’s business lunch, which is hosted only on day two.
Event: The Non-Obvious Future of Events & Immersive Storytelling
Time: 4:00PM – 5:00PM
Cost: Free
Tickets available: Yes
SXSW badge required? No
Location: 607 West 3rd Street Austin, TX 78701
Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-non-obvious-future-of-events-immersive-storytelling-tickets-1256245747849
Description: “Whether you lead an experiential team, craft immersive storytelling experiences, or simply want to stay ahead of the next big trend in live media, this conversation will expand your mind and reshape how you think about events.”
Tuesday, March 11:
Event: GamesBeat Engage @ SXSW 2025
Time: 6:00PM-9:00PM
Cost: Free
Tickets available: Yes
SXSW badge required? No
Location: Downtown Austin, TX (specific location shared after confirmation)
Link: https://venturebeat.com/games/dont-miss-the-first-gamesbeat-engage-event-at-sxsw/
Description: “You won’t want to miss the first GamesBeat Engage happening in Austin on March 11. A new series of invite-only, salon-style gatherings launching during SXSW, these events feature an evening of thought-provoking keynotes and fireside chats from leading game industry voices, followed by dinner and networking opportunities with a curated audience of up to 100 top-tier attendees.”
If you request a formal invite, please bear in mind VentureBeat prefers senior- and executive-level attendees for this event.
Thursday, March 13:
Event: Austin DeoVR Networking Meet-Up
Time: 5:00PM-8:00PM
Cost: Free
Tickets available: Yes
SXSW badge required? No
Location: TBA
Link: https://lu.ma/pezruicj
Description: Hosted by UK Advertising, this panel talk brings speakers from Activision Blizzard Media, Dr. Squatch, Small World, and Hasbro together to discuss cutting “through the noise to debate whether brands should create culture or stop chasing trends—and what brand fame really means.” Of course, games and gaming are very likely to be a big part of this discussion, given the speakers participating.
Stay tuned for updates to the SXSW 2025 party list as we become aware of the changes!
