One of the biggest European meetup events for gamers and game developers is coming to Liverpool in 2024 after establishing a presence in Manchester in the last eight years. Tony McDonough reports

A major games industry event is coming to Liverpool in autumn 2024.

FORMAT, which has been held in Manchester for the past eight years, is described as Europe’s “biggest games industry community nightlife festival”. It is expanding into Liverpool for the first time in September.

Dates, times and locations for the event are expected to be revealed in the next few weeks. It brings together gamers and games developers and in Manchester has seen up to 1,500 attendees across three nights.

Liverpool city region has been a hotbed for video games development and today the city is home to multiple developers. They include Sony Interactive Entertainment, vTime, Ripstone, Skyhook Games, Wushu Studios and Fallen Planet.

In March 2023 a delegation of gaming entrepreneurs from Merseyside, led by city region economic development agency, Growth Platform, travelled to San Francisco for the global Game Developers Conference.

Now FORMAT is finally recognising Liverpool’s status in the industry by coming to the city for the first time. Its arrival is being supported by Growth Platform.

FORMAT’s founder and chief executive, Simran Whitham, said: “This is the announcement I have waited years to make.

“The northern games industry is criminally underrepresented compared to its southern counterpart, and yet we produce some of the greatest creative projects, talent, and initiatives across the world in games, TV, film, music, and more.

“I’ve made it a goal to provide the northern UK games industry with the event it deserves.”

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The festival offers three separate evenings of events comprising:

• An evening of networking, presentations and panels including international delegates, exhibitors, partners, sponsors, industry business leaders, key figures, investors, game publishers and press.
• A gaming social which sees consumers and delegates travel from all over the UK, Europe, US, Asia, India, and more for an evening of trying out the latest video game and technology releases.
• The ‘Ultimate Gaming Social’, in which 150 to 300 attendees, ranging from gamers, game studios, and community leaders take part in an evening of networking.

Helen Cross, creative and digital cluster manager at Growth Platform, added: “With a gaming heritage going back 40 years and new studios continuing to open up today, our vibrant games industry cannot wait to help shape this international festival.”