It’s 2015 And Freeplay Is Just Getting Started

Here’s an interesting fact: the Melbourne-based Freeplay Independent Games Festival is 10 years old this year. That makes it one of the longest running games festivals in the world. That’s pretty cool. This year Freeplay is celebrating its decade anniversary in style.

Kicking off in April — April 10 to be precise — the idea is simple: 10 days of Freeplay to celebrate 10 years and this year, for the first time, there will also be a free online component open to all. That’s super cool, and very in-keeping with the vibe of the event.

“We’re incredibly excited about our biggest festival yet,” said Freeplay director Dan Golding. “It’s funny to think of it this way, but having run ten festivals makes us one of the oldest games events in the world, let alone Australia. Freeplay has seen so much—from our amazing array of speakers, award-winning games, our volunteers, and of course our staff—that we can’t let that pass unremarked on.”

The idea is to have daily events in the lead up to the weekend beginning April 18 and have a full schedule for that weekend. Speakers have not yet been announced. The current plan is to announce the speakers on February 27 and have the tickets go on-sale on the same day.

As always, Freeplay will include a celebration of local Australian games and an awards ceremony highlighting some of the great work being done locally. Submissions open on March 2 and close on March 13.