PAX West, the giant video game convention originally planned for Labor Day weekend in Seattle, is being turned into a 9-day, free online event as COVID-19 forced organizers to cancel the gathering along with PAX Australia.
Originally scheduled for Sept. 4-7, PAX West will now morph into PAX Online from Sept. 12-20. The international event will also be supported by EGX, the largest gaming event in the United Kingdom.
RELATED: Organizers finally cancel Emerald City Comic Con after pushing event back because of pandemic
PAX began in 2004 in Bellevue, Wash., as the Penny Arcade Expo, created by the company behind the Seattle-based Penny Arcade video-game webcomic. The celebration of gaming culture has since expanded with PAX events held globally.
According to a news release, PAX Online will run 24 hours a day and include game reveals, demos, e-sports tournaments, an Indie Showcase and more. In a post on the official website, organizers said going beyond a physical venue could allow them to do more than ever before.
“PAX has always been a community first, from the attendees, panelists, exhibitors, to the incredible Enforcers who keep PAX going all year,” Jerry Holkins, co-founder of PAX, said in a statement. “PAX Online brings that shared experience home. Even if we can’t all meet in Seattle or Melbourne this year, we look forward to reconnecting with our friends and welcoming everyone to our new home, PAX Online. Technically, you’re already there.”
With a wide variety of events being cancelled around the world because of the ongoing health crisis, PAX organizers Reedpop announced the same move for another of its events Tuesday, cancelling Emerald City Comic Con.
Full statement from PAX West:
Back in April, we explained that while we still had hoped to bring you PAX West this year, protecting the safety and health of our community is our highest priority. The more we worked on a solution, the more it became clear that if we really wanted to welcome everybody home, we’d have to remove the physical barriers entirely, and simply take PAX Online.
Going digital means a lot more than just a change in venue though, and by transcending the physical, in fact, we’re able to do more PAX than ever before! PAX Online is the result of the convention-organizing supergroup made up of the people responsible for PAX West, PAX Australia, as well as our new friends at EGX to create our new PAX Online and deliver a steady 24/7 stream of content, events, discussions, and gameplay.
There are going to be a lot of questions, we have some answers now and will have more information in the coming weeks. We are really excited about this, it’s going to present an opportunity to try new things and hopefully interact and play games with our community in a way we’ve never been able to before.
Make sure you keep an eye here for the most up to date information as we more forward.
We can’t wait to bring PAX to your house for this one and have you welcome us home!
