Gaming & Esports Events
Upcoming events · 132 found
Coming Soon
99 days away
Otakon 2026
Otakon returns to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center July 31 through August 2, 2026 — more than three decades as one of the East Coast's defining anime conventions and one of the oldest fan-run cons in the United States. Since 1994, Otakon has been the summer gathering for the anime community's most devoted: the fans who plan year-round, cosplay with detail that rivals museum exhibits, and travel from every state for exclusive English-language premieres, Japanese musical performances, and direct conversations with the voice actors and directors behind the series they love. Three days of programming spans the full convention center: panels, screenings, an artist's alley, dealer's hall, gaming tournaments, and evening concerts featuring Japanese musicians who often perform exclusively at Otakon and nowhere else on the American tour. Between 25,000 and 30,000 attendees make the pilgrimage each year — large enough to feel monumental, small enough that the community still recognizes itself. The fans attending their first con and the ones who have made the trip since the Clinton administration move through the same halls. That continuity is what no streaming service replicates.
Coming Soon
100 days away
Anime California 2026
Anime California at the Long Beach Convention Center is the SoCal alternative for the anime fan who finds AX overwhelming — same categories (cosplay, panels, artist alley, gaming, Japanese culture) at a scale where you can actually see everything. August 1-2. An hour from San Diego, right on the Long Beach waterfront. Tickets from $35 at animecalifornia.com. The cosplay contest Saturday night is legitimately competitive.
Coming Soon
100 days away
Pokemon TCG League Challenge — TCS Rockets
Monthly Pokemon TCG League Challenge — the competitive stepping stone before Regional Championships. Earn Championship Points toward the World Championship invite. Masters, Seniors, and Juniors divisions. Bring your best 60-card deck and your game face. Registration opens at 10 AM, rounds begin at 11 AM.
Coming Soon
100 days away
Pokemon TCG League Challenge — Game Empire SD
Monthly Pokemon TCG League Challenge — the competitive stepping stone before Regional Championships. Earn Championship Points toward the World Championship invite. Masters, Seniors, and Juniors divisions. Bring your best 60-card deck and your game face. Registration opens at 10 AM, rounds begin at 11 AM.
Coming Soon
100 days away
Pokemon TCG League Challenge — Artificer San Diego
Monthly Pokemon TCG League Challenge — the competitive stepping stone before Regional Championships. Earn Championship Points toward the World Championship invite. Masters, Seniors, and Juniors divisions. Bring your best 60-card deck and your game face. Registration opens at 10 AM, rounds begin at 11 AM.
Coming Soon
100 days away
Board Game Night — Meeples Games SD
Open board game night — the library is massive, the tables are big, and the coffee is hot. Bring a game you've been dying to teach, or discover one you've never heard of. Everything from 20-minute fillers to 3-hour epics gets played here.
Coming Soon
106 days away
MTG The Hobbit Prerelease — TCS Rockets
There and back again — in card form. Magic's Hobbit set brings Middle-earth to the table: Bilbo, Gandalf, Smaug, the One Ring. Prerelease is where you play before the set is officially out. Six packs, one deck, complete strangers. Show up alone and leave with three new friends who also hate losing to Smaug.
Coming Soon
106 days away
MTG The Hobbit Prerelease — GameStar Hobbies
There and back again — in card form. Magic's Hobbit set brings Middle-earth to the table: Bilbo, Gandalf, Smaug, the One Ring. Prerelease is where you play before the set is officially out. Six packs, one deck, complete strangers. Show up alone and leave with three new friends who also hate losing to Smaug.
Coming Soon
106 days away
MTG The Hobbit Prerelease — Game Empire
There and back again — in card form. Magic's Hobbit set brings Middle-earth to the table: Bilbo, Gandalf, Smaug, the One Ring. Prerelease is where you play before the set is officially out. Six packs, one deck, complete strangers. Show up alone and leave with three new friends who also hate losing to Smaug.
Coming Soon
107 days away
San Diego Pinball Open 2026
The San Diego Pinball Open draws the west coast's competitive pinball circuit to a two-day open tournament — vintage machines alongside modern titles, IFPA-rated for players who track their ranking, and open divisions for anyone who grew up on arcade floors and wants to find out how they actually rank. The people who show up for this are exactly who you think they are: gamers, collectors, and people who know exactly which game they're going for first. Details at ifpapinball.com.
Coming Soon
107 days away
Board Game Night — Meeples Games SD
Open board game night — the library is massive, the tables are big, and the coffee is hot. Bring a game you've been dying to teach, or discover one you've never heard of. Everything from 20-minute fillers to 3-hour epics gets played here.
Coming Soon
113 days away
MTG The Hobbit — Tabletop Release Day
The Hobbit is now in Magic: The Gathering. Bilbo's journey becomes your battlefield. Release day drafts at every LGS — crack the new packs, play against the Tolkien fans who definitely memorized every card in the set before it hit shelves. locator.wizards.com for your store.
Coming Soon
114 days away
IchigoCon Gaming and Anime Convention
Ventura County's anime and gaming convention returns to the Oxnard Performing Arts Center. One day: gaming tournaments, anime screenings, voice actors, cosplay competition, vendors, and the community that built this from the ground up.
Coming Soon
114 days away
Board Game Night — Meeples Games SD
Open board game night — the library is massive, the tables are big, and the coffee is hot. Bring a game you've been dying to teach, or discover one you've never heard of. Everything from 20-minute fillers to 3-hour epics gets played here.
Coming Soon
121 days away
LCS Summer Split Finals 2026 — League of Legends
The League of Legends Championship Series Summer Finals come to LA. The top two NA teams compete for a spot at Worlds in front of a live crowd. Crypto.com Arena for the biggest NA LoL event of the year. Tickets through Ticketmaster. Viewing parties across SoCal at gaming bars.
Coming Soon
121 days away
Board Game Night — Meeples Games SD
Open board game night — the library is massive, the tables are big, and the coffee is hot. Bring a game you've been dying to teach, or discover one you've never heard of. Everything from 20-minute fillers to 3-hour epics gets played here.
Coming Soon
124 days away
Gamescom 2026
Gamescom 2026 opens August 25–30 in Cologne, Germany — the world's largest gaming trade show and the biggest consumer games event in Europe. Opening Night Live on August 25 streams globally with major announcements. Public days follow August 26–30 with hands-on demos and reveals. Why go: Gamescom is where publishers bring their biggest titles for global reveals — Q4 2026 and early 2027 games get their final showcases here before the holiday season launches.
Coming Soon
126 days away
AnimeFest Dallas 2026
AnimeFest Dallas 2026 returns to the Sheraton Dallas August 27-30 — one of the oldest anime conventions in the South, running since 1992. Japanese guest concerts, AMV competitions, cosplay masquerade, artist alley, and gaming rooms in the heart of downtown Dallas. AnimeFest is a hotel con at its purest — the late-night hallway gatherings are half the reason people come back. Why go: AnimeFest has a legacy that newer conventions can't manufacture. The people who run it have been doing it for 30+ years and it shows. Badges at animefest.org.