PLAY is the first and only festival worldwide to unite media art, discourse and education with the culture of digital games. Since 2007, it has focused on the creative utilization of digital games: invent, build, tinker, modify, program, dance, discuss – anything goes!
The 18th PLAY – Creative Gaming Festival took place from November 12 to 15, 2025, once again inviting fans of gaming culture and interactive arts to explore the creative potential of digital games.
Online and hybrid on-site
This year, PLAY was hosted at an exciting new location in the heart of the Port of Hamburg: the URBANEO - Young Architecture Center and, right next door, NEW WORK.
Take Care!
With its 2025 theme “Take Care,” the festival placed a spotlight on responsibility in many forms: as a game mechanic, in narratives centered on care work, through supportive multiplayer roles, and in the broader context of social and environmental responsibility. PLAY25 encouraged a critical and creative exploration of the dynamics, production conditions, and practices shaping the interactive medium of video games.
Across talks, workshops, shows, and the exhibition, attendees joined in to learn, play, discuss, and create together.
