PAX Rising Showcase launches, granting more indie devs access to PAX

Bobby Mills February 27, 2022

Basically any indie developer in the biz will tell you that it’s impossibly difficult to get your game noticed these days amidst a sea of competitors, let alone played. No matter the calibre of the game itself, or how fancy its marketing, elbowing your way to the front of a crowd constituting hundreds if not thousands of peers is a tall order; which is why special opportunities for independent devs are so crucial. While we all have our eyes trained on whatever the usual heavy hitters like Nintendo or Microsoft are doing come June, we might inadvertently overlook the next Shovel Knight or Undertale. To help rectify this, pilgrimage destination of gamers everywhere, PAX East, are introducing a new showcase to this year’s iteration of the event, spotlighting budding new talent in a fantastic way.

PAX to the rescue

As GamesIndustry reports, the rampant lack of exposure for indies is a “problem the inaugural PAX Rising Showcase aims to help with.” While this isn’t the first dedicated segment intended to bolster the independent scene that PAX have done, it represents a more unified approach that should thrust far more games into the limelight than before. “The showcase is a new route within reach of any indie game developer to have a shot at showing off their game at the industry and consumer respected events, starting with PAX East 2022.”

PAX screen. — Ah, now we can now back to the days of simply contracting con flu rather than something far nastier.

The effect of this kind of support can’t be overstated. Previous beneficiaries of PAX’s buoying include “Bastion, Celeste, Fez, Super Meat Boy, Johann Sebastion Joust, Towerfall, Darkest Dungeon, Mini Metro, and many, many more.” I’m willing to bet you recognise at least a handful of those; which you may not have done had it not been for the additional publicity granted to them. See, it works!

“Developers of indie games would be the first to admit that promoting independent games is hard,” concurs the press release, “and it’s opportunities like the PAX Rising Showcase that enable them to get their work in front of the discerning public. Being able to interact with the community of fellow devs and hear feedback live and in person can be far more fulfilling than nervously eyeing Steam wishlist numbers go up on an announcement day.” Ouch, right in the… place where I’d probably be hurting if I’d ever made an indie game. Maybe I ought to get on that.

Microsoft Paint gag. — Right. Let’s get this bad boy started.

Developers who want a shot at having their game featured in the PAX Rising Showcase have until March 1st to get their submissions in. The timeline from there is as follows: “the team behind the shows will pick out their very favorite entries, announcements will be made by April 1st, and you’ll be able to find all of the selected titles in Boston at PAX East 2022 on April 21st – 24th.” Very meticulously planned.

How about you? Are you one of tomorrow’s beloved indie devs? Will you be submitting anything to PAX? Let us know!

Via, GamesIndustry.