GameFest, RPI's annual celebration of innovation and creativity in game design, returns to the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) on Saturday, March 28 from 12:00 PM to 7:00 PM. GameFest features a showcase and competition for student-made games, with cash prizes awarded by a panel of experts from the Capital Region games industry. 

This year's GameFest reflects the dynamic growth and interconnections of games and culture, from eSports to cinema. In addition to the showcase of over 30 games made by students from RPI, RIT, University of Connecticut, Long Island University Post, SUNY Oneonta and Virginia Commonwealth University, the event will feature eSports matches hosted by Team RPI; a screening and talk by world-renowned contemporary artist Ericka Beckman, whose media installations and films crystallize intersections of games, animation, performance, sports, and spectatorship; a playable arcade of vintage game consoles; and a keynote talk with Karthik Bala, CEO of Troy-based Velan Studios, creators of Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit and other games. 

Presented by RPI's Games and Experimental Media program, GameFest is a day of playing new games, rediscovering retro games, exciting eSports competition, intersections of games, art, and cutlure, and insights into the future of the medium. GameFest is for all ages, and is free and open to the public. 

For more information about GameFest, please visit https://empac.rpi.edu/events/2026/gamefest and http://gamefest.rpi.edu. 

For more information about Ericka Beckman's screening and artist talk, please visit https://empac.rpi.edu/events/2026/erica-beckman.