Play by Play 2019

Play by Play is a New Zealand games conference with a difference, run mid-April each year in the beating cultural heart of the country – Wellington.

Since our inception in 2016, we’ve grown exponentially, proving that there’s a vibrant community of gamers, enthusiasts and curious folk in the play sphere. Further to our flagship conference, we host networking events and professional development workshops for industry players.

Our humble conference began life as a city-wide festival celebrating everything to do with games and play. Since our 2019 event, Play by Play has broken away from the festival as an entity, now sitting under the umbrella of the NZ Games Festival.

This year we have a diverse and exciting line-up of speakers from local studios, across the ditch and our keynote speaker, Nick Suttner, who's from all the way over in San Francisco. The conference's central theme for 2019 is "The Power of Many", reflecting the strength in community and everything we can achieve when we embrace diversity within our sector.

In addition to two whole days of game dev knowledge sharing, Play by Play attendees are invited to join the Treat 'n' Greet non-alcoholic networking event and The Pavs game awards, celebrating the best of local game development.

While there is no age restriction on this event, please note that some themes discussed may not be appropriate for children.