London Games Festival dates

London’s games week starts on Monday, April 13, and it is not just a fan festival anymore. The 2026 edition runs through Sunday, April 19, and its calendar now bundles public showcases, investor meetings, creator events, and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts game awards into one seven-day stretch. (festival.games.london) This is the 11th London Games Festival, and the organizers are pitching 2026 as an expanded edition rather than a routine repeat. Games London said the core program is growing with a larger Games Finance Market and a bigger home for New Game Plus. (games.london) The business center of the week lands early. Games Finance Market runs on Tuesday, April 14, and Wednesday, April 15, at Leonardo Royal Tower Bridge, where selected studios pitch directly to publishers and investors in what Games London calls the United Kingdom’s largest curated business-to-business games event. (games.london) That “curated” part matters because this is not a normal convention floor where anyone can buy a badge and wander in. Studios, publishers, and investors have to apply, which turns the event into something closer to scheduled dealmaking than a public expo. (games.london) The public-facing piece arrives on Thursday, April 16, and Friday, April 17, with New Game Plus at Exhibition White City. The official ticket site says the showcase will feature more than 80 new personal computer and console games, while Games London describes it as a two-day event built around unreleased titles and developer talks. (tickets.games.london, games.london) New Game Plus is also getting physically bigger in 2026. Games London said the move to Exhibition White City doubles the exhibition space, and trade outlet MCV reported that this year’s show is set to include 100 playable games and draw both industry attendees and the public. (games.london, mcvuk.com) The awards night is planted right in the middle of that traffic. The 22nd British Academy of Film and Television Arts Games Awards take place on Friday, April 17, at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, and BAFTA says the ceremony is part of the festival week. (bafta.org, gamesindustry.biz) BAFTA’s nomination announcement gives a sense of the scale around the ceremony: 42 games were nominated across 17 categories in 2026. That means the same week that studios are pitching investors and showing unfinished games to players, the industry is also handing out one of its most watched annual prize lists. (bafta.org) The festival’s footprint is wider than ticketed halls. London City Hall is promoting a free Trafalgar Square takeover tied to the week, which shows how the event is being used both as an industry market and as a citywide cultural showcase backed by the Mayor of London. (london.gov.uk, festival.games.london) The simplest way to read the April 13 to April 19 schedule is as a funnel. Tuesday and Wednesday are for financing, Thursday and Friday are for hands-on discovery, and Friday night is for awards, so one city gets a full week where money, attention, and prestige all hit the games business at the same time. (games.london, tickets.games.london, bafta.org)