Digi Game Expo 2026: Games, Tools and Makers in Akihabara

Digi Game Expo 2026 takes place on Sunday, November 8, from 11:00 to 16:00 JST at Akihabara UDX. It brings together independently made games and the tools used to create them. For a visitor, that offers two ways into the event: play something unfamiliar, or ask how part of it was made. Official overview

Known in Japanese as デジゲー博 (Dejigē-haku), the event is an exhibition and sales fair for doujin and indie digital games. Here, a circle means an exhibiting creator or group. The organizer welcomes different platforms, as well as libraries, software and other resources supporting game creation. Organizer’s introduction

Quick answers for November 8

Where is it? Akihabara UDX, 2F AKIBA_SQUARE and 4F UDX Gallery, in Tokyo. The announced public hours are 11:00–16:00. Use both floor maps in the official web catalogue.

How much is entry? General admission is ¥2,000. The ¥1,000 student category is for qualifying school students aged 18 or under, rather than a general university-student discount. A ¥2,000 family option covers one guardian with up to three children through junior-high-school age. Current admission conditions

Do I book online? The organizer says wristbands are sold at the venue on the day, from 09:00 onward, with no advance online or shop sales. That sale time is separate from the 11:00 opening. Bring cash as a backup to the planned cashless options. This is the announced arrangement, not a guarantee of entry without waiting.

Is everything available in English? We have not verified event-wide English support. Check each project’s language information and ask before beginning a longer demo. The catalogue can help you identify booths in advance; a familiar game engine or an English subtitle does not establish the language spoken by staff.

A playable project and the tools behind one

Two announced exhibits illustrate the range. They are starting points for browsing, rather than a ranking or a complete programme. Plans may change, so recheck the catalogue before travelling.

A horror game in development

Team Shinyaku Aragami (新約荒神製作所) plans a playable preview of its horror game 夢見る脳髄 -Fragments of an eternal illusion- at C-09a. The circle’s September 19 announcement and its current catalogue entry identify the project as still in development. Creator’s announcement, catalogue entry

For a first visit, a specific project like this gives you a manageable destination. Read the creator’s description, decide whether its genre interests you, then ask what the demonstration includes. A preview lets you encounter the work at a particular stage; it does not promise a finished release or a confirmed release date.

Sound and animation software

At Z-01, CRI Middleware plans to show CRI ADX LE sound-middleware samples and OPTPiX SpriteStudio, software for authoring 2D animation. Its announcement also describes preview integrations for Godot Engine, TyranoScript and TyranoBuilder. CRI’s programme, catalogue entry

The company invites questions about production problems and tool selection. That makes the booth a different kind of stop from a game demo: you can ask how a sound or animation workflow connects to a project. The announced previews are works in progress; their presence is not a claim that every integration is already available for general use.

Even if you do not make games, looking at a tool demonstration can change what you notice when you return to playing. A character’s movement or a sound cue becomes something someone had to construct and fit into a larger work.

What Japanese exhibitors say about showing their work

The following accounts concern the 2025 edition. They offer individual perspectives on exhibiting, not predictions about this year’s crowds or a survey of Japanese developers.

A first appearance can create connections

Writing on December 2, 2025, らま describes a first Digi Game Expo appearance through make.ctrl.japan, a group associated with games using custom controllers. The account recalls conversations with other students and circle alumni. Its preparation list includes signs granting photography permission and written English explanations. Original exhibitor account

That list reveals some work a visitor might otherwise miss. A booth needs to communicate what to do, when someone can play and whether a photograph is welcome. For this exhibitor, the event also connected a hardware-based game project with people interested in making things. It does not establish that the same custom-controller exhibit will appear in 2026.

Feedback needs a boundary, too

In a December 31, 2025 reflection, Cdec of Luftelli describes a ninth appearance with 光影の塔. Repeatedly changing the game in response to event feedback had become a cycle that made finishing difficult. For that appearance, the team limited its aims to promotion and checking whether first-time players could use the game comfortably, rather than adding systems or features. Luftelli’s development blog

This is a useful counterpoint to the idea that more suggestions always help. The writer valued a clearer purpose for exhibiting. A visitor can respond to that by asking what the maker wants to learn, then describing a particular experience: where an instruction was unclear, or which moment was satisfying. The account concerns that team’s decisions at that time, not the current release status of the game.

Together, these accounts show two reasons a booth can matter to its maker: meeting people and bringing a project toward completion. A short conversation can be valuable without turning into a request for a new feature.

Plan a small route through both floors

Start with the web catalogue, which has genre filters, circle information and separate floor maps. Choose a few projects you want to try, and perhaps one tool or technical publication that interests you. Keep their booth codes and leave some time for an unexpected discovery.

For each stop, consider a different question:

• Playing: what is the central action, and how does the game teach it?
• Making: what part of the work would you like the creator to explain?
• Following up: where can you find the project afterwards, and what is actually available now?

These are suggestions for an attentive visit, not a schedule that assumes particular queue lengths or demonstration times. If a booth is busy, make a note and return rather than trying to complete every stop in a fixed order.

Check the current facilities notice. The organizer warns that renovation affects AKIBA_ICHI’s second- and third-floor restaurants and toilets. For photography or recording, obtain permission from the circle and people concerned; real-time streaming is prohibited. Visitor cosplay and strollers are not permitted. Follow the full official visitor guide, including its arrival and family instructions.

Our Tokyo Game Dungeon guide explores another event’s approach to showing games. Digi Game Expo offers a separate November date in Akihabara, with creation tools explicitly included in its scope. Check each event’s own admission rules rather than transferring one fair’s arrangements to another.

Sources and checked date

Researched October 29, 2026 using the organizer’s overview, visitor rules and rendered 2026 catalogue, plus the current announcements from CRI Middleware and Team Shinyaku Aragami. Current dates and arrangements should be checked again before visiting.

Japanese perspectives come from the original accounts by らま and Cdec. We read and paraphrased Japanese material with automated translation assistance. The browsing suggestions are our editorial interpretation; we have not attended this edition or interviewed these creators. The credited main photograph shows the venue in 2009.