Somehow, PAX Aus has found even more stuff to squeeze onto the show floor.

Callum Berry.

We’re now just days away from PAX Aus 2026, and the organisers have dropped another round of announcements for this year’s show.

Nintendo, Bandai Namco and World of Warcraft are all joining the expo floor, bringing with them some games that Australian players will be getting their hands on either for the first time — or well ahead of release.

And Blizzard has apparently decided that simply having a booth wasn’t enough.

Nintendo Brings Some Early Hands-On Opportunities

Nintendo will have quite a bit going on this year.

For the first time in Australia, attendees will be able to get competitive with Nintendo Switch Sports Resort ahead of its October 22 release, alongside demos for Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave and the Pokémon Pokopia Expansion Pass. PAX Extra Exhibitors Pitch

There’ll also be an exclusive Pikmin Bloom event running on the show floor.

Perhaps more interestingly, Nintendo’s partner games will also be playable, with Monster Hunter Wilds, Minecraft Dungeons II and 007 First Light among the titles mentioned.

007 First Light in particular is one I’ll be interested in getting my hands on (though I’m partial to Minecraft Dungeons…).

PAX has always been at its best when there’s a game you weren’t necessarily planning to play and you suddenly find yourself standing in front of it with a controller in your hands, so we’ll see how we go – it’ll be a long 3 days as it is.

World of Warcraft is Going Big

This one is probably the biggest surprise of the announcement.

World of Warcraft executive producer Holly Longdale will open PAX Aus 2026 as this year’s Storytime keynote speaker, discussing her career in the games industry, the continuing evolution of Warcraft and the role player communities have played in MMOs. PAX Extra Exhibitors Pitch

She’ll also be joined by associate production director Clay Stone, who will give attendees an in-depth look at one of the new dungeons coming to World of Warcraft: Forever, including some behind-the-scenes discussion about how the development team actually puts these things together. PAX Extra Exhibitors Pitch

As someone who spends far too much time running around Azeroth, this is probably going fairly high on my list.

There’ll also be a dedicated World of Warcraft: Forever booth where attendees can play the beta throughout the weekend.

And because this is PAX, there’s a little quest involved too.

Visitors can collect a ‘Raid for Riches’ quest card, complete activities and unlock a special World of Warcraft: Forever Pinny Arcade pin, as well as an entry into a prize draw. PAX Extra Exhibitors Pitch

I am, regrettably, extremely susceptible to this sort of thing.

Bandai Namco Has Dragon Ball and Ace Combat

Bandai Namco is bringing along two pretty sizeable games of its own.

DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 3 will make its Australian playable debut at PAX ahead of its planned 2027 release, giving us our first local opportunity to see what the next Xenoverse game actually feels like. PAX Extra Exhibitors Pitch

Meanwhile ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE will also be playable — only about a week after its October 2 launch.

Ace Combat is one of those franchises that has quietly been around forever, so I suspect there’ll be a pretty dedicated group heading straight for this one.

Even the Queue is Becoming an Event

One of the stranger additions this year is what PAX is doing with the Queue Hall.

Rather than merely being the enormous room where everyone waits impatiently for the doors to open, PAX is turning it into something of a pre-show in its own right.

The Queue Hall will operate between 8:00am and 10:00am, with activities taking place while everyone waits for the main expo floor to open. PAX Extra Exhibitors Pitch

And there are a couple of fairly unexpected things happening in there.

With the new Street Fighter movie hitting cinemas on October 15, Street Fighter will essentially take over part of the Queue Hall. People in the crowd may be brought onto the stage to play Street Fighter 6 live, with some Street Fighter gear up for grabs. PAX Extra Exhibitors Pitch

There’ll also be a Bluey activity each morning called Here Come the Grannies!, where lucky attendees will be dragged — hopefully willingly — onto the stage for the chance to win Bluey merchandise and copies of Bluey’s Happy Snaps: Activity Book Edition. PAX Extra Exhibitors Pitch

Street Fighter and Bluey sharing the same PAX announcement is a combination I wasn’t expecting.

But somehow it works.

PAX is Getting Very Close

This latest announcement follows the already enormous expo-floor reveal, which included the likes of SEGA, Square Enix, Activision, Ubisoft, Mwave, Aftershock and more than 90 indie games.

With Nintendo, Bandai Namco and World of Warcraft now added to the mix, I’m beginning to think my usual approach of wandering around and seeing where I end up may require slightly more planning this year.

PAX Aus 2026 runs from October 9–11 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Good thing we have three days.