PAX Aus 2026 is Looking Absolutely Massive!

PAX Australia has revealed a huge chunk of its 2026 expo floor — and there is a lot going on this year.

Callum Berry.

We’re now only a few weeks away from PAX AUS 2026, and the organisers have finally pulled back the curtain on a large part of this year’s expo floor.

And it’s looking pretty crazy.

PAX will once again take over the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from October 9–11, bringing together games, hardware, tabletop, esports, creators and all of the strange little things that make wandering around the PAX show floor so much fun.

There’s an enormous amount announced, but a few things immediately stand out.

SEGA is Bringing the Big Guns

SEGA might have one of the most interesting booths this year, with four playable games on the floor.

That includes Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000, Alien: Isolation 2, Stranger Than Heaven and — probably the one I’m most interested in — Persona 4 Revival.

Yes, Alien: Isolation 2 will actually be playable (if you’re brave enough).

The original Alien: Isolation remains one of the better uses of the Alien licence in gaming, so being able to get our hands on its sequel before release is reason enough to make a trip over to the SEGA booth. Persona 4 Revival being there certainly doesn’t hurt either.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Will Be Playable

Activision is also bringing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 to Australia ahead of its October 23 release.

PAX attendees will be able to play a selection of the multiplayer component on the show floor, which means Australian players are getting one of their first proper opportunities to try the game before launch.

I’m always interested in seeing how enormous games like Call of Duty handle the PAX environment. Even if you aren’t a huge COD player, there’s normally something entertaining about watching a crowd descend on a new game for the first time.

Square Enix Has a Lot Going On

Square Enix is bringing Final Fantasy XIV Online back to PAX once again, with playable Nintendo Switch 2 gameplay as well as various activities and a developer panel featuring Localisation Director Michael-Christopher Koji Fox and Global Community Producer Toshio ‘Foxclon’ Murouchi.

But perhaps the bigger surprise is FINAL FANTASY VII REVELATION.

Square Enix will be showing off the concluding chapter of the Final Fantasy VII remake project ahead of its April 8, 2027 release, giving Australian fans an early look at Cloud and company’s final showdown with Sephiroth.

That’ll almost certainly be one of the busier attractions of the weekend.

Don’t Forget the Indie Games!

One of my favourite things about PAX has always been finding games that I had absolutely no idea existed before walking onto the show floor.

This year there will be more than 90 games spread across the Aus Indie Showcase, PAX Rising and New Zealand’s Centre of Digital Excellence.

The enormous publisher booths are obviously exciting, but the indie section is one of those parts of PAX where you can lose a couple of hours without noticing. You’ll play something because the artwork looks interesting, end up talking to the developer for twenty minutes, and suddenly you’ve found a game you’ll be following for the next year.

Lots of Toys to Play With

It wouldn’t be PAX without an unreasonable amount of PC hardware.

Mwave is taking the phrase “build your own” rather literally this year — they’re putting a sandpit on the show floor with a remote-controlled excavator that attendees can use to dig for prizes.

I’m not entirely sure what excavators have to do with building a gaming PC, but I also absolutely want to have a go.

Aftershock is bringing new PC builds, demos, a racing simulator, cosplayers and its new Aftershock Journey Book, which sends attendees through six themed stalls collecting stamps for a chance to win one of two custom PCs.

PowerA will also be showing off the Meridian Flight Controller for Xbox and PC well ahead of its planned 2027 release, alongside its usual collection of controllers, headsets and accessories.

eBay Live, Ubisoft, Racing and More

There are some pretty strange and interesting experiences scattered around the rest of the floor too.

eBay Live is appearing at PAX Aus for the first time, with live shopping, special drops, guests, a Collectors Club House and various giveaways running throughout the weekend.

Ubisoft will have a sizeable presence as well, including the Rainbow Six Siege APL Oceania Stage Finals, where four teams will fight over a $40,000 prize pool and a place at the Osaka Major.

There’s also an Assassin’s Creed Sea Shanty Singalong — which is exactly the sort of weird activity that should exist at PAX — alongside cosplay, Just Dance and even an opportunity to take on Mozzie voice actor Martin Copping in a Rainbow Six Siege 1v1.

Lexus is somehow getting involved too, bringing one of fewer than 200 examples of a rare Lexus vehicle to the show alongside racing simulators containing a virtual version of the same car.

Because why not?

Good thing we have three whole days to soak it all in!

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