The Insomnia Gaming Festival took place during the last weekend of August 2022 and brought together a community of gamers from around the globe, showcasing the latest and greatest in gaming culture. From its humble beginnings in 1999, the festival has grown to become the largest gaming event in the UK and Ireland, attracting over 70,000 visitors each year. This year’s event was held at the NEC in Birmingham, and featured some of the biggest names in gaming, including Sony, Microsoft, EA and Ubisoft.

The event had something for everyone, with a huge variety of activities on offer. The main stage hosted a range of tournaments, talks, and live performances from some of the biggest names in gaming. There was also an array of indie games, virtual reality experiences, and experiences for people to try out. The festival also featured an impressive range of merchandise, from limited edition shirts to gaming-themed art.

Overall, the Insomnia Gaming Festival was an amazing experience. The atmosphere was electric, with a great range of activities and attractions to keep everyone entertained. It was a great opportunity to meet other gamers, try out new games, and pick up some awesome merchandise.

Insomnia Gaming Festival – Indie Area

The Indie game area had a strong focus on development and streaming, with many indie developers showcasing their games throughout the weekend.

Insomnia Gaming Festival – Q&A Panels

Q & A panels were frequent and gave visitors to a chance to ask questions to their favourite streamers. Visitors who were new to streaming took away a lot of helpful knowledge on how to get started and audience retention.

Insomnia Gaming Festival – Stalls and Merch

There were a huge amount of stalls around the event, selling everything from PCs and games, to Japanese toys and sweets, to Insomnia themed merch.

Insomnia Gaming Festival – The Dark Room

John Robertson’s excellent comedy show The Dark Room had two shows during the weekend, one show dubbed The Dark Room For Kids, and one named The Dark Room Boss Level. For those unaware of the genius of John Robertson, The Dark Room show is a live action, fully improvised parody of the early 80s Fighting Fantasy / Choose Your Own Adventure books in which random audience members are presented with options on a screen and have to make decisions to navigate out of a dark room, inevitably leading to their demise. It has to be seen live to be fully understood, although I must confess I have seen it live a few times yet still don’t understand! I just know it is one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen!

Insomnia Gaming Festival – Gaming Areas

The main focus of Insomnia is gaming, and there are a huge range of games to be experienced. From arcade to home consoles, PC gaming to VR, it is all here.