It's perhaps the ultimate trade convention, with more than 50,000 people coming to play video games or show off their latest addition to the industry.
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And among the happy, no doubt distracted gamers trying their hand at PAX Australia in Melbourne this month will be a record 13 Canberra game developer teams.
Whale Hammer Games co-founder Peter Castle said his team would use the unique opportunity to get their game, Tahira: Echoes of the Astral Empire, in front of as many people as possible ahead of its release early next year.
"It's also a great place to foster connections with Sony, Microsoft and big console providers," he said.
The Whale Hammer team have been living the dream full-time since a successful crowdfunding effort scored them $68,000 in March, and it's their first time showing off their debut game at the major annual event.
Co-founder of Watson developers Cardboard Keep, Calum Spring, has been there before and said it was the best opportunity developers had in Australia to present their games to a live audience, with international industry figures also attending.
Last year they took their debut major game, Warden: Melody of the Undergrowth, to PAX and it was greenlit – or approved – by users of the leading online distribution platform Steam days later.
"One of the biggest things is it changes your approach in marketing the game and explaining it to people," he said.
"And it means you leave with a completely different interpretation on what your game is to the public, and then you can ask yourself, 'do we change the game to meet those expectations, or do we change the pitch to align the expectations of the game?'"
The Cardboard Keep team will be hoping for strong interest again this year ahead of the game's release in early 2016 after more than two years' work.
It comes as a Senate inquiry looks into what government can do to help the video game industry, which brings in more income than Australian films. Mr Castle said a common call in submissions was for the reinstatement of a $20 million developers' fund, cut in the Abbott government's first budget, which required those receiving more than $200,000 to pay the money back with interest.
Mr Spring said removing red tape and excessive administrative demands would be the best thing government could do to help start-up gaming companies.
