PAX Online
In our previous post, we explained that while we still had hoped to bring you PAX West this year, protecting the safety and health of our community is our highest priority. The more we worked on a solution, the more it became clear that if we really wanted to welcome everybody home, we’d have to remove the physical barriers entirely, and simply take PAX Online.
Going digital means a lot more than just a change in venue though, and by transcending the physical, in fact, we’re able to do more PAX than ever before!
PAX Online is the result of the convention-organizing supergroup made up of the people responsible for PAX West, PAX Australia, as well as our new friends at EGX to create our new PAX Online and deliver a steady 24/7 stream of content, events, discussions, and gameplay.
Oh, and did we say 24/7? We actually meant 24/9, because we’re going to be running this virtual shindig for nine straight days, from September 12th through the 20th.
We’re sure you have questions, and you should! We waited this long to announce so that we could offer these pre-emptive answers to how, exactly, we’re going to pull this off:
So when do badges go on sale?
They don’t! PAX Online will be free and open to the public. If you can access the internet, you can go to PAX Online.
But what about Panels?!
Going “online” generally means the addition of Streamed Content, and boy have we got that covered. Three channels’ worth, to be exact, with literally nonstop content running non-stop each and every day In addition to digital adaptations of the panels, concerts, and competitions that pack our theatres at a traditional PAX, we’ve got some new and exciting stuff as well as a few surprises planned, thanks to both our friends in Australia as well as our EGX friends in London bring you even more special content.
Is Esports Content?
Yes, content means Esports too! We’re hammering out a lot of the details that we can’t wait to announce, but for now we can say that PAX Online will be “hosting” “some” “tournaments” “throughout” the week.
Where’s the booth(s)?
Sending the expo hall to the Grid has been quite the tall order, but we’re reticulating splines, and uh, building data trees, on a project that will let you download and demo games from the comfort of your home! We want to replicate the thrill of the Expo hall as much as possible.
Oh no, what about Merch?!
Thought about this one a lot, and it turns out, we can just sell merch…on the internet. But seriously, if you were looking forward to kitting yourself out in PAX University gear for either West or Aus, we’re planning to have both shows’ collections available online all summer long in addition to a brand-new collection of exclusive PAX Online goodies. Some Early PAX West goodies are available for pre-sale right now and PAX Aus items will be available in the next few days!
What if I want to find and make friends?
There’ll be more details on this soon, but we’re prepared to offer a host of different ways to interact with the greater PAX community including custom chat rooms, tournament-aggregation systems, and the means to find groups to game with all week long!
So what’s next?
Well, here are a few ways to keep up and get involved:
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We’re so excited to share our new version of PAX with you. The last time PAX was a 24-hour show was…well, actually, it was the first one ever, almost 16 years ago! History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes.
We’ve got our work cut out for us, but we’re hoping that while everyone’s living on the internet, we can maybe help it feel a little more like home.