Play Expo confirms first fourteen indie studios for October Expo

The number represents a considerable increase in developers exhibiting at their annual gaming show.

Andy Brown, Director at Replay Events said “We are overwhelmed by the support the indie game community has shown our expo this year. The indie zone was a very popular feature at our Play Blackpool show in May as well as at Play Expo last year so we wanted to build on that momentum for this October’s show which is shaping up to be our best yet!”

Play Expo is now in its fifth year and has established itself as a firm favourite amongst gamers. The event saw close to 16,000 attendees in 2013 and the organisers have increased the show space to accommodate up to 25,000 gaming fans this year. As well as an indie zone, the expo features esports, current gen gaming, a retro zone, cosplay, industry speakers and special guests.

Fully Illustrated owner Michael Heald who is exhibiting at the show said “Wulverblade is a HD 2D side scrolling beat-em-up that aims to revive this lost genre and bring the classic arcade gameplay to the next generation on Xbox One - we’re proud to say that Wulverblade was selected as one of the first 25 ID@Xbox titles to appear on the new system! We’re hoping to be able to bring both a taster of the campaign itself as well as a ‘survive as long as you can’ arena mode to Play Expo and we can’t wait to get people’s feedback!”

James Woodrow, Utopian World of Sandwiches Director added “We came to Play Expo in 2012 and had a great time playing Chompies with everyone. This year it’s going to be even bigger and better, with even more of our fellow indies joining in the fun. We’re really looking forward to showing everyone in Manchester our nine-player sequel Chompy Chomp Chomp Party on the Wii U. We want to get the whole crowd involved!”

The organisers are offering indies special low rates for space and power on the main show floor and there are a variety of packages available to suit small studios as well as individual developers. Anyone interested in exhibiting should email Replay Events directly - [email protected]

The studios and games confirmed to date are:-

Boneloaf - Gang Beasts

Fully Illustrated - Wulverblade

Lamplight Studios - A Pixel Story

Mechabit - Kaiju Panic

Payload Studios - TerraTech

Hidden Armada - Mutiny!

Utopian World of Sandwiches – Chompy Chomp Chomp Party

Leda Entertainment - Bopscotch

Application Systems - Ghost Control

Application Systems - Nelly Cootalot: The Fowl Fleet

Cinemaware - Wings: Remastered Edition

Dojo Arcade - Creature Battle Lab

Tall Studios - Shoot ‘Em Up Kit

ProjectorGames - Dungeon Crawler

ProjectorGames - Fortress Craft: Evolved

Strategic Designs - Starters Orders

Replay Events have already announced GameSeek as their retail partner, have revealed several industry speakers including Charles Cecil MBE and have also released details of a number of high profile film and TV guests including Star Wars, Dr Who and Red Dwarf actors.

Play Expo returns to EventCity (next to the Trafford Centre) in Manchester on 11/12 October 2014. Tickets are available from www.playexpo.net