GX Australia, Australia’s only video games convention dedicated to LGBTQ+ developers and fans, will open the doors on its second and — for now — final show next month. The news that the show will not be back in 2018 was announced this morning via the show’s official Kickstarter page.
The Kickstarter post, made by the show’s two organisers Joshua Meadows and Liam Esler, goes into some detail on the reasons behind the show’s early retirement, citing difficulties in finding financial backers that would follow through on their pledges to support the show as a leading cause.
The post also stresses that the 2017 convention, held April 29-30 at Sydney Showground, will go ahead as planned and that tickets are still available.
The show’s end is a blow to both the Australian LGBTQ+ and local independent game development communities. The 2016 show, which we covered right here on The Iris, was memorable for the candour of its panels, the access its guests offered to attendees (the Technology Park location meant guests were walking the halls between panels and happily stopping to chat and answer questions on the way) and its deeply welcoming, low-key atmosphere.
We are sorry to see you go, GX Australia. We hope you’ll be back very soon, be it in a similar or wildly different form, because we still need you.
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