It’s time to game on at PGDX.
Filipino game developers, as well as gamers, finally had their chance to shine over the whole course of PGDX (Philippine Game Dev Expo) 2026 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.
Organized by CBZN Perspective in partnership with the GDAP (Game Developers Association of the Philippines), this event showcased local indie games, the latest innovations and technologies from various industry partners, e-sports tournaments, pop culture merchandise, and workshops for game developers, enthusiasts and attendees alike.
Indie game showcase
In the event, many of the Philippines’ game developers exhibited their creations in the “Indie Game Stars” section inside the exhibition hall.
Handcrafted mostly by aspiring youngsters, many of the indie games presented offer diverse genres, ranging from adventure games to action games. Often, these games also aim to reinvent the wheels, coming up with unique, creative and fun ideas going outside of the box.
Here are some noteworthy examples, some of which even gained international recognition overseas:
- Sepak U – Developed by Good Knight Collective, the developers describe their latest project as “sports game mixed with Super Smash Bros.” Two players pit against each other in an intense game of sepak takraw, a Southeast Asian sport, in which the Filipino game ‘sipa’ is related to. The game can be played either locally or online. During the whole course of the event, the developers held a mini tournament every afternoon.
- Strik9 – Developed by Basika, this game combines frantic ‘bullet hell’ gameplay with rhythm-based action and roguelike elements. Players must survive waves of enemies by maneuvering their surroundings and following the beat of the music, all while traversing deep into the abyss.
- Dogwood – Developed by Team Soleil, a team of siblings, this is a cooking action RPG where players manage their own restaurant and gather ingredients in the battlefield. This game features a unique gameplay wherein the player must switch the polarity (red/blue) of their projectiles to effectively fend off against monsters.
- Until Then – Developed by Polychroma Games and one of the most famous of the bunch, this is a narrative-driven adventure game where you play as the game’s protagonist Mark Borja where he and his friends must uncover and unravel a hidden truth before it’s too late. The game has been nominated with multiple awards overseas.
- Lily Adventuresses – Developed by DagitabSoft, this simple but ambitious pro-LGBT RPG anthology series features different protagonists across its episodes. The story features different themes across the anthology, and is free to download in the developer’s website.
Aside from the local indie game developers, others from countries like South Korea and India also exhibited their indie games in the event.
Aspiring student game developers
Indie game showcases aren’t just limited to those in the video game industry – students are given a hand in the showcase as well.
Students of DLSU College of Saint Benilde also made their way into PGDX this year, even so far as to having their own dedicated booth showcasing their previous indie game entries.
One of their exhibits, Anito Crosshatch, is a tool that showcases the capabilities of the Philippine-made “Project Anito” game engine, in particular its cross-hatching graphical effects. Another exhibit of theirs, Fix-a-Bots, is a math educational game that aims to teach students pattern recognition through fun puzzles and minigames.
The school also showcased their VR simulation game called Ben Labs, which puts players into a simulated version of the school campus through virtual reality.
The challenges in developing a game
While the game development industry in the Philippines continues to grow significantly as the number of young people, particularly graduates, gravitate towards it, it still faces a number of challenges as well as gaps that needed to be filled to be on the same level and recognition as with other countries.
“Actually, our industry is what I would call something like growing. We have a lot of talented people here, both in art or programming or even basic game design. However, there are still some gaps that need to be filled up,” as said by Temothy Hemocillo, BSIT Major in Multimedia graduate and faculty member at University of San Jose-Recoletos.
“More specifically, we have game development students. Once they graduate, a lot of them probably don’t have anywhere to work afterwards. So, we need more companies to take in talent from the Philippines.”
“(And right now,) we even have projects that is aimed at digitalizing historical landmarks. We recently went to Japan last March, and we have one of our papers.”
“It was a VR game that explores Cebu’s historical landmarks. It’s now actually a full published research paper that is published in IEEE. So (those things) that Is what we were aiming for with game development (in the Philippines).”
The passion to make games
In the end, no matter what, it is always true that creating games is a passion especially for the aspiring youth generation.
It does not matter whether or not a person is young or old, nor does it depend on the amount of experience one has.
Kyle, the lead programmer of Dogwood, has been working on his game since he was 17 years old, together with his siblings. While it aims to be released some time next year, the game has received recognition from the press, both locally and internationally.
It’s the passion that truly drives one to make games. The Philippine Game Dev Expo this year perfectly encapsulates this principle, showcasing the lengths of the Filipinos’ creativity.
