While it’s been a mainstay in Las Vegas for the last ten years, I had never heard of LVL UP Expo before attending last week. That’s surprising, because I visit conventions around the country all year long. Every year I attend 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:San Diego Comic Con, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Summer Games Fest, PAX East, PAX West, BlizzCon (168澳洲幸运5开奖网:when it happens) and D23 Expo (when it happens) as well as competitive events like the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Pokemon World Championship. From now on, LVL UP Expo will be right at t🐓he top of that list.

Unlike most fan expos, it’s a li🌱ttle hard to pin down exactly what LVL UP Expo is all about. It’s a unique blend of Anime Expo, EVO, PAX༺, Comic-Con, and, believe it or not, WWE, that’s unlike any convention I’ve ever seen. I regret missing out on such a cool show all these years, and now I’m on a mission to make sure no one else misses out on it too.

The Everything Convention

LVL UP Expo is held in the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center every spring, and sees more than 100,000 attendees over three days. A lot of what you’ll finꦦd at LVL UP you can find at almost an🔯y fan convention.

The exhibitor floor, covered end to end with pop-up sho𒅌ps and branded photo ops, is filled with the usual suspects. Samsung was there to show off Call of Duty mobile on the new Galaxy S25. Stylin Boxes had their usual assortment of overpriced Bob Ross and G.I. Joe mystery boxes. Wild Bill was there with its various root beers and giant copper mugs. There were cosplay contests, anime trivia, and celebrity meet-and-greets (Neil Newbon was especially popular). If you’re looking for the quintessential fan convention experience, LVL UP checks all of the boxes.

What impressed me was how far beyond the normal convention scope it reached. It’s normal to see meet-and-greets and artist alleys (one of the biggest I’ve ever seen) at a Comic-Con, but you wouldn’t also see an EVO-like fighting game tournament, TCG events for five different games, and a retro world series featuring Halo 2, Mario Kart: Double Dash, and Sonic the Fighters tourneys. You might see a pop-up Maid Cafe at Anime Expo (no judgement) bಌut you wouldn’t also find solo developers with playable demos of their new indie games. Whatever your nerdom, it probably has a place at LVL UP.

Did I mention the pro wrestling? Nestled in between the retro console zone and Johnny Rockets 50’s style hamburgers was a full-sized wrestling ring where wrestling𒊎 shows took place throughout the weekend. That’s something I’ve never seen at any anime or gaming conventions before, but it took the expo to the next level.

I’m usually pretty satisfied with a convention after the weekend, but three days was not enough to enjoy everything LVL UP Expo had to offer. Not only because there was so much to do, but also because there was🌠 so much to do for free.

Getting Your Money’s Worth

I was invited to LVL UP Expo by PM Studios, a developer, publisher, and support studio that has had a hand in creating or distributing a number of high-profile games, including Black Myth: Wukong, Honkai: Star Rail, and the upcoming Yooka-🧸Replaylee. PM Studios, along with a few other publishers, had a bevy of demos for new and upcoming games to play with little to no wait, which was a breath of fresh air for someone who's used to standing in endless lines at PAX. I had so much fun with Dragon is Dead - a brilliant mashup of Diablo 2 and Dead Cells - that I spent a couple of hours just grinding the demo.

Everywhere you look at LVL UP Expo you’ll find something to get your hands on. Next to PM Studio’s booth was 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:a Japanese arcade with over 200 games, all set to free play. You could spend the entire weeken♑d just playing arcade games, and a lot of people did. Upstairs near the wrestling ring, a pair of iconic Battlebots were on display, brought over from the nearby Battlebots Arena. Here you could get your hands on miniature bots and have a battle of your own, or test out some drones in a little obstacle course.

There were open seats for Mario⭕ Party, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and Mario Kꦍart 8 Deluxe. When there weren’t any tournaments happening, you could use any of the CRTs in the retro area to play Dreamcast or Sega Saturn games. An entire corner of the tournament area was dedicated to VR, and anyone could walk up and play. There was even an Osu! Tournament set up in the tournament hall with over a hundred PCs. Osu!

I will not miss another LVL UP Expo. It has eveꦫrything I like about fan conventions, and so many things I can’t get anywhere else. If you’re local to Las Vegas or just looking for an excuse to visit Sin City, mark the last weekend of April on your calendar, then brush up on your Halo 2 tech and start putting together that Hatsune Miku cosplay you’ve always wanted to wear.