Best Events & Community in Florida — 16 verified listings

• CEO Fighting Game Championships — Orlando. 16th annual fighting game convention at Rosen Shingle Creek, August 14-16, 2026. Features 30+ tournaments, 100+ arcade machines, 50+ vendors across 200,000 sq ft of dedicated FGC space. Held in Orland
• Free Play Florida — Orlando. Florida's largest arcade, pinball, and retro games expo. Three-day event with hundreds of machines on free play, hosting the annual Stern Pro Circuit pinball tournament and 40th Anniversary NES retros
• Dice Tower East — Orlando. Family-friendly board game convention at Caribe Royale Orlando July 1-5, 2026. Features 2,000+ titles in the library, flea market, Dice Tower Top 10 events, and PitchCar with Tom Vasel. Held in Orland
• MEGACON Orlando — Orlando. Four-day pop culture convention at the Orange County Convention Center March 19-22, 2026. Features e-gaming arcades, Magic: The Gathering, Super Smash Bros. tournaments, and celebrity panels. Held in
• Tampa Bay Comic Convention — Tampa. Annual pop culture convention at the Tampa Convention Center September 4-6, 2026. Family-friendly event featuring comic books, anime, gaming, Star Wars/Star Trek panels, and free kids' admission. Held
• Holiday Matsuri — Orlando. Florida's largest anime convention at the Orange County Convention Center December 18-20, 2026. 50,000+ fans for cosplay, gaming tournaments, themed dances, and 18+ nightlife at Hyatt Regency Orlando.
• WasabiCon — Jacksonville. Northeast Florida's largest pop culture convention at the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center October 9-11, 2026. 165,000+ sq ft across anime, cosplay, K-pop, tabletop gaming, and video games. Held
• Anime Town Pensacola — Pensacola. Regional anime convention at the Pensacola Interstate Fair May 8-10, 2026. Brings voice actors, vendors, and fans together across classic and modern anime fandoms with panels and cosplay. Held in Pens
• Pensacon — Pensacola. Pensacola's annual multi-genre pop culture convention featuring sci-fi, fantasy, anime, gaming, and celebrity guests across the historic downtown Pensacola Bay Center venue. Held in Pensacola, Florida
• Anime South — Pensacola Beach. Pensacola Beach three-day anime convention featuring artist alley, cosplay competition, dealer's room, gaming, and maid/host cafe programming. Held in Pensacola Beach, Florida. Anime conventions combi
• IGDA Jacksonville — Jacksonville. IGDA Jacksonville is the chapter for Northeast Florida, drawing from regional indie studios and UNF's game programs. The chapter focuses on professional development and networking events. Programming
• IGDA Orlando — Orlando. IGDA Orlando serves Central Florida's deep game industry, including FIEA, Full Sail University, and EA Tiburon's regional pipeline. The chapter runs networking events, talks, and student outreach. Orl
• IGDA South Florida — Miami. IGDA South Florida is the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Palm Beach chapter of the IGDA, serving developers across South Florida's small but growing indie scene. The chapter hosts meetups, demos, and student-f
• Extra Life — Orlando. Extra Life is the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals' gaming program, mobilizing streamers and tabletop players to fundraise for sick and injured kids in their local communities. Since 2008 it has r
• Full Sail University Game Programs — Winter Park. Full Sail in Winter Park, Florida runs a slate of bachelor's and master's programs in game design, development, art, and business. The school is one of the largest dedicated game-school pipelines in t
• FIEA (UCF Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy) — Orlando. FIEA is the University of Central Florida's graduate game school, located in downtown Orlando. The 16-month MS program runs cohorts in art, production, and programming who ship a portfolio game togeth

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