Bucharest Gaming Week 2026 Kicks Off
Romania's biggest gaming event kicks off online on Saturday, 14 November, with two days of live tournaments and challenges on YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch, continuing for a whole week in Bucharest: films at the cinema for 15 lei, competitions in gaming halls, and high school student visits to development studios. Through the play.smart campaign, the organisers are using their influence over young audiences to explain to teenagers that gaming is about skill, not luck.
The Kick-off Weekend: From Minecraft to Counter-Strike 2
On 14, 15 and 16 November, Bucharest Gaming Week opens its tenth edition where gamers spend their time: online. 26 of Romania's most-followed gaming content creators are bringing their communities together for two days of tournaments, prize competitions, and challenges in the most popular games of the moment. Hundreds of thousands of gamers are expected to watch the broadcasts on www.bucharestgamingweek.ro.
xSlayder, Ovvy, Mădălin, Werty, Gannicus, BoboSpider, Jaxi, Antonia Nuckle, Patricia Stammer, SylvaticStone, Sinner, Vehy, Nocivanu, Loore, Scărlătescu, Wizzee, EmanuelCVG, Adrii, Reddysh, Cristi YT, Yonete, Karina and IceManLucky are kicking off the festival on their own YouTube, TikTok and Twitch channels.
Minecraft, Roblox and Brawl Stars, as well as Counter-Strike 2, EA SPORTS FC 27, PUBG and League of Legends: the weekend brings together very different communities, from kids building their first worlds in Minecraft to competitive players. Fans join the game alongside their favourite creators in gaming sessions, tournaments, and prize competitions. Also, streamers are preparing their face-to-face meetings with gamers at Romexpo.
A Gaming Festival That Takes Responsibility for Its Audience
The gaming community is one of Romania's youngest and most connected audiences, and content creators have a relationship of trust with them that few institutions still possess. That's precisely why Bucharest Gaming Week and its partners initiated play.smart this autumn, a programme that informs teenagers and young people about the risks of gambling, in their own language and on the channels they already follow.
Following the activations in September and October, the programme continues as part of the tenth edition of Bucharest Gaming Week, starting with the online weekend itself. play.smart messages reach the public through the streamers who open the festival and are integrated into activities throughout the week. In the official Bucharest Gaming Week Treasure Hunt, participants receive extra points if they correctly answer questions about the risks of gambling addiction. All these activations are part of the long-term play.smart programme, initiated and funded by Bucharest Gaming Week together with its partners.
“Bucharest Gaming Week has never just been about new releases and games. It's about community. We have a huge and very young audience that listens to us and trusts us, and that comes with a responsibility. That's why we started and fund, along with our partners, play.smart. Gaming is about skill, not luck, and we take on the role of openly telling teenagers what risks other games, gambling, bring with them,” states Tudor Dăescu, co-organiser of Bucharest Gaming Week.
Next Week: Gaming Hits the City
After the streaming weekend, Bucharest Gaming Week continues in Bucharest with events for video game enthusiasts. In partnership with Cineplexx, at Cineplexx Titan cinema, three films inspired by gaming will be screened at the special price of 15 lei per ticket, each time starting at 7:30 PM:
Monday, 16 November: Need for Speed, starring Aaron Paul as a racing driver seeking revenge after being unjustly sent to prison
Wednesday, 18 November: Resident Evil: Vendetta, an animated film in which Chris Redfield, Leon S. Kennedy, and Rebecca Chambers try to stop a deadly virus in New York
Friday, 20 November: A Minecraft Movie, with Jason Momoa and Jack Black, trapped in a world where they must survive, build, and use their imagination to get home.
The screenings are part of the Treasure Hunt: spectators can scan codes from the official Bucharest Gaming Week app at the cinema for extra points, which they then convert into prizes at Romexpo.
Throughout the week, there will also be competitions in gaming halls, workshops, and educational activities. High school students will visit video game development studios, see how industry professionals work, and learn what a career in gaming concretely entails.
19 November, the Week's Big Moment: GTA VI Launch
Bucharest Gaming Week also has a moment the entire industry is waiting for: on 19 November, Grand Theft Auto VI, the most anticipated game of the decade, is launching. Just two days after the launch, on the weekend of 21–22 November, gamers will be able to play it at Romexpo, where the largest Bucharest Gaming Week edition ever organised will take place. Guests include Ned Luke, the actor who played Michael De Santa in GTA V, and Christopher Judge, the voice of Kratos from the God of War series.
“Ten years. Ten editions. And we've arrived exactly where we needed to be: in the week GTA VI launches. On 19 November, the game everyone has been waiting a decade for comes out, and two days later, gamers will play it at Bucharest Gaming Week, alongside Michael De Santa from GTA V,” adds Tudor Dăescu.
Beyond GTA VI, the biggest Bucharest Gaming Week edition to date will bring together approximately 50 stands and interactive zones, with games on PC, consoles, and mobile devices, board games, VR experiences, competitions, and activations dedicated to all categories of gamers. Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, LEGO Romania, Vodafone, George, McDonald's, Mountain Dew, Old Spice, TCL, and numerous other partners will prepare experiences and challenges for visitors, and the Treasure Hunt returns with prizes totalling 25,000 Euros.
More information about the Bucharest Gaming Week programme and guests is available on www.bucharestgamingweek.ro. Tickets are available on www.iabilet.ro.