IVIPRO DAYS 2026

Trieste, Italy | November 5-7 2026

The annual event dedicated to video games as a medium for exploring real places and cultural heritage returns to Trieste from Thursday 5 to Saturday 7 November, once again as part of the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival, Italy’s leading event dedicated to science fiction.

As in previous years, the three-day programme will be introduced by a series of online previews, streamed live on the GameCvlt channels from mid to late October. The sessions will offer an early glimpse of some of the themes that will take centre stage during the event in Trieste.

Please note that all online previews will be in English, except the ones on October 12, 22 and 28. The sessions on November 5 and on the morning and early afternoon of November 6 will also be in English.

***

The 2026 edition expands its international outlook even further, bringing together different cultures and perspectives. Actual places are still the starting point: a context to be translated into interactive experiences, an opportunity to build partnerships, and a means of creating a tangible impact on local communities. These ideas will shape the opening day of the in-person programme, aimed in particular at professionals working across the video game industry, culture, and research. The day will feature a strong Spanish presence, with guests bringing perspectives from different parts of the country.

IVIPRO DAYS will also look at video games as a lens through which to examine the world around us. The online previews and in-person programme will tackle a range of political and social issues: from the relationship between video games, identity and politics in Brazil to Afro-Indigenous worldviews; from today’s theatres of war to the rise of new forms of fascism, explored through a new focus-group format. Memory and the contemporary world will provide another recurring thread throughout the programme. Topics will range from the history of Berlin to the preservation of video game and film heritage; from the horror narratives inspired by archaeology to the reinterpretation of the past. The programme will take us from significant experiences in Poland to the experimental work emerging from Italy’s independent game development scene.
The economic and professional dimensions of the industry will also be on the agenda. Licensing, games user research, anarcho-capitalism, sustainability and new models for the Italian video game ecosystem will feature in a number of sessions, alongside contributions from representatives of politics and the banking sector.
The winners of the 2026 Giovanni Pollicino Award, recognising the best university theses on video games, will be announced on the third and final day of the event.

Event promoted by IVIPRO Association and Trieste Science+Fiction Festival.

DISCOVER THE PROGRAMME
REGISTER NOW!

DOWNLOAD THE PRESS KIT