Who We Are and Why
University of South Wales will be hosting the BDiGRA 2026 conference in central Cardiff in late June/July
Building on the previous BDiGRA theme, “What is British Game Studies?”, this year we seek to expand the conversation through two interlinked ideas: periphery and identity.
With the first-ever BDiGRA event in Wales, we aim to foreground the conditions of developers, makers, cultural critics, and researchers working within and around the edges of British games culture. Our intention is to foster discussion about the unique identities, challenges, and creative opportunities that arise from the peripheries – be they geographic, cultural, political, or industrial.
In doing so, we hope to punctuate a space for discourse that contributes to broader national and global conversations on game studies.
And, truthfully, we also miss the playfulness of fringe and underground events that brought us together over the years and would like to revive some of that creative spirit.
About the Conference
The conference will take place in June 30 and July 1st 2026 and will feature:
Invited keynotes
Workshops and roundtables around the central themes
Lightning talks for short-form research presentations
Traditional conference presentation
Exhibitions, demos and workshops
The event welcomes participation from academics, industry professionals, and other relevant communities.
Hybrid attendance options will be available: live streaming for delegates unable to attend in person, and video presentation options for remote speakers.
Submission Tracks
Track 1: Lightning Presentations
Format: 5-minute lightning talks showcasing emerging or experimental research
Submission: Abstracts of 200 words
Send to: bdigra2026-cardiff@southwales.ac.uk
Subject Line: Lightning
Track 2: Traditional Conference Presentations
Format: 20-minute paper presentations
Submission: Abstracts of 500 words
Send to: bdigra2026-cardiff@southwales.ac.uk
Subject Line:Papers
Track 3: Exhibition & Demos & workshops
Format: Interactive installations, playable prototypes, creative works, visual exhibits, workshops
Submission: 300-word description including technical requirements and intended audience experience* within reasonable resource limits
Send to: bdigra2026-cardiff@southwales.ac.uk
Subject Line : Exhibitions, Demos, Workshops
Equity and Access:
To ensure a fair distribution of opportunities, no author may present more than two contributions (including single and joint-authored submissions).
Conference Themes
Identities at the Periphery
Identity runs through all the conference themes, while the periphery provides the critical lens through which we explore non-mainstream, marginalised, and hyper-local practices.
Anchored by discussion from and around communities of producers, players and commentors
We situate, but not exclusively, discussions on video game creation within the nations and regions of the UK – focusing on knowledge exchange, industry collaboration, and research-driven design practice.
We seek to examine peripheral player cultures; festivals, fringe gatherings, play spaces, player motivations – and exploring how games support identity, wellbeing, and lifelong learning.
We would like to bring together perspectives from players, journalists, influencers, researchers, and designers to examine identity within games discourse, development, and play.
We welcome work engaging with tabletop, role-playing, and board game cultures, and forms of hybridization alongside digital games
Guiding Questions
Across these themes, we invite submissions that engage with, but are not limited to – the following questions:
Identity and Community
How can games foster identity and community in divisive political and cultural times?
How do regional identities manifest in the aesthetics and themes of games made in peripheral places?
How have the identities of designers, academics, and players evolved over the past 20 years?
How do local indie productions engage with cultural identity differently from AAA studios?
What role can educational institutions like USW play in shaping developer and academic identities?
Regional and National Perspectives
What can be learned from comparing the games industries and academic contexts across UK nations and regions?
What barriers to entry exist for developers, students, and academics – and how do these differ across locations nationally and globally
How can we strengthen modes of knowledge transfer between academia and industry?
What stories or perspectives are currently overlooked in British games research?
Sustainability and the Climate Crisis
How can sustainable practices and net-zero goals be embedded in game making and research?
How does pro-sustainability focused design help shape the current gaming landscape, what needs to change going forward?
How can emerging technologies (such as AI) be used responsibly & sustainably?
Defining the Periphery
What does it mean to be ‘peripheral’ in British gaming – geographically, culturally, politically?
Who defines the periphery, and how are those definitions contested?
What has become of the UK’s indie festivals and local games celebrations – and how might we reimagine them?
Intersectionality and Representation
How do race, gender, class, disability, and sexuality intersect within British gaming spaces?
How do these experiences differ between regions and between offline and online communities?
How is designing for disability made viable for peripheral creators? What are the challenges?
Commercial and Cultural Tensions
What tensions exist between commercial success and authentic representation for peripheral creators?
How do funding, geography, and scale influence creative freedom and visibility?
How do local traditions and folklore interact with global gaming expectations?
How, why and what form does the production of art and cultural commentary occur via the medium of games?
Decentring Dominant Voices
How can games research elevate underrepresented voices and decentre mainstream narratives?
What critical lenses best capture the lived experiences of makers and players at the periphery?
What role can games (or Serious Games) play in discussing & highlighting issues around mental health & wellbeing?
Milestones
Important Dates
Submission deadline 24th February 2026 (abstracts and workshop/exhibition/demo proposals)
Notification of acceptance by 30th March
Conference setup Mon 29th June 2026
Conference Tues 30th June and Weds 1st July 2026
Registration
In-person (employed delegates) £50
In-person (PGR/unwaged delegates/discounter) £10
Online attendance £10
All in-person registrations include refreshments and lunches for both days.
While online participation is welcomed, we encourage in-person attendance where possible – particularly for presenters.
All in-person registrations include refreshments and lunches for both days.
While online participation is welcomed, we encourage in-person attendance where possible – particularly for presenters.
EDI
University of South Wales is committed to its equality, diversity and inclusion policy in addition to upholding BDiGRA policy and DiGRA’s Code of Conduct