PAX, which was first called Penny Arcade Expo, is a series of events that celebrate video games, tabletop games, and arcade games. PAX happens every year in Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia, and Melbourne. It was also held in San Antonio in the past.

PAX was started in 2004 by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, who created the Penny Arcade webcomic. They wanted to make an event that focused only on gaming. At PAX, there are speeches by people who work in the game industry, concerts inspired by game culture, discussions about games, booths where game companies show their products, areas for playing games together on connected computers, competitions for tabletop games, and spaces where people can try playing video games for free.

History

The first Penny Arcade Expo took place from August 28 to August 29, 2004, at the Meydenbauer Center. Approximately 3,300 people attended the event. It was later renamed PAX and became an annual event. Attendance increased quickly, reaching about 9,000 in 2005 and 19,000 in 2006.

As the event grew, it moved to the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. Attendance reached about 39,000 in 2007, 58,500 in 2008, 60,750 in 2009, and 70,000 in 2011. In 2011, organizers stopped sharing attendance numbers because it was difficult to count people over multiple days.

In 2009, Penny Arcade partnered with ReedPOP.

PAX Prime 2013, the first four-day PAX event, was held from August 30 to September 2, 2013. Event passes sold out quickly.

In 2010, the first PAX East took place at the Hynes Convention Center from March 26 to March 28, 2010, with 52,290 attendees. The first PAX Prime event in 2010 had 67,600 attendees. PAX East moved to the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in 2011. An agreement in 2012 confirmed Boston as the home of PAX East until 2023.

The first international PAX event, PAX Australia, was held from July 19 to July 21, 2013, at the Melbourne Showgrounds. In 2014, it moved to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, where it continues to be held.

The first PAX South was held in San Antonio, Texas, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center from January 23 to January 25, 2015. It had the highest attendance for a PAX event in its first year. However, the event saw little growth in later years and was canceled in October 2021.

From 2011 to 2020, Penny Arcade held PAX Dev, an annual event for game developers to discuss their work without press. Unlike other events, PAX Dev did not allow reporters. In 2011, 750 people attended.

At PAX South 2017, Penny Arcade and ReedPOP announced a new event called PAX Unplugged. It was held from November 17 to November 19, 2017, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. This event focused on tabletop games, which were only included in other PAX events as a side activity.

The event was originally called the "Penny Arcade Expo" but became known by its acronym, "PAX." Seattle's PAX was renamed PAX Prime in 2010 and PAX West in 2015.

Activities

PAX includes the following activities:

• Freeplay, which includes: Console, Classic Console, Handheld, PC, VR, and Tabletop games.
• Tournaments, which include: Console and Tabletop categories. Some PAX events also have extra tournaments run by companies.
• "Bring Your Own Computer" (BYOC), a LAN Party where people connect computers to play games together.
• Panels, talks, signings, and similar events.
• Concerts.
• PAX Arena, a competition for eSports players.
• The Omegathon.
• An Exhibition Hall, which includes game studios, merchandise, and the Indie Megabooth.

Every PAX includes an event called the "Omegathon", a long tournament that lasts the whole event. A group of randomly chosen attendees compete in a game bracket to win a grand prize. The prize has included things like a large game bundle, a trip to Japan, or a trip to any PAX event. The final round of the Omegathon is part of the closing ceremonies. Past games used in the final round include Tetris, Pong, Halo 3, and skee-ball.

Events

• PAX West (which was once called Penny Arcade Expo, PAX, and PAX Prime) has taken place every year in Seattle, Washington, United States, since 2007 (earlier in Bellevue, Washington from 2004 to 2006).
• PAX East has taken place every year in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, since 2010.
• PAX Aus has taken place every year in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, since 2013.
• PAX Unplugged has taken place every year in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, since 2017.

• PAX South took place every year in San Antonio, Texas, United States, from 2015 to 2020.
• PAX Dev took place every year in Seattle, Washington, United States, from 2011 to 2019.
• PAX Online was held online in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.