Rapture Gaming Festival Colchester 2026: Gary Kirby Interview

Big-event gaming returns to its Colchester home

Rapture Gaming Festival returns to Colchester on 1–2 August 2026, bringing gaming, retro classics, esports, cosplay, robot combat, indie developers, live entertainment, and community activities to Charter Hall and its outdoor festival arena.

Rapture Gaming Festival was created to bring the scale and variety usually associated with major UK gaming events into regional communities. The Colchester festival is the 15th Rapture event overall and the fifth held in the city, which is also home to organizer Fragers.

Ahead of the festival, Fix Gaming Channel spoke with Gary Kirby, founder and CEO of Fragers and Rapture Gaming Festival, about the vision behind the event, its growing UK tour, opportunities for independent developers, and the attractions visitors should not overlook.

We will also be following Little Devil, one of the independent games attending the festival and a previous Fix Gaming Channel Game of the Week selection.

What is the main vision behind this year’s Rapture Gaming Festival in Colchester?

As with all Rapture Gaming Festival, it was born of a want to take the breadth of content normally delivered to the major events at the NEC in birmingham and Exel in London, but taken to more local areas. this is our 15th rapture, the 5th in Colchester, which is our home town of my company Fragers

What will make the 2026 event different from previous Rapture festivals?

This will be the first time its part of a tour of shows across the UK all in the same year.

Illustrated map of Rapture Gaming Festival at Charter Hall Colchester showing the gaming hall, outdoor arena, entrance, and parking areas

Rapture Gaming Festival will use both Charter Hall and the outdoor arena during the Colchester event.

How do you balance the different parts of gaming culture, including indie games, retro gaming, tabletop, esports, cosplay, and community activities?

Show by show and area by area the balance of content changes, having all elements is important to me to inspire visitors to enjoy areas they love, and to find new passions

Rapture Gaming Festival tournament schedule featuring Street Fighter 6, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, EA Sports FC 26, Minecraft, Fortnite, Counter-Strike 2, Rocket League, Rainbow Six Siege, and League of Legends

Free-to-enter prize tournaments will run across both days of Rapture Gaming Festival Colchester 2026.

What are you most excited for visitors to discover this year?

The armybus will be open upstairs this year, thats such a cool asset we take to events across the UK for the British army almost every week

How do you choose the developers, creators, traders, and other exhibitors appearing at the festival?

Developers we partner with GameAnglia and GameDev Local to curate our indie publisher content along with bringing in partners like Aunglia Ruskin University, Essex Coucil

How important is Rapture as a platform for smaller independent developers and projects?

Its a wonderful opportunity for hands on break test of their code and a fab chance to network with other games creators, especally in the afterlife that flows straight from the main day into the evening

What goes into organizing a regional gaming festival that visitors might not normally see?

alot. its hard work, demanding on the venue, given the breadth on content

What do you hope people will take away from the weekend, beyond simply playing games?

Get inspired, learn new hobbies, meet other gamers,

Is there anything at the Colchester event that you think deserves more attention?

The Robot Arena is an international tournament with nearly 40 teams competing. its exciting stuff!

Where would you like to take Rapture Gaming Festival in the future?

Continue to expand its regions in the UK that are underserved gaming content.

A regional festival built around discovery

The range of activities is a large part of the festival’s identity. Visitors can move between modern and retro gaming, competitions, cosplay, robot combat, wrestling, live entertainment, tabletop experiences, merchandise, and independent games rather than attending for only one part of gaming culture.

For smaller developers, the event also provides something that online promotion cannot fully replace: players sitting down with the game, testing it directly, reacting in person, and speaking with the people making it. The partnership with Game Anglia and GameDev Local gives the indie area a clearer development and networking focus.

The Robot Arena may be one of the weekend’s biggest attractions, with nearly 40 teams expected to compete. The British Army engagement bus will also be open upstairs, giving visitors access to an attraction that normally appears at events around the UK.