PAX Aus Reveals 12 Indie Showcase Winners Ahead Of October Festival

PAX Aus has revealed the 12 winners of its 2026 Indie Showcase, selecting six digital games and six tabletop titles that will be playable at this year’s festival in Melbourne.

The winning games range from a simulator for restoring old video game cartridges to a noir murder mystery solved alongside a police dog, a Roman duck empire deck-builder and a cyberpunk card game built around hijacking data packets.

All 12 titles will be exhibited at PAX Aus 2026, running 9-11 October at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, where attendees will be able to play the games and meet the developers behind them.

This year’s Indie Showcase is sponsored by Australian internet provider, Superloop, which is providing upgraded exhibition pods with larger artworks and more space. Each winning team will also receive 12 months of free internet and an eero 7 modem.

Superloop’s CEO, Paul Tyler, outlined the company’s rationale for backing the showcase.

“Gamers are some of the most connected and performance-conscious internet users in the country. They expect speed and low latency, and that’s exactly the network Superloop has invested in delivering,” Tyler remarked.

“The developers behind these games are taking big swings that push technology, creativity and connectivity further every day. They’re builders, innovators and challengers by nature. Supporting the Indie Showcase is about backing the next generation of creators and showing up for a community that shares that same ambition to challenge what’s possible.”

The six digital winners

Cozy Game Restoration by Parasol Corp is a simulator in which players bring forgotten video game cartridges back to life, tearing packing tape, peeling old stickers and lifting away grime to transform dusty relics into collectibles. The game is designed without pressure or failure mechanics, focusing on the process of restoration itself.

Key Fairy by Owl Machine is a hand-drawn, pacifist, folkloric bullet-hell game. Players grapple and dance around monsters to collect shattered stars, weaving through twisting paths and encountering strange folk in a 2D action-adventure.

Finch & Archie by Octarine Arts is an episodic co-op noir murder mystery. Players take on the role of either detective Jack Finch or his police dog, Archie, using deduction skills and sense of smell to find evidence, interrogate suspects and catch culprits in a story set during the Great Depression.

The Last Exterminator by Ironworks Games is a 90s-style action shooter built on a custom engine developed in-house by the studio. The game leans into over-the-top action, corny humour and explosive set-pieces while aiming for accessibility through its bespoke engine.

Mission Delta by Polarity Games is a co-op action roguelike shooter in which players fight through a corporate skyscraper floor by floor as escaped experiments, fusing weapons and stacking upgrades.

A Real Life Party by Silakka is a comedy game using photos and videos as its visual medium. Players navigate a flat-warming party through first-person grid-based movement, interacting with peculiar roommates across hundreds of lines of recorded dialogue.

Polarity Games’ Aiden described the journey to selection.

“We first applied for the Indie Showcase back in 2024, when Mission Delta was still a little too early in development. We didn’t make the cut then, but after giving the game some more time to cook, we decided to give it another shot this year and were thrilled to find out that we’d been selected,” he explained.

“It’s been a long-time dream of mine to showcase a game of my own at PAX and we can’t wait to present Mission Delta in person for the first time this October.”

The six tabletop winners

Thrive by Avant-Card Games is a card game in which players take on the role of animals trying to survive in the wild by secretly choosing where to forage and how much energy to spend. Designed for quick 15-minute rounds, the game is suitable for ages six and up and groups of two to four players.

Aqueducks by Corkscrew Games is a Roman and duck-themed deck-builder in which players establish a new city for the ducks of Rome. Players develop a productive economy, building their city through trade, military might, urban centres or monuments via a 3D tableau system.

Deathbed by Devil Juice is a symmetrical hand management card game set around the death of an old king. Players use simultaneous selection, card tracking and prediction mechanics, each working from identical starting hands to try to hold the most influence when the king finally passes.

Drago’s Dreamland is a board game in which players travel as rainbow pixies, hearing stories, trading items and collecting wisdom points while interacting with mythical characters. The game was developed over 30 years by artist, teacher and designer, Emily Dallwitz.

Caught in the Rain by The Ravensridge Emporium is a solo or GM-less tabletop role-playing game focused on mysteries across any genre. Players take the role of investigators, uncovering truth through scenes and clues while managing escalating danger.

Wireburn by Wireburnthegame is a cyberpunk card game for one to six players. Players deploy data packets to three docks, matching maths, hijacking colours and overloading systems to damage opponents, with a final “Firewall” phase triggered when a player empties their hand.

PAX Aus 2026

PAX Aus 2026 runs 9-11 October at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre as part of Melbourne International Games Week, which is now delivered by ACMI, Australia’s national museum of screen culture.

The Indie Showcase provides independent developers with an opportunity to exhibit their games to attendees, media and industry professionals at the festival. Tickets and further information are available at https://aus.paxsite.com/.

Last Updated on September 1, 2026 by Nick Ross