"Night swallows Porte de Versailles like an overly heavy curtain. Silhouettes gather beneath the pale light of the signs, carrying warm controllers and promises of measured fear and tamed thrills. At the edge of autumn, Paris Games Week transforms: more exhibition than fair, more theatre than booth, it becomes a bestiary of neon and shadows where pixel monsters wait to be awakened. You come to try exclusives, but sometimes leave with something older than novelty: a shiver clinging to the back of your neck. If you love Halloween—or enjoy being frightened in public—this 2025 edition is for you. Bring your flashlight. Do not lose it."
Chapter 1 — The Hat / The Opening: When the Screens Rise
October wind rushes through the walkways of Porte de Versailles, carrying the damp scent of autumn mixed with the electric smell of heated cables. The glass doors of Hall 1 open with a metallic sigh, and thousands of footsteps pour inside like a single heartbeat. Paris Games Week 2025.
The creature has returned for fourteen years. Every autumn it awakens beneath the neon, hungrier and louder. But this time, something is different.
The posters are black and orange, the mascots smile with teeth that are too long, and the programme glimmers with ash and blood. Chance—or the devil—has arranged for PGW to coincide with Halloween. Suddenly, France's biggest video game show has become a cathedral of light haunted by possessed pixels.
In the crowd, whispers are already spreading:
"Did you see? Little Nightmares III is playable at the JBL Quantum booth."
"There's a Five Nights at Freddy's demo, but I'm not sure anyone comes out in one piece."
"And that Paris Games Night—are you going?"
Faces are painted, headsets pulled on like ritual masks. It looks like a digital sabbath: controller priests, keyboard sorcerers and arcade demons.
Above them, screens blink like open eyes in the dark.
Shrieks of fear and applause blend together—it is impossible to tell whether the crowd is celebrating victory or terror.
Welcome to PGW 2025, the Halloween edition.
Here, exclusives emerge from the shadows, cosplayers become creatures, and gaming is no longer just a hobby: it is a collective ritual.
Listen closely between two trailers and you may hear something—a breath. It is not the wind. It is the consoles whispering:
"Play… if you dare."
️ Chapter 2 — The Gates of the Show (dates, times and cursed locations)
Paris Games Week 2025 takes place from October 30 to November 2 at Paris Expo – Porte de Versailles, in the heart of Hall 1 and Hall 2.2.
Four days. Four nights.
In other words: four acts of one ritual, in which every visitor unknowingly becomes a protagonist.
The doors open at dawn—9:30 a.m. for the impatient, those camping at the gates with bright eyes and backpacks full of anticipation.
They close late—9 p.m. on most days, slightly earlier on the last, as if the show itself fears the final curtain.
Stand lights slowly fade as evening approaches. Screens flicker. Fatigue sets in, along with the thrill of having spent the day between two worlds: the living and the pixelated.
️ Tickets:
Tickets are available online from the official website (parisgamesweek.com), with several options:
Single-day ticket, for a brief plunge into the heart of the celebration.
2-day or 4-day pass, for those who want to get lost—literally.
And, more rarely, the Premium ticket, a golden key offering priority access to certain areas for those who know that time is precious in the underworld of the queue.
Location:
Paris Expo – Porte de Versailles, 1 place de la Porte de Versailles, 75015 Paris.
Visitors can arrive by metro (line 12 – Porte de Versailles), tram (T2 or T3a), or on foot, if they have the courage.
Halloween Inside:
The coincidence of the dates gives this year's show a special colour:
On October 31, official Halloween, special activities include horror booths (JBL Quantum, Little Nightmares III, Five Nights at Freddy's), a macabre cosplay contest, treats and a sound and visual atmosphere devoted to fear.
The walkways fill with orange and purple light, creaking sounds and screens flickering like trembling candles.
This is no longer merely a show. It is a living set.
Areas not to miss:
Hall 1: the giants—PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, Ubisoft and Capcom—display their kingdoms of LEDs and noise.
Hall 2.2: curiosity—Games Made in France, independent studios, MO5 retrogaming and developers building nightmares by hand.
PGW Coca-Cola Stage: the esports theatre, where the crowd roars at giant screens like an ancient arena.
And, of course, Paris Games Night, the opening evening on October 29, more intimate and almost shamanic.
⚡ Survivor's tips:
Arrive early: demo queues are already long by 10 a.m.
Wear comfortable shoes: there are 10 km of booths to explore.
Bring headphones or earplugs: trailers and esports concerts can be loud.
Stay hydrated and eat: food corners are available, but prices may sting more than a Dark Souls boss.
Plan ahead: download the official PGW map or risk walking in circles until you meet your own footsteps.
PGW 2025 is a labyrinth of sounds, lights and electronic dreams. As with every good labyrinth, those who enter never leave quite the same.
️ Chapter 3 — The Shadows Ahead (previews and must-see exclusives)
Every Paris Games Week has its stars, its pixel gods descending from marketing clouds to become playable on the show floor. This year, however, the exclusives seem to have sharp teeth.
️ Little Nightmares III — a full-size nightmare
At the JBL Quantum booth, darkness is almost complete. The French playable debut of Little Nightmares III draws an endless queue. Every shadow has intent, every sound is an omen. When the demo ends, players remove their headsets with the fear and excitement left by a great horror story.
Five Nights at Freddy's: Into the Pit — the mechanical monster returns
Further on, amid purple neon and sudden screams, Freddy returns. The animatronic icon stands at the Warner/Steel Wool Studios booth. The short demo hits hard: every flicker makes the crowd jump, turning the booth into a nightmare attraction programmed to the millimetre.
Silent Hill 2 Remake — whispers in the fog
Konami is present, and the Silent Hill 2 Remake demo attracts nostalgics. Bloober Team has restored the cursed city's ash and solitude. Visitors describe an exquisite unease where beauty and horror intertwine.
Silent Hill: fear among the living in the fog of Debisugaoka
⚔️ Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree — the temptation to return
At the Bandai Namco stage, lost souls gather again. The great Elden Ring expansion is playable. Players face colossal creatures beneath the hypnotised crowd's cheers. It is less a game than an initiation rite: a digital demon watches you fall again and again, and smiles.
Metroid Prime 4 & The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Time — the calm before the storm
At Nintendo, visitors focus on Metroid Prime 4, playable as a preview after years of waiting. Nearby, a short closed-door press video of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Time creates a pilgrimage-like queue. The promise feels less like an announcement than an apparition.
Ghost of Yotei — the icy surprise
Quietly announced by PlayStation Studios, this new title from a Japanese studio caused a sensation. Inspired by snowy Hokkaido legends, Ghost of Yotei combines exploration, spirituality and dread. Its PGW 2025 trailer shows demon masks frozen in ice, silent temples and footsteps in snow, ending with a whisper: "You should not have come alone."
Indie surprises: anxiety made by hand
In Games Made in France, independent developers present their creations:
No Signal: a psychological adventure centred on a haunted television.
Cendres Numériques: a narrative exploration of a city erased by collective memory.
Tiny Fear: a cute but sinister puzzle platformer where every success extinguishes another light.
Between dream and nightmare: the art of the trailer
Every hour, giant screens broadcast new trailers: screams, applause and silence. Spectators become hypnotised and lose track of where fiction ends. A hand touches another in the crowd, just to make sure everyone is still together in the real world.
This edition of Paris Games Week opens a door onto video games' darkness. Previews arrive like visions; some visitors leave with merchandise, others with a strange look, as though the show had touched something they preferred to keep asleep.
Video games are, after all, a mirror. Sometimes the reflection is not ours.
Chapter 4 — The Walkways of Terror (Halloween booths and activities)
From the moment visitors enter Hall 1, PGW 2025 swallows them like a dark forest. Orange and purple neon reflects on the stands, while every giant screen blinks like a patient monster. Halloween is not a detail here: it is an atmosphere, a scent and a vibration beneath the skin.
JBL Quantum booth: the kingdom of nightmares
At the centre of the hall, JBL Quantum immediately draws attention. Its installations are no longer simple audio demonstrations, but immersive theatres of fear.
Little Nightmares III and Five Nights at Freddy's are playable on setups designed to maximise anxiety.
Each player receives an isolating headset that turns subtle noises into shivers: a creak, a breath, a chain rattling. Even the queues become haunted corridors decorated with masks and flickering lights.
Visitors return with stories of animatronic hands on their shoulders and laughter that did not come from the crowd.
️ Macabre cosplay: inhabitants of the darkness
In the walkways, cosplayers are no longer simply fans: they are inhabitants of the frightening labyrinth.
Modern Samaras glide between the stands.
Pixelated Slendermen stand silently near the consoles.
Resident Evil zombies wander among the players.
An official Halloween cosplay contest turns Hall 2.2 into a macabre stage. Visitors take photographs, but true fear is not expressed through the lens: it is experienced at eye level, in breath and in shivers.
⚡ Paris Games Night: opening night
On October 29, the evening before the official opening, Paris Games Night offers a limited but intense experience.
Stands open at night.
The first exclusive demos become available.
The atmosphere is hushed, almost whispering.
Selected visitors describe a strange blend of excitement, fear and ecstasy. Lights flicker, music overlaps and every step echoes as though the hall were breathing.
Other themed booths and activities
Bandai Namco: horror mini-challenges mixing Dark Souls and Tales of Arise.
Ubisoft: a Survival Horror zone with immersive VR experiences.
Sony / PlayStation: dark narrative games including Silent Hill 2 Remake and Ghost of Yotei, with interactive sound and lighting.
French indies: Games Made in France offers small-scale anxiety games built for maximum impact.
Together, the stands form a collective story: PGW as a haunted labyrinth where every player becomes an explorer of their own thrill.
️ Sound and visual atmosphere
The Halloween experience extends beyond the games:
Light projections across the halls create moving silhouettes.
Ambient sounds—monster cries, electronic music and distorted voices—make the show feel alive and watchful.
Smoke effects, flickering neon and red LEDs turn ordinary walkways into tests of courage.
Even visitors who come only for new releases are drawn in by the complete mix of games, lights and costumes.
Why you should not miss this chapter of PGW
Total immersion: every step and demo is designed to surprise.
Cosplay and communities: moving macabre creations are as compelling as the games.
Photogenic and viral: the setting is perfect for social media photos and videos.
Halloween as a through line: the seasonal theme becomes a major event.
PGW 2025 is no longer only a meeting place for players, journalists and influencers: it becomes a living theatre of digital horror. You do not enter merely to test games, but to feel, shiver and lose yourself a little.
⚡ Chapter 5 — Arenas of Chaos: esports and major stages
At the heart of Paris Games Week 2025, giant screens showcase more than trailers and demos. They are windows onto esports competitions, where every player becomes a gladiator and every spectator witnesses anxiety and glory.
️ The PGW Coca-Cola Stage: champions' arena
In Hall 1, the PGW Coca-Cola Stage stands like a modern amphitheatre. Every match is a drama.
League of Legends, Valorant and Rocket League unfold beneath dark sets, amplified sound and monster-like lighting.
Spectator cheers echo like sounds in a cavern, with every victory and defeat striking the air like a hammer.
Commentators narrate each clash with theatrical intensity, their voices stretched between tension and celebration.
1V1 Arena: guaranteed thrills
Nearby, the 1V1 Arena offers a smaller but equally intense experience.
Every duel is a dark dance of reflexes and strategy.
The crowd surrounds the tables like gladiatorial spectators, silent before erupting at decisive moments.
Touchscreens and vibrating controllers become extensions of the body amid neon and synth music.
PGW Halloween turns these confrontations into rituals: each victory is an exorcism, each defeat a warning.
Indie and retrogaming stages: a more intimate thrill
In Hall 2.2, independent and retro stages vibrate with a different intensity.
Retro competitions on arcade machines and vintage consoles provoke visceral reactions.
High scores earn applause and defeats draw sighs, but the intimate atmosphere makes the tension subtler.
Visitors can test their reflexes, fight pixelated bosses and rediscover that the thrill of gaming has no age limit.
️ Esports activities and shows
Live demonstrations mix esports and immersive experiences, including quizzes, quick challenges and VR mini-bosses.
Live commentary and cameras focused on players heighten the feeling of a haunted theatre.
Competitions such as Street Fighter VI and Tekken 8 stream with Halloween filters.
⚔️ Why the esports stages are worth visiting
Adrenaline and spectacle: every action feels personal.
Immersive atmosphere: lights, sound and effects amplify the tension.
Community and shared thrills: the crowd reacts as one.
Discovering talent: amateurs face professionals and every duel can surprise.
PGW 2025 turns esports into a night of collective thrills, where fear and excitement mingle, victories feel like exorcisms and defeats remind us that even heroes can fall.
️ Chapter 6 — Laboratories of the Strange: Games Made in France and indies
Behind Hall 1's giants and spotlights, another kind of magic operates in Hall 2.2. The walkways are narrower and dimmer, but each booth is a world of its own: a laboratory of bold ideas and digital nightmares.
Games Made in France: creativity in the shadows
The official Games Made in France area gathers local studios creating deeply immersive experiences beyond blockbuster scale.
No Signal: a psychological adventure where an old television becomes a portal to a corrupt universe.
Cendres Numériques: narrative exploration in a city abandoned by memory.
Tiny Fear: a puzzle platformer where every success extinguishes a light and every mistake revives a monster.
Sound, light and mechanics fuse into lasting unease. Developers are often available to explain their creative process, adding another layer of shadow.
Retrogaming: ghosts of the past
Retrogaming associations such as MO5 install arcade machines and retro consoles. Players rediscover the direct tension of classic games: blurred pixels, saturated sound and enemies appearing without warning.
Castlevania, Alone in the Dark and Resident Evil on the original PlayStation become portals to period nightmares.
Visitors of different generations experience fear and excitement in a direct, raw form.
Light decorations, flickering neon and remixed music keep Halloween close, proving that fear can be simple and elegant.
The charm of French indies
The indie area is not merely a showcase but a meeting place where daring ideas come to life.
Developers explain how they design environments to surprise and frighten.
Every player becomes an actor, explorer and sometimes an accidental character in the studios' nightmare.
Subtle lighting and modulated sound make Hall 2.2 feel almost sensory, as if it were breathing.
⚡ Why explore this area?
Discover local talent: see tomorrow's potential classics take shape.
Intimate immersion: away from the spotlights, the thrill is more personal.
Meet the creators: understand the ideas and techniques behind memorable small games.
Old meets new: retrogaming and fresh ideas create a nostalgic yet modern experience.
In this quieter corner of PGW, Halloween resonates differently. Independent and retro games do not seek to impress through scale, but to capture the essence of a thrill—the feeling that makes you hold your breath in the dark and look behind you.
Chapter 7 — In the Monster's Eye: an immersive report
Walking through Paris Games Week is not enough to understand its soul. You must see it at eye level, breathe in the sounds, feel the lights and listen to the booths' whispers. That is the purpose of an immersive report: to enter a world where gaming becomes theatre, museum and haunted labyrinth.
Capturing the shadow: photography and video
For a Halloween-worthy photo report:
Neon and silhouettes: capture lights and cosplayers in natural or theatrical poses.
Screens and reflections: preserve faces lit by displays, showing wonder and fear.
Movement and thrills: shoot short videos of jumpscare reactions or esports applause.
Subtle macabre décor: use smoke, flickering neon and Halloween decorations.
Every photograph becomes a fragment of a collective nightmare to share on social media or in an immersive article.
️ Interviews: voices from the event
Words complete the image.
PGW organisers: programming, Halloween atmosphere and immersive booth design.
Independent developers: creative processes and intended emotions.
Cosplayers and participants: preparation, inspiration and crowd impressions.
Players and visitors: the thrills, highlights and unexpected surprises.
The interview turns a report into a living story, with every voice adding tension, humour or surprise.
Sensory immersion
The report extends beyond images and words to sound and rhythm:
Booth ambience: machines, trailers, music, screams and applause.
Game sound effects: jumpscares, explosions and digital whispers.
The rhythm of movement: crowds, queues and public reactions.
The reader experiences PGW as a total sensory event in which light, sound and gesture all contribute to tension and pleasure.
Practical immersion tips
Bring light equipment: compact and quick to use.
Observe before photographing: capture emotion at its peak.
Respect participants: reactions to horror games can be intense and personal.
Move like an explorer: anticipate routes, avoid crowded areas and find strategic photo spots.
⚡ Why this chapter matters to game.fr
It turns a standard article into a living experience.
It combines journalism, storytelling and sensation.
It captures PGW Halloween through thrills, emotion and creativity.
It generates visual and narrative content shareable on social media.
Seen through this lens, PGW 2025 stops being a simple show and becomes a theatre of light and shadow, a labyrinth of sensations where players and visitors are both spectators and protagonists.
Chapter 8 — Survive and enjoy: practical advice for PGW 2025
Visiting Paris Games Week 2025 is an expedition through light, sound and pixels. To keep the experience magical rather than frustrating, follow these essential tips.
️ Tickets and access
Online tickets: essential for avoiding queues at the entrance.
1-, 2- or 4-day pass: choose according to your stamina and curiosity.
Premium ticket: for priority access to major booths.
Halloween tip: some tickets provide access to specially decorated areas.
Entrance: Porte de Versailles, Halls 1 and 2.2, 1 place de la Porte de Versailles, 75015 Paris.
Metro line 12 – Porte de Versailles
Tram T2 or T3a
Buses and nearby car parks are available.
️ Opening hours and strategy
Opening: 9:30 a.m.
Closing: 9 p.m. (8 p.m. on the final day)
Paris Games Night: special evening on October 29 for selected visitors.
Tip: start with popular booths such as Little Nightmares III, Silent Hill 2 Remake and Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, then explore the indie and retro areas. Mornings are quieter.
Equipment and comfort
Comfortable shoes: the show is large and involves plenty of walking.
Light bag: for water, a camera, a power bank and merchandise.
Headphones or earplugs: your ears will thank you.
Suitable clothing: temperatures vary between halls and zones.
Food and breaks
Several food corners are spread around the halls, but queues may be long.
Tip: carry small snacks and a bottle of water.
Rest areas: locate benches and quiet corners for a breather.
Thrills and immersion
Halloween is everywhere: orange and purple neon, smoke, eerie sounds and cosplay.
Take time to explore indie and retro booths, where horror and wonder remain human-sized.
Take breaks between intense horror experiences to preserve the fun.
⚡ Strategies for maximising the experience
Plan the booth order: avoid wasting time in crowded walkways.
Take discreet notes or photos: remember games and surprises.
Talk to creators: ask questions and learn the stories behind each game.
Respect queues and other visitors' space, especially in esports and VR zones.
Let yourself be surprised: the best moments can come from unexpected booths.
Paris Games Week 2025 is an adventure, a ritual and a journey where curiosity, courage and patience are your best allies. Be ready to get lost, explore and feel everything—while remembering that something beneath the lights and pixels may be watching.
Chapter 9 — The Echo of Pixels: conclusion and final atmosphere
When the doors of Paris Games Week 2025 close, the crowd disperses, but something remains. Neon still flickers in memory, while the sounds and images of games, cosplay and haunted booths linger like afterimages.
Halloween amplified the experience. Walkways, halls, esports stages and indie areas became a living labyrinth where thrills and wonder shared every step.
️ The reflection of games and emotions
Blockbusters impressed with their power and spectacular previews.
Independent studios charmed and frightened with bold ideas.
Retrogaming recalled the raw beauty of classic pixels.
Esports transformed adrenaline into a collective spectacle.
Every experience was a window onto the imagination, with Halloween as the connecting thread between shadow and light, fear and pleasure.
The annual ritual
PGW is more than a show: it is an annual ritual, a meeting with anticipation and surprise. This year, Halloween intensified the thrill: visitors did not simply play or watch. They felt, lived and sometimes trembled.
✨ A final message to game.fr readers
If you have not yet passed through the gates of PGW 2025, prepare yourself:
Comfortable shoes, wide-open eyes and a heart ready to beat with the pixels.
Expect to be surprised, amazed and occasionally frightened.
Follow your curiosity: every walkway is a story and every booth a fragment of a wonderful nightmare.
When you leave into the Paris evening, you will understand that video games are more than a hobby: they are doors into worlds where fears and wonders mingle.
Paris Games Week 2025, the Halloween edition, will remain in people's memories. Through the walkways, screens, laughter and screams comes a persistent echo of haunted pixels whispering:
"Come back next year. We will be here, ready to surprise you again."
Official Paris Games Week website — general information, tickets and programme. parisgamesweek.com
Programme page — daily activities and booths. parisgamesweek.com
Press releases and media guides: Sortiraparis, CNews and Le Monde.
