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| (Image Source: Women In Games International) |
A first-of-its-kind international gathering exploring video games as culture is about to take place on November in Rome, Italy with the Checkpoint Festival, a four-day boutique event presented by Women In Games International and Centro Sperimentale di Arti Interattive (CSAI) celebrating the cultural power of play – uniting global leaders, academics, and creatives from across the games industry. Blending heritage, innovation, and community, Checkpoint Festival is slated to be held against Rome's historically rich backdrop at the GAMM Game Museum, Rome’s museum entirely dedicated to video games as cultural heritage, on November 13-16, 2025 featuring a two-day curated programme of talks, panels, and forums designed to reframe how games are understood and valued — not just as entertainment but as art, culture, and social catalysts. The conference will also be live-streamed via Women in Games’ RingCentral platform.
Among the keynote sessions are two pivotal talks by European trade bodies Ukie (UK Interactive Entertainment) and IIDEA (Italian Interactive Digital Entertainment Association) on shaping the international conversation around games and society. Ukie CEO Nick Poole OBE will open the festival with ‘Video Games & Culture: The Power Of Play To Shape Society’, exploring how recognizing games as culture is key to building an inclusive and globally significant creative sector, followed by IIDEA Director General Thalita Malagò with ‘Cultural Code: Elevating Italian Identity Through Games’, offering an inside view into Italy’s growing role as both cultural curator and creative powerhouse within the games industry. These sessions set the tone for two days of deep conversation on video game culture and the culture of video games, spanning preservation, diversity, and the future of interactive media. Unlike large-scale trade shows, the Checkpoint Festival is deliberately intimate and designed to encourage thoughtful dialogue and collaboration between industry leaders, policymakers, academics, and creatives, underscoring its mission to celebrate games as art, history, and identity. Other sessions will include the following:
Curating the past: Games as heritage, history and culture (November 13)
• Expanding Horizons: Women, Culture, And The Future of Games – Micaela Romanini, Women in Games Italia
• Saving Play: Preserving Games For Future Generations – Andreas Lange, EFGAMP; Natalia Kovalainen, Embracer Games Archive; Bartosz Kwietniewski, GOG; moderated by Marco Accordi Rickards
• New Horizons: Technology And The Future Of Play – Roberto Genovesi, Rai Kids
• Flock XR: Inspiring The Next Generation Of Game Developers – Dr Tracy Gardner, Co-Founder and CTO, Flip Computing
• Storytelling, Heritage, and Innovation: Screamer – Speaker from Milestone TBC
Questioning the present: Culture, inclusion, and innovation (November 14)
• Keywords & Women in Games: Building Inclusive Communities For Lasting Change – Athena Maria Enderstein, Keywords Studios
• When Worlds Collide: Creating Games In A Polarized World – Kate Edwards, Geogrify/SetJetters
• Localization, Culturalization, And The Art Of Connection: Translating Worlds Panel – Micaela Romanini; Francesca Noto, Idra Editing; Valentina Mollica, Testronic
• The Playful Renaissance: Games Beyond The Factory – Dr Chris Lowthorpe & Sean Taylor, PlayHaus
• Gamescom Awards Present 2025: Trends In Gaming – Benjamin Rostalski, Foundation for Digital Games Culture
• Real-Time Emotion And The Future of Immersive Play – Prof. Karen Cham FRSA, Kingston University BRAINS Lab
• Where Respect Becomes Action: Storytelling For Empathy, Inclusion And Integrity - eShodo Studio
• Playable Memories: A Collector’s Journey Through Games and Time – Cayetano Torres, Magical Analytics
Women In Games International CEO Marie-Claire Isaaman said, “Checkpoint Festival represents a moment of reflection and renewal for our industry. By bringing together cultural institutions, policy leaders, and creative pioneers, we are asserting that games are more than products — they are powerful expressions of human creativity and cultural identity. Rome, with its history of art and ideas, is the perfect place for this dialogue to begin.” For CSAI and GAMM Game Museum Director Marco Accordi Rickards, “Games are not just entertainment, they are vessels of memory, imagination, and cultural identity. When we tell stories through interactivity, we are not only preserving our heritage but reinventing it for future generations. Innovation is, in the end, the most powerful form of remembrance.”
Following the two days of discussions and panels, GAMM Game Museum Rome will host two more days of showcases, interactive workshops, and more on November 15-16, 2025. To celebrate this landmark event, a special Checkpoint Festival poster has been created by d3t, a co-development studio within Keywords Studios. Drawing inspiration from classic film festival aesthetics and the grandeur of Rome itself, the design is a love letter to both the city and the festival’s cultural mission. d3t Head of Studio Louise Andrew said, “As a work-for-hire co-development studio, our team of over 200+ game developers understand the importance of working with our partners collaboratively and to the brief and timelines set out by them. Therefore, when we were asked by the Women in Games team to collaborate with them on a poster for the upcoming Checkpoint Festival, it was an opportunity that we were delighted to support. The work that Women in Games do in championing women within the games industry, is something that aligns strongly with d3t and our values of culture, community, and inclusivity, and when we spoke to our artists, it was clear that they wanted to support the event. The final piece that our team has created has taken influence from some of the iconic film festival posters whilst also integrating some of Rome’s most renowned landmarks. This has resulted in a bold and tasteful poster for the event, and one that we at d3t were privileged to play a part in creating.” For more information, visit www.checkpointfestival.com.
