RE-DESIGN. Regenerating Virtual Space through Italian Game Design
From 10 to 12 February 2026, to celebrate Italian Design Day, we present RE-DESIGN. Regenerating Virtual Space through Italian Game Design, a project interpreting the video game as a language of contemporary design and a space where design, culture, and technology converge, will be presented in Poland.
The programme stems from the dialogue between two key contexts in the European video game sector: Poland, with its well-established industry and ecosystem of innovative hubs, and Italy, renowned for its emphasis on aesthetics, narrative and design research, home to centres of exceptional excellence. The initiative aims to establish a shared platform for exchange and build bridges between the two countries, fostering cultural dialogue, professional collaborations, and new development perspectives.
The programme is promoted by the Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Varsavia, the Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Cracovia, the ICE – Italian Trade Agency and the Ambasciata d’Italia a Varsavia, together with IIDEA – Italian Interactive Digital Entertainment Association, and is organised in collaboration with Video Games Poland. It will take place in Warsaw and Krakow, and will involve development studios, industry professionals and a specialised audience.
“Game design today represents one of the most advanced forms of contemporary design, capable of combining creativity, technology, and industry,” said the Italian Ambassador to Poland, Luca Franchetti Pardo. “Through this initiative, we aim to promote Italian excellence in this innovative sector and strengthen dialogue with a country that plays a leading role in the European video game landscape.”
‘These events represent a strategic opportunity to enhance the cultural dimension of video games, recognising them as a central language of our time and a soft power tool capable of conveying identities, imaginations, and visions, as well as acknowledging game design as an expression of contemporary Italian creativity,’ said Thalita Malagò, Director General of IIDEA. ‘The value of the initiative is further strengthened by the context in which it takes place — Poland, which is now one of the leading reference points for the video game industry in Europe and internationally — and by the fundamental support of the Italian institutions that promoted and organised it.’
The event aligns with the theme of Italian Design Day 2026: ‘RE-DESIGN: Regenerating spaces, objects, ideas, relationships”, offering an interpretation of regeneration that extends into digital realms and virtual environments. This involves developing new forms of aesthetics, ethics, usage and storytelling with tangible and transformative impacts on reality.
The programme includes two strands: in Warsaw, ‘Worldbuilding and Community: Cities, Memories, and Beliefs in Italian Video Games”, exploring video games as cultural spaces and expressive media, and “Hybridisations, Interfaces, and New Forms of Play”, focusing on game design as a field of research and experimentation where genres, interfaces, and languages interact, will be held in Krakow.
The event will take place on 10 February at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Warsaw and on 12 February at the Wesoła Immersive Art Centre in Krakow. There will be panel discussions, networking sessions for specialists, and showcases of video games created by Italian studios, including Stormind Games, Memorable Games, Cinic Games, Invader Studios, Smalthing Studios, Volcanite and Studio Evil. As part of the initiative, professional visits and industry meetings are also scheduled with some of the leading figures in the Polish video game industry, including CD PROJEKT and 11 bit studios.