The Power of Play: the festival that celebrates video games as a tool for change

27 June 2025, New York – IIDEA, the Italian video game industry trade association, together with the Municipality of Pesaro, CTE Square and the University of Urbino Carlo Bo, are pleased to announce The Power of Play, a new festival dedicated to video games and their potential to build a more aware, inclusive and sustainable future. Scheduled for 10 and 11 October 2025 at the Scavolini Auditorium in Pesaro, the initiative is created in partnership with Games for Change, an international organisation founded in 2004 that promotes the creation and use of video games with a positive social impact. The Italian initiative was announced on the stage of the ongoing Games for Change Festival 2025 at the Parsons School of Design in New York. In line with the American festival’s mission, the Italian initiative aims to promote video games as educational, cultural, and civic tools through projects involving schools, universities, public bodies, non-profit organisations, and businesses.

In collaboration with Games for Change, The Power of Play offers a programme divided into four main sections:

  • Conferences: insights, round tables and case studies exploring how video games can contribute to the positive transformation of areas such as culture, education, health, environmental sustainability, active citizenship and social innovation.
  • Showcase: an exhibition dedicated to video games with a positive impact, featuring demo stations and titles selected from emerging experiences and finalists of international awards, all of which share a significant message or social purpose
  • Networking: An opportunity to bring together developers, educators, cultural operators, representatives of civil society and public institutions to create new connections between creativity, research, technology and community.
  • Award: Special recognition will be given to the best Italian video game published in 2024 with a significant message or purpose (‘Game Beyond Entertainment’), as part of the Italian Video Game Awards. The selection will be curated by a jury of industry experts at a national and international level.

11 October will be dedicated to workshops for schools, debates on video games and education, and opportunities for developers to network. Following its appointment as Italian Capital of Culture 2024 and its designation as the House of Emerging Technologies for Culture, Tourism and Engagement (CTE Square project, funded by the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy), Pesaro is confirming its commitment to being a hub for cultural experimentation and technological innovation by hosting The Power of Play festival.

“Video games have the unique ability to bring together different worlds: technology and creativity, code and art, interactivity and narration. Every title has a story that can entertain, excite or educate. The new festival, The Power of Play, will provide a tangible opportunity to explore the potential of video games in conveying values, promoting well-being, disseminating new skills, and facilitating change to create a more inclusive and informed gaming community. Thanks to our prestigious international partnership with Games for Change, we are delighted to bring this vision to Pesaro, a city that has made cultural innovation a hallmark of its development,” said Thalita Malagò, IIDEA’s General Manager.

“Pesaro combines its cultural and tourist vocation with innovation enabled by emerging technologies. The CTE Square project is creating conditions that allow citizens, tourists and local stakeholders to participate in a significant team effort, where everyone’s actions contribute to the creation of public value,” commented Alessandro Bogliolo of the University of Urbino, the project’s scientific coordinator. ‘The Power of Play festival extends the reach of the House of Emerging Technologies, placing Pesaro at the forefront of the national and international video game scene with a positive social impact.’

For more information, get in touch with IIDEA’s Communication and Events Manager Ilaria Amodeo: ilaria.amodeo@iideassociation.com

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