Johannesburg — 5–7 December 2025. This past weekend Fourways Mall’s brand-new Level 8 rooftop became ground zero for South Africa’s gaming and geek culture, as rAge Expo 2025 turned the mall into a packed playground of sim rigs, cosplay, indie games, esports finals and maker energy. The move to the rooftop paid off: the venue gave gamers room to breathe and organisers space to imagine, and the result was a festival that felt both huge and distinctly local.
From the moment the gates opened, rAge served up the full menu that fans expect — old favourites and bold new reveals. NAG (Need A Game) anchored the event with a massive presence: a three-zone showfloor that included the NAG Retro LAN (a 40-seat throwback battleground), a cutting-edge hardware and peripherals showcase, and the BT Games mega-stand. The retro zone was a standout, inviting players to relive classics on plug-and-play setups while newer crowds hunted for the latest graphics cards and Razer kits.
But the BYOC LAN remained the heart of the weekend. With a dedicated 5,600m² rooftop LAN space offering aircon, high ceilings, secure parking and 24/7 competitive energy, hundreds of gamers settled in for marathon sessions — some starting early with Super Pass access on Thursday and others in for the full Friday-to-Sunday grind. LAN partners Cool Ideas and Pure Storage kept the network and servers humming, ensuring the pro-level stability top-tier gamers demand.
Esports finals and community tournaments raised the stakes. From Call of Duty crown matches to Varsity Esports showdowns and the local Mamelodi Sundowns Championship in FC26, rAge combined high-level competition with grassroots passion — prize pools and school tournaments amplified the sense that South African esports is maturing fast. Casual visitors cheered on university teams and township talent alike, while daily ACGL fighting cups and racing leaderboards kept the energy electric.
The expo also doubled as an innovation stage. Playable indie showcases in the Home Coded zone put South African developers front and centre — titles like chaotic party brawler Mighty Peckers, the beta debut of dark-fantasy OMEN (access via an exclusive prequel comic), and the NFC-enabled boardgame ToTheMoon! all invited public playtests and community feedback. These local-first demos captured the crowd’s imagination and underscored rAge’s role as a launchpad for homegrown talent.
Hardware and experience demos pushed boundaries, too. PDC’s VITURE One AR glasses offered cloud-gaming on a floating 120-inch equivalent display; Razer and Turtle Beach curated competitive arenas and audio demos; VanguardPC x Takealot ran show-only deals on prebuilt rigs; and Evetech, Citroën and Monster Racing ramps gave real incentives for leaderboard kings and casual thrill-seekers alike. For expo-goers hunting the latest tech and the best bargains, the floor was a shopping list come to life.
rAge’s Artist Alley and community areas delivered the softer, human side of the weekend. Legion Events’ Artist Alley hosted more than 50 stalls of original art, cosplay accessories and indie merch, while the Jam Arcade and women-led game jams showcased the next generation of creators. Attendees could meet artists, commission work on the spot, or try their hand at daily build challenges — a reminder that rAge is as much a creator festival as it is a consumer expo.
Standout moments spilled beyond the show floor. Live-build projects — including the zaLUG crew’s ambitious LEGO Death Star — drew families and builders into collaborative, slow-burn spectacles. Immersive activations (from Disney’s Alien: Earth walkthroughs to lightsaber workshops) and late-night anime programming expanded the audience beyond gamers to families and pop-culture fans. It was an intergenerational weekend: toddlers in the LEGO pit, teens in tournaments and adults browsing retro rigs.
Organisers were clear about one thing: rAge’s move to Fourways Mall isn’t temporary. The rooftop location proved a game-changer — literally — offering proximity to a major retail hub with seamless parking, food and facilities that make long LAN weekends less punishing and more social. For a festival built on staying power, that infrastructure matters.
If there was a single theme running across the weekend, it was community growth. From school-level esports to indie devs showing prototypes, and from hardware partners offering discounts to LANners bonding over coffee and overnight snacks, rAge 2025 felt like a living ecosystem — one that now has the space to grow. Expect this rooftop chapter to shape the expo’s future: bigger LANs, bolder activations and a deeper focus on South African creators.
