rAge, the Really Awesome Gaming Expo, kicked off at the Gallagher Convention Centre from December 8th to 10th, and the 2023 year’s event absolutely rocked Midrand. Over 33 000 attendees, to the hundreds of stands selling merch, tech, and trinkets, the 21st edition of this annual expo was one for the books.

Michael James, Project Director for rAge, had this to say, “The journey to rAge 2023 felt like living in the pages of a wild adventure novel. There was elation, chaos, kindness, disappointment, joy, harmony, challenges, and hard-won success, and that was just on Tuesday. In the end a core team of heroes vanquished those forces set against them and prevailed with a smashing achievement.

Our story ends in a tavern (home), feasting on delicacies (hotdogs was the only thing in the fridge) while lifting a tankard of ale (coffee) and eyeing the next venture in the new year. Perhaps that was a little dramatic, but at times believe it or not, that’s exactly what it felt like. A little like a video game actually. One visitor summed it up perfectly when he said, ‘I want to live here.’

2023 felt amazing with epic stands, new ideas, inventive cosplay, imaginative builds, and enthusiastic crowds that kept everyone on their toes.”

Esports Expertise

One of the biggest highlights of rAge 2023 was the multitude of Esports competitions, including contests in Valorant, FIFA 23, F1 23, Apex Legends, Minecraft, Mortal Kombat 11, Call of Duty Mobile, Tekken 7, Street Fighter 6, Brawl Stars, Clash Royale, Forza Horizon 5, and EAFC24.

Doritos came aboard as a sponsor of the annual bring-your-own-computer/console BYOC LAN event – South Africa’s largest 3-day, 24-hour celebration of gaming. Hundreds of gamers set up to compete, stream, and solo their way through a variety of popular titles. “Fuelling the fierce spirit of gaming, Doritos is proud to be behind the Mettlestate casual cups since September 2023. Our commitment to transforming the gaming culture in South Africa is unwavering. By sponsoring the rAge LAN, we aim to create an epic gaming experience, because at Doritos, we do everything for the bold!” said Ntumi Kondile, Brand Manager; PepsiCo South Africa.

Tournaments Abound

Carry1st, one of SA’s biggest game publishers, hosted the VALZA Cup, a massive Valorant tournament with a prize pool of R150 000. The winners were Nixuh.

Raging River hosted a fantastic tournament called ‘Raging Robots’, where players had to build their own bot with code, in a drag-and-drop play feature. This was a huge hit, with hundreds of gamers shooting their shot.

Mamelodi Sundowns hosted their second iteration of their FIFA 23 Championship and Kaylan ‘KaylanYT’ Moodley was crowned back-to-back winner.

RGB Gaming was back with some fantastic initiatives for this year’s expo. They brought the first-ever live Virtual Reality Arena to rAge; a 100m2 laser tag arena for two-on-two competitions. 

RGB Gaming also held their annual Minecraft Championship on the Friday, pitting primary schools against each other for ultimate honours. Crawford Fourways won the competition. On Saturday, 15 University teams went head-to-head in RGB Gaming’s Apex Legends Championship, with the winner being Vossie Renegades. Finally, Sunday saw RGB Gaming’s Rookie Rumble, where a bunch of schools competed in a Minecraft tournament for the first time ever! Trinity Centurion were crowned the winners.

UGC hosted their annual rAge Drive and saw a record turnout for these fighting game tournaments. Jabhim took home the Street Fighter V title, DAXPT was victorious in Tekken 7 and the Mortal Kombat winner was Kiis_Land-AMT.

Local is Lekker

The game developers that exhibited in the Home_Coded area were a massive hit with the crowds. The games included AVOID, Meow Meow Wizard Arena, Poached: Hunt the Hunter, Themba: The Last Hope, and World Turtles. Local developers included Glitch Portal and Ingozi Games, whose games made waves at the expo.

Shop-a-rollicking!

The expo was packed to the brink with precious goodies for lovers of all sorts, featuring 28 flea market stalls, 42 vendors in the Artist Alley, multiple hardware retailers, stands selling gaming accessories, 3D-printers, and the incredibly popular Red Rabbit Tattoo Studio where attendees queued for a chance to immortalise the event in ink!

Thousands of tech and gaming accessories went from shelf to pocket over the weekend – and no surprise, as massive brands like MSI, SONY, Lenovo, Redragon, Logitech and Volkano were there for the taking. Stands like SMD Technologies, Nexus Hub, and PC Builder made hundreds of enthusiastic gamers happy by helping them level up their rigs.

In addition to the enormity of shopping choices, attendees were also invited to take part in two exciting Treasure Hunts using QR codes hidden in and around the venue. One was hosted by Snapscan and the other was using the official rAge app where over 1,800 people attempted the hunt.

Another attraction that saw visitors queuing in the aisles for hours was the UrbanX Human Claw machine, which invited gamers in to try their hand and win fantastic prizes. 

Monster Energy kept the enthusiasm going with incredible tunes and giveaways, keeping the ‘gees’ levels at an all-time high. Their big rig, complete with DJ and photo booth, was unmissable, hosting ‘rig riots’ with merch giveaways at random times during the weekend. 

Cosplay Steps Up

The cosplay competitions wowed the audience over two days, bringing together scores of eager cosplayers in all sorts of outfits. Spotted amongst the crowd were characters like Loki (Marvel), the Mandalorian (Star Wars), Jinx (League of Legends), and even a kilt-wearing Scotting Spider-man.

Saturdays Masquerade winners were:

  • 1st place – MoonChild Cosplays as Foxy from Five Nights at Freddys
  • 2nd place – Celtra as The Projectionist from Bendy and the Ink Machine
  • 3rd place – Astid as Stormfly from How to Train Your Dragon

Sundays Cosplay Competition winners were:

  • Green Leaf – Mimics Cosplay as Minecraft President Loki (She/Her)
  • Most Creative Techniques – Re4per as Zhongli from Genshin Impact (He/Him)
  • Best Prop – Zireal Cosplay as Jinx from Arcane (She/Her)
  • Best Wig – TitanTank as Gragas from League of Legends (He/Him)
  • Best Newcomer – Matt as Cal Kestis from Star Wars (He/Him)
  • Judges Favorite – LaniaTitania as Ty Lee from Avatar: The Last Airbender (She/Her)
  • 3rd Place Armour – MoonChild Cosplay as Morgana from League of Legends (She/Her)
  • 2nd Place Armour – Numerix as Ciri from The Witcher (she/Her)
  • 1st Place Armour – Crmison King as Geralt from The Witcher (He/Him)
  • 3rd Place Needlework – Geeky.cos.trash as Scarlet Witch from Marvel Cinematic Universe (she/Her)
  • 2nd Place Needlework – Not.a.Puppet as Amaimon from Blue Exorcist (He/Him)
  • 1st Place Needlework – Chaos Cosplay as Ursula from The Little Mermaid (He/Him)
  • Masters Winner – BluRohbot Studios as Doctor Strange from Marvel Cinematic Universe (He/Him)
  • Best in Show – Tanuki Cosplay as Ranni from Elden Ring. (She/Her)

Urban Playground Brings the Xtreme!

Urban Playground, the ultimate fun-loving brand, nearly brought the house down with their dance contests. They hosted the finals of the RawStyles dance league, which saw the top 10 street dancers in Johannesburg take centre stage. They also had a wild breakdancing contest and dance call outs throughout the weekend. In addition to the dancing, Urban Playground had a skate park, teqball, and a parkour exhibition for those who like to get physical.

Education Makes its Mark

It wasn’t just games and gadgets, however. Unplugged Coding taught attendees the basics of code without technology, using coloured blocks. WeThinkCode_ also promoted coding amongst youngsters at their stand. The Animation School was a big hit, exhibiting the skills of their students and canvassing for talent. They are one of the best schools for animation in the world. 

An Absolute ‘Vibe’

“It feels really special that this was rAge’s 21st birthday, and that we had the turnout and support that we did,” says Michael James, “The energy and the passion shone through this year. We’re really proud of the event, and we hope that everyone had as much fun as we did!

Each year rAge is just a simple idea: build a cool event and invite the community. From there it takes on a life of its own until, in the end, we’re all left feeling elated while dealing with post event emotions. A gargantuan thank you to everyone that was part of this year’s event. It’s impossible to list you all, but just know that you were a part of something unique and special. I must also thank the dedicated, smart, capable team behind the scenes who always pull off the magic each year while keeping everyone happy. Without all of you we are lost”.

In its 21st year, rAge 2023 surpassed expectations, delivering an unforgettable gaming spectacle with epic stands, thrilling tournaments, local game developer showcases, a bustling marketplace, outstanding cosplay, and an array of awesome activities. The anticipation for a monumental 2024 edition is already building!