The Sofia Game Awards premiere a new staging with product exhibition, new Balkan awards and a sectoral table
The Gaming Industry Gala Dinner 2026 reinvents itself with product exhibition, new regional awards and a greater institutional presence of the Balkan industry.
The Sofia gaming industry awards will premiere a new staging this year. The Gaming Industry Gala Dinner 2026, which will be held on November 24 at the Hyatt Regency Sofia, expands its format and transforms the traditional gala into a day with greater business, technological and institutional content.
Under the slogan "New Horizons", the organization will incorporate for the first time the Golden Gaming Showcase, a space prior to the gala for the presentation of products, technologies and novelties from some of the main companies in the industry.
The new structure will allow the activity to begin at 5:00 p.m., several hours before the traditional dinner and awards ceremony.
Companies announced for this new exhibition area include MERKUR, NOVOMATIC, EGT, Amusnet, JCM Global and Light & Wonder.
Another of the great novelties will come from the Balkan Gaming Federation, which will have a special role within the new format. Its management will make one of its first major presentations to the sector in Sofia and will present its plans, projects and initiatives for 2027.
The renewal will also reach the awards themselves.
In addition to the traditional Golden Spades Awards, which honour companies and professionals in the Bulgarian industry, the Golden Spades Balkan Awards will be added for the first time, designed to recognise relevant projects and contributions in the Balkan gaming industry as a whole.
The evening will also include the presentation of the first print edition of Golden Spades Magazine, also under the concept "New Horizons".
After the previous presentations, the gala dinner will begin at 8:00 p.m., followed by the Golden Spades Awards ceremony and, subsequently, the new Balkan awards.
The transformation of the meeting will continue the following day. On November 25, the first Balkan Gaming Roundtable will take place, a working table that will bring together representatives of the Federation and companies from the region to address the main challenges and opportunities of the market.
