First Annual NYC Video Game Festival: Details Unveiled for May 31 Event, Serves as Official Kick-Off to ‘NYC Summer of Games’

Finalists Announced for the Minecraft Education Battle of the Boroughs Esports Competition

Official Festival Sponsors and Media Partner Announced

PHOTO AND VIDEO ASSETS HERE

NEW YORK - May 28, 2025 - The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) today revealed additional details for the previously-announced inaugural NYC Video Game Festival (NYCVGF), which includes the Minecraft Education Battle of the Boroughs Esports Competition in partnership with NYC Public Schools on Saturday, May 31 9:00am-6:00pm at Convene Brookfield Place. The festival officially kicks off ‘NYC Summer of Games’ a citywide celebration of New York City's booming digital games community featuring marquee events, expos, tournaments, exhibits, workshops, and programs across the five boroughs this summer.

The NYCVGF and ‘NYC Summer of Games’ come as the City of NY announces that since inception, the Minecraft Education Battle of the Boroughs Esports competition has engaged more than 10,000 NYC Public School students, with steady growth in both participation and submissions - from 1,200 students in 2021 to 3,295 in 2025, and from 385 submissions in 2023 to 658 in 2025. Additionally, more than 2,000 students have taken part in live Minecraft esports events since 2023, and thousands more have participated through CS Ed Week Play-Alongs, Code-Alongs, and more.

Fifteen teams have won qualifying events to become finalists for the Minecraft Education Battle of the Boroughs Esports Competition. Three teams from each borough (one K-5 grade, 6-8, and 9-12 grade team) will compete in the finals for a chance at the Mayor’s Cup trophy. Teams are:

• Queens
  • Team Sigma from PS 24 Andrew Jackson
  • Team Neo NYC from J.H.S. 185 Edward Bleeker
  • Team Diamond Sword Bustamoney from World Journalism Preparatory: A College Board School
    
• Brooklyn
  • Team Hyper Pigmentation from Elementary P.S. 889
  • Team Blazing Bulldogs from Middle Magnet School for Multimedia Technology and Urban Planning
  • Team X-Men from the High School for Global Citizenship
• Bronx
  • Team Game Over from Elementary P.S. 100X (Returning Champions)
  • Team Amazing Sharks from Middle P.S. 175 The City Island School
  • Team Bronx Blocks from High School 223 The Laboratory School
• Staten Island
  • Team 45 Miners from Elementary P.S. 45 John Tyler
  • Team Powered by Redstone from Middle I.S. 027 Anning S. Prall
  • Team Stream Team 3.0 from Tottenville High School
• Manhattan
  • Team Peacocks from Castle Bridge Elementary School
  • Team Eagles from New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math Middle School (Nest+M)
  • Team Behemoth from Frank McCourt High School

The NYCVGF will also feature music from DJ Sophia Rocks, casual and classic arcade games, Robotics & VR showcase, and more including:

• Event Partners:
  • ASUS ROG, who is providing a free play area, as well as CDW, Lenovo/Intel, Samsung Education, Spectrum Industries, National Esports Association, and Teddy Moving and Storage are all sponsors of the NYCVGF.
  • Polygon is serving as the Official Media Partner.
  • Game U, Cartridge Gaming Company and Atlantic Games will also be on hand to enhance visitor experiences.
• Games Expo featuring NYC-based indie developers, game studios and gaming vendors:
  • 1TON Games, All Star Code, AniTOMO Convention, Bungo Studios, Computer Lunch Games, Cosplay Hollow, dank.game, Dusk Sharp, Edmentum, EGD Collective, Erik Andersen, ESRB, Galaxy Gaming Lab, Hamra Digital, Hot Chai Games, Immersive Gamebox, Jia Jie Chen, Latino Sports, Mokuni LLC, OS NYC, Pahdo Labs, Pixelapp, Planetary Games, PogiCiv, The Paley Museum, The*gamehers, UPTOWN GAMING, Urban Arts, VGNYsoft, Vivid Imagination Inc, Wirescribe Corp, Yuri Kissaten and Videogamesnewyork
• New York Statewide Collegiate Esports Competition:
  • For the first time, top Valorant and Fortnite players from SUNY, CUNY and private institutions from across the state will face off in a high-stakes battle for the 2025 Collegiate Championship.
  • Collegiate Valorant Competition CUNY Teams: College of Staten Island CSI Dolphins, Brooklyn College Maroon, Queens College Silver Knights, Hunter College EGD Valorant, CCNY PAPERSSrex, Baruch College Bearcats, and Hostos Valorant
  • Collegiate Fortnite Battle Royale Players from 15 participating schools including: NYU, Pace, RPI, St. Bonaventure, SUNY Binghamton, SUNY Canton, SUNY Farmingdale, Baruch, Hunter, John Jay, Lehman, Brooklyn College, Queens College, and more.
  • This landmark competition marks a major milestone for collegiate esports in New York and sets the stage for future statewide rivalries in the growing world of competitive gaming.
  • Also competing are The Quad Gods, the world’s first all-quadriplegic esports team, who are defying limits and redefining what’s possible in competitive gaming. Their incredible journey is captured in the feature documentary Quad Gods, now streaming on HBO Max.
• Game on Air - The Esports Broadcast Experience:
  • Presented by The Cxmmunity Foundation, an engaging, hands-on activation that introduces middle and high school students to exciting career opportunities in the esports industry. This 20 to 30-minute immersive experience simulates the fast-paced environment of a live esports broadcast through two interactive tracks:
    • Shoutcaster Experience, where students learn to deliver live commentary and take on the role of a professional esports commentator
    • Production Crew Experience, where students produce an esports segment using OBS Studio
• Education Lane:
  • Giving insight on application processes and degree programs will be representatives from New York City High School and New York State Colleges, including: School of Visual Arts, NYSCATE, Office of Student Pathways, SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Welcome Center, Harlem Gallery of Science, Office of Student Pathways Street Team (NYCPS), Pace University, Network of Academic and Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF), City College of New York, Academy of Innovative Technology / NYCDOE
• Cosplay Showdown with Tokyo Bronx ACG:
  • Creatives and fans of cosplay will come together to celebrate the vibrant and lively community that meshes anime, comics, and games with a parade of characters and personas.
• Live Stream:
  • The entire NYCVGF will be live streamed on the NEA Twitch channel from 9am-5pm, at https://www.twitch.tv/esportsnealive.
• Minecraft Artemis Launch Game:
  • Making its official debut at NYCVGF, the Minecraft Artemis Launch Game is designed to ignite student curiosity in space exploration and STEM, and invites players to explore NASA’s Artemis Mission through interactive challenges and immersive gameplay.
  • This premiere marks a groundbreaking moment where education, gaming, and innovation come together to inspire the next generation of explorers. A trailer for the game is available here: https://youtu.be/V7qvaJdcNDY.
• Film Premiere:
  • NYCVGF will serve as the official premiere of Heroes and Villains, a short film crafted entirely by the students of the Arts ROC After-School Program in partnership with the National Esports Association.
  • Inspired by Lloyd Alexander’s The Book of Three and built using LEGOs, this cinematic adventure explores timeless themes of courage, choices, and discovering the hero within. A trailer for the film is available here: https://youtu.be/6UONVoD4nZc.

The NYCVGF serves as the official kick-off to the ‘NYC Summer of Games,’ a celebration of the digital gaming community and activity in New York City between the months of June - September. In partnership with various organizers, the Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment’s ‘NYC Summer of Games’ campaign promotes events across all five boroughs, including expos, tournaments, exhibits, workshops and programs. To find out more about ‘NYC Summer of Games,’ visit nyc.gov/digitalgames for more information about:

• NYC Video Game Festival, May 31
• Gaymer Pride, May 31
• Tribeca Games Gallery, June 11-15
• Power Up Festival, June 14 
• Waffle Games 8.0, June 14-15
• G4C Next Gen Festival, June 22
• Games for Change Festival, June 26-27
• PaleyGX Gaming & VR, July 15
• New York Videogame Critics Circle/Playing With Purpose Celebrity Stream, August 16
• Play NYC @ Anime NYC, August 21-24
• Game Devs of Color Expo, September 16-19

The introduction of the NYCVGF comes on the heels of new investments recently announced to help cement NYC’s role as a global hub for the digital games industry. The investments total over $1 million and include support for the ‘Made in NY’ Animation Training Program, the Game Design Future Lab within NYU Tandon Future Labs and CUNY’s first-ever Bachelor's Degree in Digital Game Design at City College of New York (CCNY), which will admit its first cohort of students this fall. Additional investments, research and partnership with private businesses all ladder up to Mayor Adams commitment to creating jobs in the Digital Games industry, as first outlined in the "Rebuild, Renew, Reinvent: A Blueprint for New York City's Economic Recovery" plan and in the initiative “New York City's Artificial Intelligence Advantage: Driving Economic Growth and Technological Transformation.”

“The City of NY’s first-ever Video Game Festival is the final touch of a four-year plan to support and grow NYC’s digital gaming industry, and will signal to the world that NYC has the infrastructure to provide good paying jobs, host global Esports events, and support video game production,” said Commissioner of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, Pat Swinney Kaufman. “As we officially kick off ‘NYC Summer of Games’ with this festival, I want to thank MOME’s Alia Jones-Harvey for her work to support this industry and grow this event.”

"As our young people prepare for their bright and bold futures, initiatives like the NYC Summer of Games allow them to explore potential career pathways, discover new passions, and learn new skills,” said Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos. “I am so excited to see our students compete for the Mayor’s cup at this year’s Battle of the Boroughs Esports competition, and am grateful to our partners across the city for making these opportunities available to our youngest New Yorkers.”

“ASUS Republic of Gamers is proud to partner with NYC’s educators and students to help expand esports in education — inspiring critical thinking, teamwork, and future-ready tech skills. The NYC Video Game Festival is a fantastic opportunity for the next generation of creators, engineers, and innovators to experience the excitement of esports and get hands-on with the latest in gaming technology.” - Benjamin Yeh, President, ASUS North America.

"The 1st Annual NYC Video Game Festival marks a transformative moment where education and esports gaming converge. We’re not just showcasing competitive gaming—we’re spotlighting the educational power behind it. This festival is a celebration of how games can inspire learning, foster community, and open doors to future opportunities for students worldwide." - Lori Bajorek, President, National Esports Association.

"Urban Arts is launching the city's next generation of creators! When we teach digital game design to local students in our free programs, we're building futures to college and careers in tech right here at home. Our students earned $20.7M in college scholarships this year, totalling $46M since our college access program launched. Digital games aren't just something you consume, they're something you create. Through Urban Arts, the city's students are developing the skills and confidence to lead this industry—and we’re full STEAM ahead." - Philip Courtney, CEO, Urban Arts

"The NYC Video Game Festival is a landmark event for New York City's growing gaming community, and Pace University is honored to take part in the collegiate esports tournament and expo. Our students are high-level competitors, yes, but they’re also the next generation of innovators, creators, and leaders in the gaming industry. Connecting students from K-12 through college directly to careers in gaming creates an unmatched ecosystem for gamers in New York City.” - Jesse Bodony, M.A., Director of Esports, Pace University

"The CUNY esports programs, clubs and students are excited to participate in the NYC Video Game Festival this year. We are grateful to the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment as well as its organizing partners for hosting an event that will showcase the high level of talent that CUNY esports student-athletes possess. We applaud this demonstrated commitment toward innovative opportunities for our gaming inclined students and the recognition of their hard work.” - Alexander Raff, Director of Esports at Brooklyn College

“We’re thrilled to join NYC’s Summer of Games and spotlight the power of play to drive positive change. This year’s Games for Change Festival will bring together global leaders using games and immersive media for social impact, while our Next Gen Summit will elevate the voices of young creators who are designing the future. Together, these events celebrate the transformative potential of games—from sparking dialogue to inspiring the next generation of changemakers.” - Susanna Pollack, President, Games for Change

“Glow Global Events is proud to produce the inaugural NYC Video Game Festival, a groundbreaking event that not only celebrates the future of digital gaming in New York City, but also empowers the next generation of creators through education and innovation. We’re honored to partner with MOME and NYC Public Schools to help bring this vision to life.” - Cheryl Gentry, Founder & CEO, Glow Global Events