Press Start 2025: the free 4-month video game festival at the Bpi Lumière

Despite the closure of the Centre Pompidou as such for several years, the BPI (Bibliothèque publique d'information) is still there, but in the 12th arrondissement. Once again this year, it is organizing Press Start, the festival for video game enthusiasts. Conferences, games, workshops: come and enjoy this free videogame festival, organized this time for four months, from September 3 to December 7, 2025, with 2 events per month and a special weekend on December 6 and 7.

A special theme is chosen for each edition. After the post-apocalyptic in 2020, the video game bestiary in 2021, music in 2022, sport in 2023 and fear in 2024, it's time for (De)construction! Construction, world-building and management games have always appealed to gamers, offering great freedom and the chance to build entire cities or worlds, encouraging experimentation, self-expression, collaboration and sharing, as in Minecraft or the contemplative and soothing cozy games(Animal Crossing, Tiny Glade), not to mention survival games, which combine stress, rigor and precision.

It's also an opportunity to question the inner workings of the video game industry, to imagine a more inclusive, representative and diverse future, and to reflect on the realities of a sector shaken by several recent crises.

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Transform the Centre Pompidou throughout the festival! With Endorah, Minecraft creation specialists, on a dedicated server, reinvent the iconic Parisian building. Each participant has an individual creative space around a central model of the Centre, which visitors can wander through. A selection of retro, collector's and current consoles also await you, with classics such as Tetris, but also a whole selection of independent games to be found between two Video Game Wednesdays.

Each month, enjoy a gaming session around the theme, with must-have games like Minecraft or The Sims, as well as independent games focusing on construction. Numerous workshops for all ages and levels, from game design to character creation, are on offer, as are meetings to question the video game industry and its ecosystem. The festival is free, friendly and open to all: Press Start is the ideal place to live out your passion and share it with friends and family!