Gaming Garage at CNE 2025
Every year the Canadian National Exhibition brings a crazy mix of old-school vibes and cool new stuff. This year, the Gaming Garage had quite a few activations to keep the gamers (physical and virtual alike) interested. Whether you’re into esports, retro arcades, or chill board games, this was the place to be.
The main stage got a fresh look this year and they called it “The Catwalk.” It was basically a rotating party of competitions, prizes, and free play all day long. From Nintendo's Mario Kart time trials to Smash Bros trivia and even Gamer Bingo, there was always something going on and mainly hosted by fellow A Gaming Podcast host, Camille Salazar Hadaway. The best part? Watching regular people step up and get their moment in the spotlight, walking away with prizes and huge smiles.
The competitive side of things was alive and kicking. The CNE Showdown Tournaments brought card games, fighting games, and rhythm contests that drew in serious players. There was the Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8 action hosted by Incendium and offered a $2,000 prize pool to it's top 8 players.
But it wasn’t all fighting games. There were also card game fans battling it out in Pokémon, Magic, Lorcana, and some anime favorites like Digimon and Gundam. Then there were the rhythm game tournaments like WACCA and Dance Rush Stardom. If you wanted a taste of a Japanese arcade, the J-Station was where it was at.
The GOES Console Arcade was back, and it was packed with everything from classic games like Duck Hunt to full-on VR fun with Beat Saber. And for anyone who thought they could rock a band, the Garage Band stage gave folks the chance to shred on Guitar Hero and live their rockstar dreams.
One of the best parts for me was hanging out at the Toronto Community MeetUps Twitch booth, which was right beside the indie game demo area. Every day indie devs, students, and passionate creators showed off their latest games, and seeing people’s faces light up as they played was awesome.
The Toronto Community MeetUps booth had a Creator Corner where we showed folks how to get started live streaming and gave tips on Twitch. We also had a Speakers Corner where people shared their favorite CNE memories on camera. The coolest thing? Those videos got played on the main stage throughout the day, so people could catch themselves on the big screen.
When not at the booth, other folks from the Twitch Toronto streaming community were streaming the whole CNE experience live—including games, funky food, and all the wild exhibits. One I caught most of was Whinnaay! It was a great way for people to see everything even if they couldn’t be there in person.
This year’s Garage also brought new and old things that really added something special:
- A hands-on tech spot with cool STEM projects that kids and adults could dive into called Byte-Sized Workshop.
- Crack the Crate, which was like a mini escape room with tricky puzzle boxes.
- aiLIENS: Reinvation, a creative experience where you design your own alien and get interactive.
- A chill tabletop zone called Gather & Game with everything from board games to RPG campaigns to card games, with Game Masters ready to help you out.
The Gaming Garage at CNE 2025 was exactly what you want from a gaming event. It was a fun mix of arcade, esports, indie games, and community vibes. From cheering on Tekken finals to giving someone their first streaming tips, I got to see how this community really comes together to play, create, and connect.
Until next year, CNE. Thanks for leveling up once again.