Dragon Con celebrates four decades of fandom this Labor Day weekend, and its massive gaming experience is once again ready to keep Atlanta playing well into the night.
ATLANTA — Forty years of Dragon Con. Let that sink in for a moment.
From its beginnings in 1987 to the sprawling pop-culture takeover it has become today, Dragon Con has spent four decades bringing fans together in downtown Atlanta. And when an estimated 75,000 attendees arrive for the convention’s 40th celebration, gaming will once again be a massive part of the experience.
Dragon Con returns September 3–7, 2026, filling its familiar downtown Atlanta footprint with more than 3,500 hours of programming across comics, television, movies, costuming, art, music, gaming and practically every corner of fandom imaginable.
For gamers, however, the numbers get even more ridiculous: more than three acres of gaming.
Yes. Acres.
Gaming Has Come a Long Way in 40 Years
Dragon Con’s massive gaming floor inside AmericasMart Building Three will once again offer everything from modern video games and tabletop campaigns to collectible card games, retro favorites and international arcade cabinets.
But for the convention’s 40th year, there is also a fitting connection to where Dragon Con — and gaming itself — began.
Legendary game designer and astronaut Richard Garriott, who attended the very first Dragon Con in 1987, returns in 2026. The creator behind the pioneering Ultima series will discuss his efforts to regain control of the influential video game franchise.
That’s one heck of a full-circle moment for Dragon Con’s 40th anniversary.
Dungeons & Dragons fans will also have plenty to roll for this year.
Origins Hall of Famer David “Zeb” Cook, whose career includes 18 years designing Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, will lead conversations exploring game design.
Meanwhile, Dragon Con is bringing together two very different gaming worlds for what could become one of the weekend’s must-see events.
Celebrity Dungeon Master Mark Meer will lead a new D&D Live featuring the cast of Hades II, including Amelia Tyler, Erin Yvette, Jason Marnocha, Judy Alice Lee, Becca Q. Co and Ashley Barrett.
We’re already curious to see what kind of chaos those dice create.
From Final Fantasy XIV to Silent Hill
The weekend’s gaming guests also include Peter Bramhill, Sena Bryer and Javier Prusky, voice actors from Final Fantasy XIV, who will discuss their experiences bringing the massively popular game to life.
And if watching someone tear through Silent Hill at a speed most of us could never dream of sounds like your idea of entertainment, popular Twitch streamer AnEternalEnigma returns to Dragon Con with his Silent Hill speedrun showcase.
Gaming at Dragon Con has never just been about sitting down and playing something. It’s also an opportunity to meet and hear from the designers, developers, performers and creators behind the games consuming all those hours of our lives.
“Every corner of Dragon Con’s gaming hall offers a new adventure,” Dragon Con Senior Director of Gaming and IT David Cody said. “You can challenge friends in a tournament, try a game you’ve never heard of, meet the people who helped create the games you love, or join an epic tabletop campaign.”
More Ways to Play
Dragon Con is expanding its virtual reality footprint for 2026 with additional equipment supporting multiplayer experiences — potentially creating the kind of wonderfully chaotic group VR experience that feels perfectly at home at Dragon Con.
Board game newcomers won’t have to stare nervously at a table wondering what all those pieces do, either.
Dragon Con volunteers will host teaching sessions featuring popular and award-winning games including Terraforming Mars, Wingspan, Wyrmspan, Galactic Cruise, The Gang and World Order.
Collectible card game fans can also learn their way around Disney’s increasingly popular Lorcana, whether they’re seasoned card players or Disney fans finally wondering what everyone at those tables has been doing all weekend.
And then there are the arcades.
Dragon Con’s Japanese and Asian arcade section returns with its collection of free-to-play cabinets for convention members, while Atlanta’s own Joystick Game Bar will once again bring its pop-up retro arcade to Peachtree Center Mall.
Because sometimes you need to temporarily escape 75,000 people at Dragon Con by…playing video games surrounded by more Dragon Con people.
It makes sense when you’re there.
Gaming Doesn’t Stop When the Sun Goes Down
Anyone who has attended Dragon Con knows the convention transforms after dark.
Gaming is no exception.
Social deception favorite Werewolf returns as a fixture of late-night gaming, welcoming both longtime players and curious newcomers willing to discover exactly how quickly they can stop trusting everyone sitting around them.
Meanwhile, the Heroes & Villains Ball and 8-Bit Bash give gamers somewhere to put down the controllers, dice and cards and celebrate into the night.
And, knowing Dragon Con, probably very late into the night.
40 Years and Still Playing
Gaming has changed dramatically since Dragon Con welcomed fans to its first convention in 1987.
We’ve gone from cartridges, floppy disks and tabletop rulebooks to sprawling online worlds, virtual reality, livestreaming, esports and games capable of bringing millions of players together.
Dragon Con has grown right alongside it.
Yet the heart of the experience remains remarkably familiar: find something you love, discover something completely new and spend a few hours geeking out about it with people who understand exactly why you’re excited.
For its 40th anniversary, Dragon Con isn’t simply looking backward at four decades of fandom.
It’s rolling for whatever comes next.
Dragon Con 2026 takes place September 3–7 across downtown Atlanta. Second Union will be on the ground throughout the convention bringing you coverage from panels, events, fandoms and, yes, probably somewhere within those three acres of gaming.
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About Second Union
Second Union is a pop culture/entertainment news portal created in 2016. Our aim has always been to bring our audience the latest information and updates regarding their favorite pop culture-related subjects. Via our website and social media platforms we explore the worlds of movies, television, comic books/graphic novels, music, video games, toys/collectibles and conventions. Our mission is to offer original content and unique points of view you won’t find anywhere else on the web. Our long-time goal is to ultimately become your favorite pop culture/entertainment news destination on the internet!
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