A festival celebrating games as art – through games, music, talks, virtual reality and live performance.

Isle of Games was founded in 2018 by a group of indie creators to showcase the unconventional, artful, playful and weird corners of the global game scene in Reykjavík. Today it focuses on work created by the collective in Iceland, but also includes some selected pieces from the international scene.

Huldufugl co-produced and sponsored the festival alongside the collective. Every edition has been free to attend, with custom-built arcade cabinets and installations, artist talks, and the legendary 'Live Games, Live Music', where musicians (and sometimes poets and comedians) perform live on stage alongside a video game being played in front of the audience.

As well as co-producing the festival, Huldufugl's founders have exhibited their work during the festival, such as Gale by Owen Hindley, Vættir (which included voice-acting by Nanna Gunnars), and their XR film Fallax enjoyed its Icelandic premiere at the festival in 2026.

Read more about each edition at isleofgames.is.

After a long pause, Isle of Games returned over a weekend at Bíó Paradís, with a family-friendly daytime programme and an adults-only evening, finishing with 'Live Games, Live Music'. 🔗

Talks :

• The making of Fallax, Iceland's first VR film
• Art in Games : Steingerður Lóa

Performances :

• Finding the Joy in Joystick : Joy Kumral
• Geimdýragarðurinn : DJ Flugvél og Geimskip
• Live Games, Live Music

Games & Installations :

• VR Corner – Fallax, Lichtung, Island of Shells
• Arcade – multiple games
• Line Wobbler
• Jump Stick!
• Pickupbal
• Waves of Nostalgia
• Saurbær
• Geimdýragarðurinn
• Marbles
• The Surveyor
• Sex With Friends

For the second edition we turned our focus closer to home, with 8 speakers, 10 new games and 5 new performances – and a full house for the talks. 🔗

Talks :

• Isle of Games Intro & Artist Statement : Joon Van Hove, Torfi Ásgeirsson
• Composing music for a game : Íris Thorarins
• Walk in the Park : Jóhannes Sigurðsson
• Making Kassinn, VR meets interactive theatre : Nanna Gunnars
• Games & Writing : Ewa Marcinek
• Play with my cadaver: yes, I studied fine arts. : Jonathan Coryn
• Our Atlantis : Donna
• Light, Sound and Concrete : Moshe Linke

Performances :

• Walking Simulator Poetry : S. Tinna Sveinsdóttir
• Ape Out Live Jazz : Höskuldur Eiríksson, Tumi Árnason
• Jono & Hulli On A Train : Jono Duffy, Hugleikur Dagsson
• Iris VS Abzu : Iris Thorarins
• Fugue In Void Live Ambient : Kjartan Holm

Games & Installations :

• Choosatron – new stories by Icelandic writers
• Gale – Owen Hindley
• Gently Down The Marsh – Jóhannes Sigurðsson, Torfi Ásgeirsson, Joon Van Hove
• Horizons – Horizons Studio, Reactify
• Isle of Parks – Jóhannes Sigurðsson
• Neo-Brutalism of Tomorrow – Moshe Linke
• SHIFT – Alexandra Diljá Bjargardóttir
• Svartkolla – Marín Björt Valtýsdóttir, Jonatan Van Hove
• Undir væng – Torfi Ásgeirsson
• Vættir – Alexander Dan Vilhjálmsson, Nanna Gunnars, Sigursteinn J Gunnarsson

Photography : Patrik Ontkovic

The first edition took over IÐNÓ, next to the city's Pond, with a day of games and installations followed by an evening of live performances. 🔗

Performances :

• Getting Over It, with the Plague Doctor : Ingunn Lára Kristjánsdóttir
• CHYRZA (live) : VÆSEN
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R. & Ста́лкер : Atli Bollason, Jesper Pedersen, Jóhannes Sigurðsson
• ABZÛ (live) : ÍRiiS, Fabien Dambron
• DJ set : C418

Games & Installations :

• Útlaginn / The Outlaw – a walking simulator arcade cabinet
• OUR ATLANTIS – DJ Flugvél og Geimskip, Þórður Hermannsson
• Isle of Bitsy – various artists
• Vættir – Alexander Dan Vilhjálmsson, Nanna Gunnars, Sigursteinn J Gunnarsson
• Platform – Tom McHenry
• The Orb of Solaris – Vigdís Bergsdóttir, Jóhanna Ásgeirsdóttir
• Icelandic Pillar – Torfi Ásgeirsson, Jonatan Van Hove, Alexandra Diljá Bjargardóttir
• Choosatron – Jerry Belich
• Line Wobbler – Robin Baumgarten

Photography : Ben Gruber