Atlanta’s button-mashing weekend is underway, with more than 400 arcade and pinball machines taking over the Cobb Galleria area for the Southern-Fried Gaming Expo. The three-day convention mixes retro nostalgia with tabletop battles, console gaming, RPGs, wrestling, live music, tournaments and enough blinking lights to make a casino nervous.
According to the Southern-Fried Gaming Expo, the 13th annual event is being held at the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel & Convention Center and Cobb Convention Center Atlanta from Friday through Sunday. Organizers are also offering a massive tabletop library, a vendor expo, guest speakers, panel sessions and dozens of new and retro console systems.
Free-Play Arcade Action Takes Center Stage
FOX 5 Atlanta reported from Cobb Galleria as the expo got rolling Friday, highlighting the sprawling lineup of classic and modern games. The event’s arcade floor includes playable machines, while the convention also gives collectors, gamers and curious newcomers plenty of ways to wander beyond the joystick aisle.
The official schedule lists the expo from 3 p.m. to midnight Friday, 10 a.m. to midnight Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Once inside, nearly all games are free to play, according to the event’s FAQ page, although attendees need a membership badge to enter the gaming areas.
Guest Speakers, Wrestling And Retro Music Add To The Weekend
The current guest roster includes arcade and pinball figures such as Walter Day, Steve Ritchie and Billy Mitchell, along with video-game and entertainment guests including Ellen McLain, John Patrick Lowrie and Walter Jones, according to the expo’s 2026 guest list. Programming also includes cosplay, live bands, Dungeons & Dragons, esports, pinball competitions, Magic: The Gathering and Atlanta Wrestling Entertainment.
The convention has grown considerably since its 2014 debut, when organizers invested $20,000 and welcomed roughly 300 people to play about 100 machines, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported last year. By 2025, the event was projecting as many as 10,000 unique visitors and more than 500 arcade and pinball machines, turning what began as a collector passion project into one of metro Atlanta’s signature gaming gatherings.
Single-day admission for 2026 ranges from $30 to $55 for adults, while three-day adult passes cost $90; children’s passes are cheaper, and kids 6 and under are free. The expo continues through Sunday at the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly and Cobb Convention Center Atlanta.
