SEATTLE – 25 June 2026 – Show organizers ReedPop and Penny Arcade reveal Marc Merril, the Co-Founder, Co-Chairman, and Chief Product Officer at Riot Games, will kick off PAX West 2026 as the storytime speaker. The West Coast’s most-attended gaming event returns to the Seattle Convention Center this Labor Day weekend from Friday, 4 Sept., through Monday, 7 Sept., 2026.
Merrill will be the first to take the Main Stage on Friday, 4 Sept., 2026, for a fun and personal retrospective celebrating his career. Marc is renowned for leading the developer and publisher behind beloved classics cumulatively played by hundreds of millions, including League of Legends, VALORANT, Team Fight Tactics, and more. After founding Riot Games in 2006, Marc became their first Chief Product Officer and expanded their portfolio with titles such as Riftbound and Legends of Runeterra. Merrill also serves as Executive Producer on the 2021 award-winning animated Netflix series Arcane, as wellas on the Board of Directors of several non-profit organizations, including City Year Los Angeles, Unite America, and Seal Family Foundation.
PAX West 2026 will host gaming and pop culture fans from around the world over Labor Day weekend. Attendees can check out hands-on demos of hotly anticipated games and panels with legendary game developers, journalists, and creators. Fans of AAA, indie, and tabletop gaming can round out the weekend with concerts, competitive gaming tournaments, community meetups, and more to be announced over the coming months.
“Marc Merril’s Storytime is going to be like getting in a time machine for the industry’s past, present, and future. His experience spans two decades, toiling behind the scenes of a global phenomenon,” said Jerry Holkins, co-founder of Penny Arcade, Child’s Play, and PAX. “Of course, attendee badges give people at the show access to the entire seat – but they’ll only need the edge.”
PAX West 2026 badges are available now. Four-day badges are priced at $252.00, while Saturday-only badges are available for $84.00, Friday or Sunday-only badges for $77.70, Monday-only and BYOC (Bring Your Own Computer) for $56.70, and the new Kids 4-Day badges for $56.70 for children up to 12 years old.
About PAX
PAX, or Penny Arcade Expo, is a festival for gamers to celebrate gaming culture. First held in Seattle in 2004, PAX has nearly doubled in size each successive year, with PAX Prime 2014 selling out of tickets in a matter of minutes. Connecting the world’s leading game publishers with their most avid and influential fans, PAX expanded with a second show in Boston in 2010, and a third in San Antonio in 2015, making it the three largest gaming shows in North America. The first international PAX was held in Melbourne, Australia in 2013. In 2017, Penny Arcade established PAX Unplugged, its first tabletop-focused show, held in Philadelphia.
About ReedPop
ReedPop is a boutique group within RX – one of the world’s leading event organizers. Launched in 2006, the group has become the number one producer of pop culture events globally and a full-service digital content provider and media company. Delivering once-in-a-lifetime fan experiences curated specifically for localized audiences, ReedPop currently features events in North America, Europe and Asia, including New York Comic Con (NYCC), Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2), PAX West, East, and Unplugged, Emerald City Comic Con (ECCC), Star Wars Celebration, MCM Comic Con, Eurogamer Expo (EGX), MagicCon, and more. In addition to organizing and managing events, ReedPop owns and operates the pop culture news site, Popverse, which is the exclusive home for livestreams from all of ReedPop’s major comic cons. The staff at ReedPop are a fan-based group of professionals uniquely qualified to build and serve the communities with whom they share a common passion.
About Penny Arcade
Penny Arcade has been the world’s most popular webcomic for over 20 years, with over 3.5 million readers. Started in 1998 in the living room of Mike Krahulik & Jerry Holkins, it has grown into a media empire encompassing multiple beloved properties such as Lookouts, Automata, and beloved D&D live-play series Acquisitions Incorporated. Penny Arcade was responsible for the creation of Child’s Play, a gaming charity that has raised over $45 million dollars for children across the world. They are also the founders of PAX, the number one consumer gaming festival in North America, with hundreds of thousands of loyal visitors every year.
