Tokyo Game Show 2026

The Tokyo Game Show remains one of the top gaming shows in the world.

The public days in 2026 will span three days from Saturday, September 19 to Monday, September 21 (a public holiday). Admission is free for children of primary school age and younger.

What happens?

The show is on a huge scale with booths from all the major game publishers, console makers, and mobile gaming platforms with a few indies and international booths thrown in as well.

If you want to play some of the new games, you’ll need to turn up early (the more fanatical mill around the station area all night and then queue up from 5 a.m.) and know exactly where you’re going when you get inside. The queues at the entrance ease up around noon, so if you turn up before that, bring liquid refreshments and a hat as the weather in this part of Japan is still hot in September.

Tickets for Tokyo Game Show 2026

Note: Fast Tickets and Premium Tickets are now sold out on Lawson Ticket.

Purchase tickets online here.

Standard one-day tickets (¥3,000) for residents of Japan are available through Asoview!, Stagecrowd, Lawson Ticket, Ticket PIA, JRE MALL, CN Playguide, 7ticket, eplus, TicketMe, and animate. Some of these platforms provide digital QR tickets, while others require collection at convenience stores such as Lawson, Ministop, Seven-Eleven, or FamilyMart.

If you’d like priority entry time and some free merchandise, then it may be worth getting the Fast Ticket, but it will cost you ¥6,000 per day and you need to enter a lottery.

For overseas residents, make sure to use this link.

Young children (elementary school age and under) get in for free — lucky. Tickets will not be sold on the day so make sure to snag yours in advance.

Cosplay

If you’re not into waiting in line at the booths for hours, there is plenty of other entertainment — including one of the biggest gatherings of cosplayers around.

Cosplay tickets

You’ll need to register on the second floor of the International Conference Hall if you plan on cosplaying, and it costs ¥2,000 on top of your event ticket. The cosplay ticket gets you access to the changing rooms, where you’re able to change, and the cloakrooms.

If you’re feeling super keen, early registration on both days is from the first train at Kaihin Makuhari Station until 7:15 a.m. Early change and cloakroom use on both days is from the first train until 8:00 a.m. You’ll need to wait before going into the main hall at 10:00 a.m. (27th) or 9:30 a.m. (28th).

Regular registration is available until 2:30 p.m. on both days, and the change and cloak rooms will be available until 5 p.m.

Cosplay rules

You are not meant to arrive at or leave the venue in cosplay — you must change in the rooms provided. There are also some prohibitions about what you can wear — the jist of it is not to be too revealing or offensive but full details can be found on the website.

Tips

Usually, the closing day is the most popular, but people tend to rearrange their plans due to the frequent typhoons that buffet the Japanese archipelago in September. Be warned, if you don’t like (at times) intensely crowded places, you may not enjoy the public days at TGS.