In July 2025, the National Videogame Museum represented the UK at the World Expo 2025 Osaka, showcasing a brand new thought-provoking exhibition ‘Videogames Transforming Lives’ and working with partners from across the UK videogame industry.
The initiative was made possible by the Department for Business and Trade, which also brought a delegation of UK games businesses to meet with partners in Tokyo and Kyoto.
The National Videogame Museum developed the exhibition to promote the UK as a nation that understands gaming as culturally important and to exchange ideas with Japanese audiences through play. We were keen to curate an interactive experience, demonstrating videogames as vibrant and multifaceted cultural objects, and to showcase the stories of the UK studios behind the games.
John O’Shea, Creative Director and Co-CEO of the National Videogame Museum, says: “Videogames are such an important part of UK culture and the economy, and we really do punch above our weight internationally. We’re proud to showcase UK game development globally through three bespoke exhibits – sharing inspiring stories of innovation, inclusivity, collaboration, and the unifying power of play.”
Manchester based designers Instruct worked with us on the graphic and 3D design of the exhibition.
We focused on creating a variety of different spaces for visitors to play – individually, in groups, and in pairs. Icons from the games were incorporated into the exhibit design and bold graphics ensured the space felt welcoming. All texts were presented in easy to understand language, in both Japanese and English, and we commissioned engaging social media style interview videos. Careful consideration was given to acoustics so the experience felt calm and accessible. While trained facilitators brought the experience to life with active demonstrations, by explaining the controls and discussing the ideas and stories behind the games.
In ‘The Power of Play’ we emphasised the social power of videogames, featuring an interactive arcade-like space where people could play collaboratively, competitively, or just hang out.
Dunk Dunk (a 4-player basketball party game from Badgerhammer and publisher Playtonic Ltd) proved hugely popular and attracted audiences via a big screen presentation.
Sackboy: A Big Adventure, a proud product of Sheffield (Sumo Digital Ltd, in partnership with PlayStation Studio XDEV), was presented as a cosy two-player experience on the PlayStation 5.
Two versions of FutureLab’s PowerWash Simulator (a game where you can spend hours hosing down dirty trucks and patios) were presented side-by-side leading to some neighbourly competition.
The central exhibit brought together large-scale structures, imagery and environmental sounds from Monument Valley, a beautiful puzzle game developed by award-winning UK studio ustwo games.
Visitors played each of the games in the series, which transcend language barriers with their immersive labyrinthine environment. Influenced by Japanese prints and minimalist sculpture, Monument Valley artfully plays with perspective and illusion in these visually stunning games, where every scene looks like a piece of art.
This space proved highly popular and timely, as the third installment of Monument Valley has just been released globally!
Sharing our vision that videogames are for everyone, we were honoured to work with UK charity, SpecialEffect, to celebrate the power of inclusivity in game design. SpecialEffect presented dual language versions of their EyeMine 2 software, enabling visitors to try out the ground-breaking Eye Gaze technology and understand what a difference these tools can make to people’s lives.
“Our charity helps people with physical challenges play games to the very best of their abilities. Bringing the power of this inclusion within reach of everyone has never been more important, and we hope that by showcasing our work at Expo 2025 Osaka, we can inspire further inclusivity in worldwide game design.”
Dr Mick Donegan MBE, Founder and CEO at SpecialEffect
Almost 12,000 visitors saw the exhibition during the course of the week and it was extremely rewarding to see the amount of laughter and conversation generated in the space, across generations and across cultures.
We believe that videogames are a vital part of our social fabric, which help us to form connections and build communities. We’re thrilled to have shared that message at World Expo 2025 Osaka.
Thank you to all the partners who helped to make this exhibition a reality.
Creative Direction: National Videogame Museum, Sheffield, UK
Design: Instruct, Manchester, UK
Videography: Light Factory, Liverpool, UK
Games Presented:
Sackboy: A Big Adventure was developed by Sumo Digital in partnership with PlayStation Studios XDEV.
Dunk Dunk was developed by Badgerhammer Limited, and published by Playtonic Friends.
Powerwash Simulator© 2021-2025 FuturLab Limited.
Published by Square Enix Ltd. Developed by FuturLab Limited.
Monument Valley. © 2014 ustwo games limited. London, UK Monument Valley 2. © 2017 ustwo games limited. London, UK
EyeMine is an open-source interface that is developed by SpecialEffect, that enables disabled players to play Minecraft using just their eyes. EyeMine is written by Kirsty McNaught, with the eye gaze interface based on OptiKey by Julius Sweetland. Minecraft is developed by Mojang Studios and is published by Mojang Studios and Xbox Game Studios.
