Under the theme "Game Worlds as Cultural Infrastructures: The Role of Videogames in Europe's Emerging Creative Industries", the programme articulated critical reflection and artistic practice through Vincent Moulinet's keynote address, entitled "Role-playing the corporate slop: a call for collective conspiracies”, in which the artist and curator drew on independent game creation to explore collective practices of speculative fiction, proposing play and the suspension of disbelief as drivers for the production of new narratives in the real world.

The debate, moderated by João Ribeiro, explored these issues in greater depth by addressing video games as cultural infrastructures that shape relationships between players, machines, bodies, communities, ecologies and identities. The conversation crossed Portuguese and French practices, focusing on themes such as non-human systems, mechanical friction, subversion of game grammars, critical worldbuilding, emerging communities, and the political, social, and ecological role of contemporary game design script future gaming.

In parallel, the Arcade Room presented the public with a selection of independent games by Portuguese and French creators — such as CLT, Lady in a Bird Mask, i-land. online, 747.7, NIGHTSLINK, no shelter but my heart, The Siren and Playing the Game is Letting It Exist — materialising, through direct experience, the aesthetic, political and technological issues discussed throughout the day and highlighting the vitality of European independent creation.

During the event, there was also time for relaxation and networking. Lunch was an example of international conviviality among the guests, Future Game partners, and the Councillor for Culture of the Braga City Council, Catarina Miranda.

Future Game would like to express its deepest gratitude to: the Institut Français in Portugal, namely Giusi Tinella and Philippe Mouchel; IPCA – Instituto Politécnico do Cávado e do Ave, especially Professor Vítor Carvalho and Eva Oliveira; Encontros da Imagem, for providing material for the Arcade Room; Pedro Cardoso, from the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Porto; to Eduardo Brito in co-curating the games with Eva Oliveira and Pedro Cardoso; to the artists whose games were included in the Arcade Room, Vincent Moulinet, Abel Neto, Isaque Sanches, Stella Jacob, Catarina Teles, Mélanie Courtinat, André Sier, Not A Game Studio and to João Ribeiro who moderated the debate.