Johannesburg is about to get loud. rAge Expo 2025 touches down at Fourways Mall this week, and the energy around it feels a lot like Comic Con, a gaming marathon and a tech festival all rolled into one. It is the kind of event where gamers, anime fans, cosplayers, families and die-hard tech lovers collide in a swirl of lights, sound and nostalgia. If your calendar has been looking a little too quiet, this is the weekend fix.
And judging from what is on the menu this year, rAge is not holding back.
A Quick Look At The New Stuff
This year comes with a few clever highlights that lean into culture as much as gaming.
NAG Retro LAN: A fully catered plug-and-play throwback zone. No setup stress, no late-night driver panic, just pure nostalgia with actual seats inside the BYOC section.
zaLUG’s Death Star Build: A 9023-piece LEGO Star Wars Death Star that the community will build live. If you needed a reason to bring the kids, this is it.
Alien: Earth activation by Disney: A dark walkthrough with a crashed spaceship, atmospheric effects and a few well-timed surprises. Think Disneyland energy on Gauteng soil.
Lightsaber-building workshop: Because there is something deeply healing about assembling a glowing blade and pretending you know the Jedi code.
Compete, Win, Repeat
The competitions this year feel bigger and more chaotic in the best possible way.
- Play the global first of Call of Duty Mobile’s new DMZ mode and stand a chance to win an iPhone 17.
- Jump into 5FM’s Challenge the Pro events for bragging rights and daily King of the Hill battles.
- Set the fastest lap on Kyalami in Koodoo’s Project Motor Racing sim and win VEX Smart Glasses worth R5000.
- Escape rooms by Hashtag Escapes with trophies and LEGO art for the fastest teams.
- Monster’s Hot Laps Challenge, ACGL’s fighting cups, EAFC matches, and racing tournaments across the expo floor.
- A bouldering competition by Bloc11 where tapping the boulder earns you legit prizes.
- LEGO scratch patch challenges for the builders at heart.
- Anime figurines, tattoo vouchers and plenty of instant-win merch floating around.
Gamers call it chaos. Marketers call it activation. Parents call it “the place my child disappeared to for six hours”. Everyone wins.
What You Get To Play
If 2024 was the year AR and handhelds found their confidence, rAge 2025 feels like the year everything arrives in full force.
- Battlefield 6 makes an appearance with a free-to-play zone.
- COD Mobile’s DMZ mode lands for its global first play.
- Sim rigs from Razer, Turtle Beach, BT Games, Citroën and Monster are everywhere.
- Local indie titles shine in the Home_Coded section. Expect chaotic chickens, psychological horror and some surprisingly polished SA-made gems.
- The ROG Ally X and Rokid AR glasses are ready for hands-on testing.
- Viture One AR glasses promise 120-inch floating displays that look like home cinema in your pocket.
- Razer, TITAN, Redragon and Turtle Beach are showcasing new peripherals for anyone thinking about an upgrade.
And If You Love Free Stuff
This year’s prize pool stretches from gaming hardware to tattoos to signed comics.
- Win a modded R45000 MSI PC through the NAG Golden Ticket giveaway.
- R1000 anime figurine vouchers from PXR.
- A R6000 tattoo session from Royal Ink.
- Instant prizes at BT Games, NAG, Apex and Monster.
- CineCentre tickets, Evetech bundles and surprise drops across the weekend.
Basically, your odds of leaving with something random but cool are surprisingly high.
Cosplay, Anime And The Culture Zone
One thing rAge gets right is its balance between gaming and culture.
More than sixty artists will fill the Artist Alley with original art, commissions and handmade work. The Anime After Hours stage brings J-pop and K-pop performances, quizzes and karaoke sessions that will absolutely end up on TikTok. The cosplay competitions run daily with categories for newcomers, veterans and kids.
This is where the community side of gaming culture really shows up.
Content Creators And Social Spaces
If you live on TikTok, this part is for you.
SPACE.tm has a creator booth where you can livestream, film TikTok videos or sit for podcast-style interviews. 5FM will be broadcasting live all weekend. The Mettlestate Lounge offers free coffee and gaming pods and there is even a Smash Room for anyone who needs a harmless place to break things.
Learning, Panels And Inspiration
JETRO, StyIP and the Japanese Embassy will host panels on anime licensing, creative careers and studying in Japan. Local developers in the Home_Coded zone will showcase work-in-progress builds and offer early demos before wider release.
These sessions tend to fly under the radar, but they often end up being the most inspiring part of the show.
The Hardware Deals Are Serious
Two stands to keep on your radar:
VanguardPC x Takealot will have exclusive show-only deals at up to 40 percent off. There will be custom and prebuilt rigs starting at R16999 and going all the way up to R89999.
BT Games is running expo-only specials that disappear the moment the event ends.
If you have been waiting for the right moment to upgrade, this is the weekend.
Esports Takes Centre Stage
rAge 2025 is loaded with tournaments across multiple stages.
- Call of Duty Black Ops 7 Finals powered by Monster
- Varsity Esports Finals with EA Sports FC25, Rocket League and Valorant
- Mamelodi Sundowns Championship with R200000 prize pool
- Kasi Flare 2025 showcasing township gaming talent
- Mastercard Nedbank Summoner Tournament with a R100000 prize
- RGB Gaming Schools and Student Championships
- Daily face-offs in the King of the Hill Zone
- ACGL tournaments for fighting games and football
This is the most diverse esports lineup rAge has hosted in years.
The Basics
Dates: 5 to 7 December 2025
Venue: Fourways Mall Level 8, Johannesburg
Tickets: Available now via Howler
Website: rageexpo.co.za
Final Word
rAge Expo 2025 feels ambitious, immersive and surprisingly community-driven. It is the kind of event that reminds you why gaming culture matters in South Africa. It brings people together, gives local creators a platform and lets everyone tap into that sense of play that adulthood usually tries to take away.
If you are in Johannesburg this weekend, pack comfortable shoes, charge your phone and bring a sense of curiosity. rAge is ready. The question is whether you are.
