Every year, Lords of Gaming attends Anime Expo NYC to cover all the major happenings for the event’s PlayNYC and gaming sections. We also enjoy everything anime and pop culture from the Expo each year.
Here’s everything that caught my eye during my time at Anime NYC 2026!
Land of Culture – Entering Anime NYC
The atompshere of the Expo is always a joy to experience each year; seeing tons of amazing cosplays of characters across fiction is awesome, but the excitement continued heading to the main area.
Booths from Viz Media, Bandai Namco, Crunchyroll, Hololive, and several others stood out. As a cat lover, seeing a Frisky’s themed booth was quite charming. But another really surprising booth was the PC gaming booth for the Create Series desktop cases, letting people put LEGO pieces and sets to customize inside gaming PCs.
Speaking of the Blue Blur, though, it wouldn’t be an Anime Expo without Everborne. He once more showed off his latest projects for the Everbone Saga. You can check his awesome work out here.
Beneath the Mask – Cosplay Spotlight
Another thing that makes Anime Expo so fun is seeing the amazing cosplays. When I say nearly everything in fiction is covered here, I’m not kidding. It’s always a delight to see my favorite franchises get love from the community. Below are some of my favorite cosplays from the show.
Putting in the Coins – Gaming at Anime Expo NYC
One of the main reasons Lords of Gaming and Iron Lords Podcast attend Anime Expo NYC is to spotlight the amazing independent developers in the video game community. Play NYC teams up with talented developers to spotlight their amazing upcoming and currently released titles.
Below are some highlights from the PlayNYC area. Expect a lengthy Editorial covering everything I played at Anime NYC soon!
PlayNYC Highlights
- RoleBreakers: The Stolen Crown: This indie game combines the charming artwork and humor of Adventure Time with the tried-and-true top-down adventure gameplay from the best 2D Legend of Zelda games.
- Lemony Fresh: This 3D platformer has you play as cute little Lemon as you clean your way through rooms in a house. Using a combination of mechanics from Super Mario Sunshine and Luigi’s Mansion, this delightfully fresh platformer has potential.
- Projekt Godhand: Out on PC, this music game has players use their keyboards to hit notes coming down both sides of the screen. From the musically ingenious tutorial to responsive controls and stylish visuals, this music game is worth jaming to.
- Frog in the Pocket: Another music delight at the Expo, Frog in the Pocket has players tap the left and right sides of the screen (or press buttons on PC) to eat up Blue, Red, and two-colored Flies to repair clocks.
- Memoralysis: The Scorched Home: One of the longest demos playable at the PlayNYC area, this murder mystery adventure featured a striking, distinct art style and was supported by strong writing.
The Netflix Panel of Anime NYC
The only panel that caught my eye was Netflix’s, due to being major players in the anime industry. The panel featured new trailers for Fools Night and LEGO One Piece.
The biggest surprise was the reveal of Bass X Machina, with Netflix showing the first five minutes of the anime to attendees. Sporting stunning animation from the team behind Devil May Cry and amazing action sequences, this is one to watch out for.
In addition, sneak peeks for both Blue-Eyed Samurai 2 and Cyberpunk Edgerunners 2 were also shown. Overall, I had a great time at the panel, and the vibes were strong from the presenters and the attendees.
Closing Thoughts on Anime NYC 2026
As one of the first-ever expos I went to, Anime Expo NYC continues to offer fun for everyone. Whether you are going for the amazing cosplays, trying out the next indie darling, or enjoying the positive vibes, this is one expo worth attending.
