What we lived at OWN Valencia 2026

Three days, and we are still recovering

We are back from OWN Valencia 2026, Spain's biggest gaming and esports festival, and we are wrecked in the best possible way. Three days at Feria València, at the Valencia Game City stand, showing the Padel Rivals demo nonstop. If we had to sum it up in one line: we think we nailed it.

The stand was full at every single moment. Not "busy", full. There were queues to play. People waiting their turn, watching over shoulders, coming back the next day to try again. For an indie studio still building its first game, watching that happen in real time is hard to put into words.

People crowding the Padel Rivals stand at OWN Valencia 2026 in Feria València

We had to fix the game live

Here is the anecdote that says it all. We showed up with matches set to best of three sets, the way padel is played. What we did not expect was how hooked people would get. Players were finishing entire three set matches, staying at the controller for over an hour, while a queue built up behind them.

So we did what you do at an event: we patched the game on the spot. We added a single set mode so more people could get their turn and matches stayed punchy. Live fixes, right there on the show floor, because the demand was real. That is a good problem to have.

The feedback: this is fun

The reaction to the game was genuinely great. People got the arcade pitch in the first rally, picked up the controls fast, and then the good stuff happened: laughs, shouts, that groan when the ball goes just wide, the celebration when a smash lands. The exact reaction we have been chasing since day one.

The thing that matters most to us, as a team and personally, is watching people play, laugh, get frustrated when they miss a point by a hair, and enjoy it. Seeing that the game is fun, that it transmits exactly what we wanted it to transmit, is worth more than any spreadsheet.

Pitch and networking on day one

The first day also had a business side. There was a networking event where we made really good contacts and talked with other founders building in this space. And we got to give a pitch on one of the festival stages, alongside other teams from the video game acceleration program.

Edgar Gómez pitching Padel Rivals on stage at OWN Valencia 2026

Pitching Padel Rivals in front of a live festival crowd, with the game on the big screen, is a different kind of energy than a boardroom. It sharpens the message and it puts the project in front of people who had never heard of it.

Padel fans and total newcomers, both hooked

We came in curious about one thing: OWN is a general gaming festival, not a padel event, so how would a "non padel" crowd react? The answer surprised us in the best way.

A surprisingly high percentage of the visitors actually play padel, and they were blown away to finally see a video game about their sport. And the ones who had never touched a paddle in their life? They loved it too. That combination is exactly the signal an arcade game wants: it works for the fans of the sport and it works for players who just want something fun in their hands.

Cosplayers playing the Padel Rivals demo at the Valencia Game City stand during OWN Valencia 2026

OWN was a proper festival

Beyond our little corner, OWN Valencia was a great fair and a great experience. Events, dance battles, tournaments, cosplay, food, music, the whole thing. A festival with real energy that pulled thousands of people through the doors across the three days. Being part of that, with our game running live in the middle of it, was a privilege.

What we take home

The Krokanti Games team at the Padel Rivals stand at OWN Valencia 2026

We leave OWN with new contacts, conversations already moving, and one thing burning brighter than before: the game is fun, and people want it. After Mad Games Show and Padel World Summit, this was the stop where we saw the general public, padel fans and gamers alike, fall for Padel Rivals. That is the confirmation we needed to keep pushing towards early access.

Follow the journey

If you want to be there when Padel Rivals launches, these are the best ways to support us:

• Add Padel Rivals to your Steam wishlist
• Join our Discord
• Follow us on Instagram

Thank you to Valencia Game City and the OWN Valencia team for a weekend we will not forget. And thank you to every single person who sat down, grabbed a controller and played. We saw your faces. That is why we do this.

The Krokanti Games Team