Insomnia Gaming Festival teases 2026 return

Prominent UK esports and gaming event Insomnia Gaming Festival looks set to make a surprising return in 2026.

After closing its doors in 2024, the event’s social media account has shared an image that teased Insomnia’s shocking plans for Spring 2026.

Insomnia’s return was also teased on the event’s X (formerly Twitter) bio, which stated: ‘We said we’d be back…’. No further information, such as a potential location, has been shared.

Founded in 1997, Player1 Events oversaw and ran Insomnia Gaming Festival. The company was sold to GAME in 2015 before being acquired by Supernova Capital in 2021. 

For years, the conference was a hotbed for grassroots esports tournaments, including local LAN competitions for Counter-Strike, League of Legends, Rocket League and many others.

The teased comeback of Insomnia Gaming Festival almost immediately caused mixed reactions from the UK esports and gaming community, mainly due to its controversial exit from the scene last year. 

The last Insomnia event took place in March 2024 (i73). Following the UK gaming exhibition, reports surfaced that Player1 Events, Insomnia’s organisers, had laid off staff. Esports Insider later reported that some companies had yet to receive payment from Player1 Events for its services at i73.

In September 2024, Esports Insider reported that Insomnia Gaming Festival had paid back many freelancers; however, debts totalling over £500,000 were still unresolved. At the time of publishing this article, Esports Insider can not confirm if any payments are still unresolved.

Esports Insider understands that the Insomnia Gaming Festival brand will be under the ownership of Novacorp. 

According to the UK Government Companies House website, Novacorp Management Limited’s Director is Paul Wedgwood, the Co-Founder of Supernova Capital, Player1 Events’ parent company. Player1 Events is also listed as in liquidation on the government website. 

Esports Insider has reached out to Supernova Capital for comment regarding its involvement in the event. This article will be updated if a response is given.