Tickets for Games of the Future 2026 in Astana have gone on sale
Tickets for Games of the Future 2026, an international competition that combines traditional sport, esport and technology-oriented competition formats, have officially gone on sale for the edition that will be held in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. According to an announcement by Phygital International, the promoter and rights holder of the event, the tournament is scheduled from July 29 to August 9, 2026, and the first sales phase is focused on daily tickets for the group stage in six disciplines. The organizers state that a 20 percent discount is planned for early buyers, while part of the offer, including tickets for the playoffs and finals, will open on June 10. With this, the event has entered a more final phase of preparations, a little more than two months before the start of the competition.
Games of the Future represent one of the most visible examples of so-called phygital sport, a concept in which the physical performance of athletes is combined with digital gaming and competitive formats known from esport. The official website of the event describes the competition as a meeting point of gaming, sport and technology, while the organizers announce more than 900 participants, competitors from more than 50 countries and a prize pool of more than four million US dollars. According to Phygital International data, the 2026 program includes eight disciplines, and the competitions will be held in four sports arenas across Astana.
The first sales phase brings a discount on daily tickets
According to Phygital International's announcement of May 20, 2026, the first batch of tickets applies to the group stage in the disciplines Phygital Football, Phygital Basketball, Phygital Shooter, MOBA Mobile, MOBA PC and Battle Royale. The organizers state that tickets in this phase are offered with a 20 percent discount, valid until June 10, when tickets for the playoffs, finals and the Phygital Fighting MMA discipline should go on sale. The same announcement also confirmed that VIP packages are available, but the details are checked through the official sales channels and the partner ticketing platform.
Prices are presented by discipline and by day. A standard daily ticket costs 8,000 Kazakhstani tenge, or about 17 US dollars, while the early price is 6,400 tenge, or about 13.60 dollars. A student ticket is listed at a price of 6,000 tenge, or about 12.75 dollars, with an early price of 4,800 tenge, or about 10.20 dollars. A children's ticket costs 4,000 tenge, or about 8.50 dollars, and in the early sales period 3,200 tenge, or about 6.80 dollars. According to the organizers' announcement, persons with reduced mobility and one accompanying person will be granted free entry.
For spectators planning a trip to Kazakhstan, it is also important that the official website directs purchases through the Games of the Future Astana 2026 website and the official partner Ticketon.kz. Since this is an international sport and esport event with multiple arenas, it is advisable to check the exact schedule of disciplines and locations before purchasing transport, tickets or accommodation in Astana during the Games of the Future. The organizers have announced that additional information about the program, participants and final stages of the competition will be published as the start of the tournament approaches.
The competition takes place from July 29 to August 9
Official data from Phygital International confirm that Astana will host Games of the Future 2026 from July 29 to August 9, 2026. This date range has been updated compared with earlier announcements from 2025, in which other dates were mentioned, so the current schedule should be based on the latest announcements from the organizers and the official website of the Astana edition. The competition will last twelve days and include disciplines in which physical sporting performance and digital competitive elements are combined.
The organizers announce more than 900 participants from more than 50 countries. According to the official website of the event, the prize pool exceeds four million US dollars, while some announcements mention an amount of more than 4.75 million dollars for eight disciplines. The difference in wording stems from the way the data were presented in different official announcements, but the common message is that Astana 2026 has the ambition to be one of the largest competitions in phygital sport so far. The organizers also announce a strong program for spectators, competition arenas and additional content connected with technology, sport and gaming culture.
The program includes Phygital Football, Phygital Basketball, Phygital Shooter, Phygital Dancing, Phygital Fighting, MOBA Mobile, MOBA PC and Battle Royale. Five disciplines belong to sporting phygital formats, while MOBA competitions on computers and mobile devices and Battle Royale are part of the esport program. According to the organizers' explanations, the goal is to create a format in which not only digital skill and not only physical fitness are rewarded, but the competitors' ability to adapt to a hybrid system of play.
Four arenas in Astana are hosting the competitions
According to official announcements by Games of the Future and Phygital International, the competitions will be held in four major arenas in Astana. The listed venues are Barys Arena, Beeline Arena, the Qazaqstan Athletics Sports Complex and the Zhaksylyk Ushkempirov Martial Arts Palace. The organizers emphasize that these locations will carry the main part of the sporting program and that they were selected because of their capacity, infrastructure and experience in hosting international events.
Beeline Arena is located by the Ishim River and near Central Park in Astana. According to an official Games of the Future announcement, the venue was originally built in 1999 as part of the national tennis center complex, and was later expanded and renamed. The announcement states that it has 24 indoor and outdoor courts with hard and clay surfaces and a capacity of around 2,500 spectators. In March 2026, according to the same source, the venue received Gold Level Recognition from the International Tennis Federation, further highlighting its status in Kazakhstan's sporting calendar.
The Zhaksylyk Ushkempirov Martial Arts Palace opened in 2019 and bears the name of the Kazakh Olympic and world wrestling champion. The organizers present it as one of the important venues for combat sports, including wrestling, judo, karate, taekwondo and mixed martial arts. In the context of Games of the Future 2026, this arena is important because of disciplines in which a stronger physical segment and a connection with combat sports are expected.
What the phygital format means
The term phygital was created by combining the words physical and digital, and in a sporting context it denotes competitions in which the result is not based on only one type of skill. In such a format, teams or individuals can compete in a digital simulation, an esport title or a virtual environment, but also in a physical sporting segment that requires endurance, precision, tactical preparation and team coordination. Games of the Future uses this concept as the basis of the entire program, which is why the event differs from classic esport tournaments and traditional multi-sport events.
Such a format can be especially interesting to younger audiences, but also to sports federations, clubs and organizers looking for new ways to connect sport, technology and digital entertainment. In official materials, the organizers emphasize that phygital competitions are developing as a global phenomenon, and they present the Astana edition as the next major chapter after earlier editions and qualification cycles. According to Phygital International data, the Games of the Future 2025 edition in Abu Dhabi recorded 461 million broadcasts, 137 million viewers and 59 million hours watched, with an additional 388 million views on social networks.
Although these figures come from the organizers' announcement and should be viewed in that context, they show why increasing commercial and media interest is being built around the event. The sporting calendar is increasingly expanding toward formats that include digital platforms, live broadcasts, social networks and an interactive experience for spectators. Games of the Future 2026 in Astana aims to bring these elements together in an event that relies not only on the audience in arenas, but also on global digital following.
Qualifications and Phygital Contenders
Some participants have already, according to the organizers' announcements, secured participation at Games of the Future 2026, while additional places will be filled through Phygital Contenders Astana 2026. This qualifying event takes place from June 10 to 14 in Astana and includes three disciplines: Phygital Football, Phygital Basketball and Phygital Dancing. The official Games of the Future website describes Phygital Contenders as the final qualification level at which elite challengers fight for the right to compete at the main event.
The announcement of Phygital Contenders is also important for spectators because it coincides with the end of the early ticket discount and the start of ticket sales for the playoffs and finals. The organizers state that global coverage of the qualifications will be available via the Phygital+ platform, continuing the model of combining a physical event and digital broadcast. For teams and competitors, this tournament is the last major opportunity to enter the program in Astana, and for the audience an additional indicator of participants' form before the July start of the main competition.
Astana as host of a technology-oriented sporting event
Awarding the hosting rights to Astana fits into Kazakhstan's broader goal of positioning the capital as a venue for major international sporting and technological events. According to earlier announcements by the organizers and Kazakh media, Games of the Future 2026 is presented as an event that connects sports infrastructure, the digital industry and the international promotion of the city. Official materials particularly emphasize that the competition will gather a large number of athletes, teams, fans, volunteers and media partners.
It is also important for Astana that the event is held in multiple arenas, which enables the distribution of the competition program across different parts of the city. Such a model can increase logistical complexity, but also expand the event's impact on local infrastructure, hospitality, transport and tourism services. Since an international audience is expected, official sales channels and clear information about the schedule will be important for visitors who need to plan travel, tickets and their stay.
Tickets as a signal of final preparations
The start of ticket sales usually marks the transition from the announcement phase to the operational preparation phase of an event. In the case of Games of the Future 2026, the sales confirm that key elements of the program, dates and part of the disciplines have already been publicly defined, while details about the final stages and individual competitors are still being supplemented. According to Phygital International's announcement, tickets can be purchased through the official Games of the Future Astana 2026 website and the official partner Ticketon.kz, and additional announcements are expected ahead of June 10 and the start of the final sales phase.
For spectators, the most important thing at the moment is to distinguish the early offer for the group stage from later tickets for the playoffs and finals. The early discount applies to daily tickets in six disciplines, while the final parts of the program will become available later. Since the program is held in multiple arenas, purchasing a ticket by discipline and day requires careful monitoring of the official schedule, especially for visitors who want to follow multiple disciplines or combine a sporting and tourist stay in Astana.
Games of the Future continues expanding beyond classic sport
Games of the Future 2026 arrives at a time when the boundaries between sport, esport, entertainment and technology increasingly overlap. The organizers present the event as a global platform for a new type of competition, and the opening of ticket sales shows that this concept is increasingly becoming a format intended for audiences in arenas as well, not only for viewers in front of screens. From July 29 to August 9, Astana will test how much such a model can attract an international audience, competitors and media attention.
According to available information, more than 900 participants, eight disciplines, more than 50 represented nationalities and a prize pool of more than four million dollars are expected. For the organizers, this is an opportunity to confirm the growth of phygital sport, and for the host, an opportunity to present itself as the center of a major hybrid sporting event. The next important date will be June 10, when early sales end and when tickets for the final stages of the competition should open.
Sources:
- Phygital International – announcement on the start of ticket sales, prices, discount and sales phases (link)
- Games of the Future – official website of the 2026 edition with dates, disciplines and basic information about the event (link)
- Games of the Future – announcement on confirmed dates, disciplines, arenas and prize pool for Astana 2026 (link)
- Phygital International – confirmation of dates, program, expected number of participants and the context of the Astana edition (link)
- Games of the Future – announcement on the arenas hosting the competitions in Astana (link)
- Games of the Future Astana 2026 – official ticket purchase page and redirection to the sales partner (link)