The National Video Game Museum (NVM) is set to organize the Christmas Lates event for video game enthusiasts in Sheffield, as part of a range of “brilliant” outreach projects.

Visitors will be able stay in late to play video games, and explore the rich history of gaming over the last 50 years.

Events such as Christmas Lates are key to the museum’s efforts to sustain itself, and to raise funds for a variety of projects to support social communities around Sheffield. 

Christian Beckett, Marketing and Communications Officer at NVM, said: “It highlights the people-centred approach to working that connects with our wider community engaging audiences both during and after its creation.

‘Playing with Power’ is one of these “people-centred” initiatives, which allows Sheffield’s sanctuary-seeking community a unique way of telling their stories as videogames.

The project comes from a collaboration between The National Videogame Museum and the Stand and Be Counted Theatre. 

Young kids from Sheffield’s sanctuary-seeking community are learning to create video games with help from Biome Collective, an independent video game studio.

Attendees can see the exhibition at the NVM which displays the learning process and impact of the ‘Playing with Power’ project. 

Mr Beckett said: “The overall objective of the project was to challenge conventional videogame narratives, promote inclusivity, engage underrepresented audiences through digital innovation and make the NVM a more relevant space for all of our communities.

“It was a brilliant and extremely rewarding project and all organisations involved are looking forward to collaborating again in the future.”

 The late opening hours will be a first for the museum which typically closes by 4-5 pm on weekdays.

While video games attract both children and adults, these sessions will solely be for attendees over the age of 18. This will allow the museum to host a Mortal Kombat tournament, given the game’s R rating. 

Christmas Lates sessions will run 5:30-8:30pm on Wednesdays-Fridays, starting from December 4 up until December 20. 

Looking ahead, the museum is also preparing to introduce ‘Illuminate The Play’ later in December where gamers can partake in LED gaming experiences. NVM will also be introducing Virtual Reality setups for Tetris Effect on PlayStation VR.

NVM is currently in the process of becoming an Accredited Museum in the UK under Arts Council England’s Industry Standard for UK museums and galleries.