VEX Name Reveal:
2026-27 Season

01 The Name Reveal Teaser

On April 8, 2026 — about a week before VEX Worlds kicks off in St. Louis — VEX Robotics posted a teaser video across their social channels with a simple, spine-tingling message: "This FRIDAY, your 2026–2027 game names will be revealed." That Friday is April 11, when the game names for both V5RC and VIQRC were officially teased to the community — though the full game rules, field elements, and manual drop at the main event on April 24.

VEX traditionally reveals the new season's game name before Worlds as a hype-building move. It gives competitors something to speculate about while the championship is still happening, and creates a natural crescendo — the community spends the week theorising, then gets the full rules reveal at the closing ceremony. It's a format that has worked brilliantly for past seasons like High Stakes and Push Back, and 2026–27 is no different.

02 Watch the Teaser Video

VEX posted the name reveal teaser live on their official channels. The video is short, punchy, and deliberately vague on details — but the excitement it generates every year is real. Watch it below, then come back for our full breakdown.

If the embed above doesn't load, you can watch it directly on VEX Robotics' official YouTube channel or their Facebook page, where they streamed it live. The April 24 full game reveal will stream on VEX TV — we'll post the link here when it goes live.

03 Season Name History

Understanding where VEX has been helps predict where it might be going. Looking back at recent season names, there's a clear pattern: names tend to be action-oriented, physics-flavoured, or describe the primary robot mechanic. Here's a quick look at recent history:

VEX IQ runs a parallel but separate game. This season (2025-26) they played Mix & Match, and their 2026-27 name was also teased alongside V5RC. The IQ full reveal happens on April 30 at Worlds.

04 Full Reveal Timeline

Here's the complete roadmap from now until the season kicks off — everything you need to calendar:

05 What to Expect

Based on the pattern of recent seasons, there are a few educated guesses the community is making. Here's our honest read on what the 2026–27 game is likely to involve:

Object manipulation is almost certain

Every V5RC game in recent memory has involved picking up, placing, or sorting physical game objects — rings, triballs, discs, or goals. Expect something you'll need a well-engineered intake mechanism to handle. The name reveal teaser itself rarely gives this away, but the field element kit pre-order page confirms a new set of elements, which means new game objects entirely.

Autonomous will be a priority

VEX has doubled down on autonomous scoring importance across recent seasons. High Stakes gave six bonus points for autonomous wins — and that pressure pushed teams to invest seriously in odometry and path-planning. Expect the 2026–27 game to continue in this direction, possibly making auton even more decisive.

Endgame mechanics are likely

The ladder climb in High Stakes and the corner-rush in Push Back both rewarded endgame risk-taking. VEX loves an endgame moment — it's dramatic to watch and rewards strategic match play. We'd put money on an endgame element in 2026–27 as well.

06 How to Prepare Right Now

The game hasn't been fully revealed yet — but that doesn't mean you should be sitting still. Here's what elite teams are doing during this window:

Watch the full April 24 reveal live

Tune into VEX TV on April 24 immediately after the High School V5RC finals. Being among the first to understand the new game is a genuine competitive advantage — you can start sketching robot concepts while other teams are still finding the stream replay.

Read the manual the day it drops

The game manual goes live April 27. Read it end to end. Not a summary — the full thing. The rules that win matches are buried in the fine print, and teams who know the edge cases before anyone else consistently outperform at early-season events.

Pre-order the competition kit

VEX has already opened pre-orders for the 2026-27 full game and field element kits. Getting your kit early means more practice time with the actual game elements before your first tournament. Teams that build on mock fields from August onward enter their first event at a measurably higher skill level.

Strengthen your fundamentals now

Odometry, PID tuning, drive train consistency — these skills transfer across every VEX season. If your autonomous is reliable and your driver has logged serious hours, you'll be adapting to a new game from a position of strength.