<![CDATA[GCG's Newsletter]]>https://gameconferenceguide.substack.comhttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!FBtE!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fgameconferenceguide.substack.com%2Fimg%2Fsubstack.pngGCG's Newsletterhttps://gameconferenceguide.substack.comSubstackMon, 17 Aug 2026 19:17:12 GMT<![CDATA[Biggest mistake when attending events ]]>https://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/biggest-mistake-when-attending-eventshttps://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/biggest-mistake-when-attending-eventsFri, 07 Aug 2026 06:32:57 GMTIn this month’s issue:

  • What to pay attention to and what to ignore

  • Learn from my mistakes

  • Time to focus on Istanbul

  • Cologne is calling!

It seems that we are all in gamescom preparations. Going through the meeting systems, checking out who is going, doing roll calls, sending invites, organizing mixers, dinners, side events, inviting delegates to your booth, sending reminders, follow ups and checking out where to eat.

The biggest, the busiest, the craziest, and in many cases the one event many are betting everything on is about to create a gravity well so huge, all eyes of the games industry will turn to Cologne.

And many will make mistakes.

As I was about to revisit How to prepare for any event, an article that begs for an update and I am planning to return to it someday, it hit me. Let’s focus this time on mistakes I have observed, and learned hard lessons from. I have reached out to fellow conference organizers to compare notes, if they have noticed some of them being repeated across their attendees and I was lucky to receive some of them.

Here they are:

  • Plan ahead, plan strategically, but don’t overplan

  • Don’t think the event will make it for you

  • Avoid of being everywhere and return back to the hotel early in the morning

  • Not paying attention to messages from organizers

  • Ignoring the meeting system until the last minute

  • “This time I will create gaps in the calendar!”

  • Attending without a clear goal or preparations

  • Booking trips late = paying more for travel, accommodation & ticket

  • Failing to pre-book meetings

  • No follow up after the show

  • Focusing on quantity over quality

  • Treating event as a rewards and vacation

  • Networking only with familiar faces

You can take a new pair of shoes to gamecom, and the day after you won’t be able to clock in 15K steps. You can book a meeting in the business center followed by another one in Dorint and the one in the hotel you won’t make on time. You can go to check out the showfloor on Friday afternoon and you will drown in the flood of people in the corridors between massive halls.

Your meeting can be cancelled or moved at the last minute and your schedule is going to fall apart. Your device with the presentation can die, or ask for internet connection. And you can go full panic mode as others might look busier, more organized, confident & successful. You can try to fit so many friends, leads, prospects into one schedule, that you won’t be able to have normal conversations.

You probably know all of these.

PARTNER OF THE MONTH

Meet the Games Industry in Istanbul at Mobidictum Conference 2026

Mobidictum Conference 2026 takes place on 7–8 October 2026 at the Istanbul Lütfi Kırdar Congress Center.

The event brings together 2,500+ attendees, 1,000+ companies, 125+ speakers, and participants from 65+ countries. Across two days, game studios, publishers, investors, service providers, mobile game and app companies will meet for sessions, 1:1 meetings, expo activity, indie showcases, and dedicated networking formats.

Attendees can book meetings through the Mobidictum app, join Investor, Publisher and Vendor Matchups, take part in the Morning Speed Match, and meet peers at the Founders, Mobile Games and Women in Games Mixers. The programme also includes the Business & Games Expo, an expanded indie area featuring 100+ Indie & PC studios, workshops, the Indie Award Show, Happy Hour, and the Main Party.

Choose the pass that fits your plans and join the industry in Istanbul this October..

GET TICKETS NOW

When I was looking at my past years of attending events, all my mistakes described above and the ones shared by my organizers friends, have one thing in common.

Not setting up goals properly.

We are all falling victims to certain ones, and some we will make no matter how many times we got burned. Have you ever told yourself, this time I will make gaps in between meetings only to end up back to back again?

It is easy to fall into a trap of sitting at sessions, which are important, but if you are there to meet new people, you won’t be having a conversation with them while a lecturer is presenting slides. It is also easy to go with the known crowd. Don’t get me wrong, friends are inevitably there to break the ice, to feel secure and also to be your anchor if you are not able to meet anyone new at mixers. But if you are hanging out only with those that you know, you won’t make new friends, learn something new, or something completely useless.

Everyone has a different event routine, and how they prepare for events. I was always envious of those who were flying in and leaving Cologne after two nights before gamescom even started. How efficient!

Time is your only enemy. And the time at big events like gamescom is fluid before and during it.

I am not a believer in full agendas. I would rather take 5 meetings that make sense then to fill up the slots with meetings just for the sake of meetings. It happened to me so many times that my focus was split between conference organizers, trade groups, and I forgot to talk to clients or find new ones. I like to learn, and compare notes, but many of those meetings can be done via emails or messages outside of the event.

Having a list of clear goals is the most important thing. They dictate with whom you are going to meet, and where you are going to go for a mixer. They bring clarity to the noise and with the FOMO kicking in, they are grounding you and making you focus. They define also, if you should accept another invite to a third dinner that night, or to fill up slots with filler meetings. Goals keep you on the track.

FEATURED EVENTS

Where the games industry starts gamescom week

If you’re planning your gamescom week, here’s a look at what’s already taking shape at gamescom dev 2026.

Hundreds of speakers have already been announced, including keynote speakers Amir Satvat and Anthony Gallegos, Creative Director of Subnautica 2.

The conference will feature co-curated tracks on Animation, Level Design, and AI, alongside the gamescom dev indie expo, the gamescom dev awards, and a diverse program of networking events.

Across three days at the Confex Center in Cologne (August 23–25), you’ll find a conference built around high-quality content, meaningful networking, business opportunities, and a dedicated expo space.

Explore all about gamescom dev

We are learning from mistakes, and in the past I thought that just by attending or getting there, I have made it and now I will reap the benefits.

Events are providing you with opportunities, visibility and tools, but it is up to you how you are going to utilize them and how you approach them.

Promote your happy hour, make sure you are inviting good people, or create these opportunities for yourself and then work the room. Invite people to your booth, or go to one of the side events. An event is happening around you and if you think the event is waiting for you, you will end up disappointed.

Again, it goes back to goals.

I have been to events where I thought I was not having any goals. I was present and wanted to feel a place I have never been to, how it looks, what it is about and learn. These are the best ones as there is no pressure, no ROIs, no one to chase. Again the goal in hindsight was to get the feeling of the event, be it via playing games, talking to exhibitors, the organizers themselves or the community attending it. And in many cases I have met interesting people I am in touch with even today.

I can’t stress enough how important it is to set measurable goals to yourself when attending any event. It will make your life a bit easier and your focus sharper when making decisions, if you should check out one more mixer before heading to the hotel and have 4 hours to sleep before your most important meeting next morning.

Pace yourself and also wear comfy shoes!

That is it for this edition.

We will see each other at gamescom and then at DICE Europe. Hit me up if you are planning to be there.

Game Conference Guide Insights is a monthly newsletter covering games industry events. If you find it interesting, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

📺 Gamescom Showcases to watch in August

Get all details, dates, times & direct links to broadcasts here.

⏰Upcoming Deadlines on the horizon

Get all deadlines here.

[Game Conference Guide is helping you find your next games industry event.]

Thank you for reading and supporting Game Conference Guide.

Consider sharing it with your peers, colleagues, and community.

Pavol Buday, curator @ GCG

]]><![CDATA[Deep Dive: BGD The Nordic Executive Circle]]>https://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/deep-dive-bgd-the-nordic-executivehttps://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/deep-dive-bgd-the-nordic-executiveThu, 16 Jul 2026 08:25:06 GMTIn this month’s issue:

  • Zooming in on a dream event

  • Shanghai is calling, get ready!

  • Check out fresh events in Istanbul and Cologne

One type of event has been haunting me since I started organizing industry conferences. The idea behind is very simple; an event without visible branding and exclusive enough to be invite-only. And for some time, I was unable to figure it out no matter how many I have attended. Until one day I got the invite.

With the increased number and popularity of CEO focused events and summits sprinkled around the event circuit, I thought about writing a second deep dive about a special place. This time about an event born on an island shaping up the Nordic region with the influence from all around Europe.

Disclaimer: I was lucky and privileged to participate at BGD - The Nordic Executive Circle multiple times. Since 2023 I have been an active board member alongside six other hi-profile executives. This post is not sponsored in any shape and form, and the reason why I want to talk about it is its unique setup.

BGD stands for Bornholm Game Days. As the name suggests it originated on Danish island and for years it was organized under the umbrella of Nordisk Games as a way to bring studio directors together and foster a way to communicate challenges and looking together at broader issues - toxicity, inequality, climate impact - that are far bigger than the region itself.

Nowadays the event continues under the BGD - Nordic Executive Circle name as it is no longer happening at Bornholm and has been held around multiple places until its found a temporary home in Skåne region, in Sweden. Also since end of last year it is fully independent. The vision stayed the same and the goals were aligned with the needs of the industry and directly influenced by its participants.

PARTNER OF THE MONTH

Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai returns on 29th July as a focused international games industry gathering designed to bring together Eastern and Western games businesses ahead of ChinaJoy, one of the world's largest games events.

Taking place at the Shanghai International Conference Center, the one-day summit will welcome developers, publishers, investors, platforms and service providers from China and around the globe for a day of high-level networking, insight sharing and business development.

The conference programme features expert speakers discussing international publishing, market trends, investment, AI, global growth opportunities and the evolving relationship between China and the wider games industry. This year also sees the expansion of the Big Indie Pitch developer competition into the region.

Unlike a large-scale expo, PGC Summit Shanghai is intentionally designed as a more curated environment where meaningful conversations and valuable connections can flourish. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet potential partners, explore new markets and build relationships ahead of the busy ChinaJoy week.

Whether you're looking to understand opportunities in China, expand internationally, or connect with decision-makers from across the games ecosystem, PGC Summit Shanghai offers a productive and welcoming setting to do business.

REGISTER NOW

BGD is happening in a luxurious and cozy spa hotel Mossbylund sitting by the coast. It is secluded and on-site you do have all facilities the group will need during the 1,5 days. It starts and ends with the shuttle ride from Copenhagen airport. The programme is guided and moderated throughout and once you are on board it is pretty intense with almost no gaps in between. Even with the venue offering a lot of activities, the quality of people in attendance and the conversations themselves are creating pressure not to miss any.

The group stays together throughout the day and works together on challenges and results are later shared with the rest of the attendees. While topics and the structure are changing each year, the focus is to bring attention to the current issues the games industry is facing.

Aerial photo of Mossbylund Spa report taken from the coast.
BGD in many ways feels like a summer camp. Venue is secluded, there is no one around to listen to the conversations and the group works together from the moment they arrive.

Breaking down the attendees into groups creates smaller circles of trust where you can open up and share what are your current challenges, while others in the group are offering their opinion, ideas or solutions. This setup feels almost therapeutic. Being vulnerable is scary but rewarding and gains trust with your peers.

Multiple breaks during the day providing room to strike a conversation with peers or for a new introduction. There is very little time to check for messages during the day. In the evening where even the newcomers appreciate the openness, the event flows naturally outside by the fire, in the spa or at the bar till late hours. BGD in many ways feels like a summer camp.

The second day is less packed and focuses on two roundtable rounds with results shared before heading out. The topics are always suggested by the attendees themselves.

The hard capped capacity at around 35 - 40 makes the group small enough you can meet everyone and have a meaningful interaction. Everything happening at the event is falling under Chatham House rule. You can use all the insights and learnings from the event but you can’t point a finger to who said it. Simple.

FEATURED EVENTS

Experience the gamescom business week with gamescom dev 2026.

gamescom dev returns to Cologne and headlines gamescom week (August 24–28) as its conference hub. One ticket gives you access to both gamescom dev and gamescom, combining a curated conference experience with one of the industry’s busiest business weeks.

This year’s program features keynote speaker Amir Satvat, along with expert-led talks, panels, and workshops. Dedicated co-curated tracks cover Level Design, Animation, and AI in Gameplay & AI in Production.

FIND THE RIGHT PASS FOR YOU

Meet the Games Industry in Istanbul at Mobidictum Conference 2026

Mobidictum Conference 2026 takes place on 7–8 October 2026 at the Istanbul Lütfi Kırdar Congress Center.

The event brings together 2,500+ attendees, 1,000+ companies, 125+ speakers, and participants from 65+ countries. Across two days, game studios, publishers, investors, service providers, mobile game and app companies will meet for sessions, 1:1 meetings, expo activity, indie showcases, and dedicated networking formats.

Don’t miss the chance to connect with the right people to scale your games business this October.

GET TICKETS NOW

What BGD isn’t?

It is not your traditional summit, nor conference. The sessions are influenced by the attendees themselves, and they are driving the insights shared. It still maintains the vision, why it was created in the first place, to advance the whole games industry while helping each other to solve challenges that we might face together.

There are no booths. There is no showcase. There is no registration. There is no meeting system. There are no logos plastered around. From outside it looks like a team bonding exercise rather than an industry event. There are no service providers (I might be the odd one, as I do work for one – IndieBI), and most of the attendees know each other or have heard about the games / studio they work on. The trust is built almost immediately and the shield you usually have up at conferences is going down. There is literally no one around who could listen to the group.

How to get in, how much does it cost?

BGD is an invite only event. Your chances of attending it are higher if you do have a studio in the Nordic region.

There is a small cost tied to hospitality, but in general you are not buying a ticket. Thanks to partners almost everything is complimentary, including the transfer to Copenhagen airport. And the partners are champions understanding the value of the event without requiring visible branding around the event.

The only costs you must think about is your time and flight ticket or gas if you are arriving by car. You do not have to bring anything; all is prepared down to the notepad and supplies you will need for all the activities.

This event is reserved for studio leaders first coming from small outfits, indies, AA up to AAA companies.

Would I recommend attending?

If you can, absolutely. BGD is one of a kind event with access so unprecedented and conversations so open, you won’t find them anywhere else.

The BGD group is putting occasionally smaller more focused events throughout the year for the BGD community and close friends. Follow LinkedIn for more information and details about the upcoming activities.

This was the second Deep Dive here at Game Conference Guide Insights.

Read the first Deep Dive about DICE Europe here.

Game Conference Guide Insights is a monthly newsletter covering games industry events. If you find it interesting, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

📺 Upcoming Showcases to watch in July 2026

Get all details, dates, times & direct links to broadcasts here.

⏰Upcoming Deadlines on the horizon

Get all deadlines here.

[Game Conference Guide is helping you find your next games industry event.]

Thank you for reading and supporting Game Conference Guide.

Consider sharing it with your peers, colleagues, and community.

Pavol Buday, curator @ GCG

]]><![CDATA[Where and how to watch Summer Game Fest showcases - all the links and times]]>https://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/where-and-how-to-watch-summer-gamehttps://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/where-and-how-to-watch-summer-gameMon, 01 Jun 2026 09:57:37 GMTIn this month’s issue:

  • Summer of game showcases is upon us

  • Shanghai is calling, get ready!

  • Fresh new events from Poland & Canada

This one is going to be short, as we have entered the showcases and world premieres harvest with the upcoming Summer Game Fest and dozen or so adjacent mini broadcasts promising new announcements, tons of trailers and updates to existing games.

This year, the summer showcases are spread across the whole month of June, with 17 official Summer Game Fest broadcasts and 11 adjacent ones, starting with June 1st and ending with the Summer Indie Showcase on June 22nd. And there will be more of them, especially smaller ones coming from influencers and small labels.

Of course the summer doesn’t stop with June showcases, there are already some scheduled for July and the season will be closed with Opening Night Live at gamescom.

From the good old days, only two regular ones are staying: Xbox and PC Gaming Show. Ubisoft won’t host their Forward broadcast, or it hasn’t been announced as I write these words. Devolver hasn’t announced their Direct yet either.

Last year there have been 134 showcases in total, the biggest amount of them broadcasted during June. This summer we will see more showcases than in 2025.

PARTNER OF THE MONTH

Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai returns on 29th July as a focused international games industry gathering designed to bring together Eastern and Western games businesses ahead of ChinaJoy, one of the world's largest games events.

Taking place at the Shanghai International Conference Center, the one-day summit will welcome developers, publishers, investors, platforms and service providers from China and around the globe for a day of high-level networking, insight sharing and business development.

The conference programme features expert speakers discussing international publishing, market trends, investment, AI, global growth opportunities and the evolving relationship between China and the wider games industry. This year also sees the expansion of the Big Indie Pitch developer competition into the region.

Unlike a large-scale expo, PGC Summit Shanghai is intentionally designed as a more curated environment where meaningful conversations and valuable connections can flourish. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet potential partners, explore new markets and build relationships ahead of the busy ChinaJoy week.

Whether you're looking to understand opportunities in China, expand internationally, or connect with decision-makers from across the games ecosystem, PGC Summit Shanghai offers a productive and welcoming setting to do business.

REGISTER NOW

Game Conference Guide is not tracking just the summer showcases (Summer Game Fest, notE3 + Gamescom), but all relevant broadcasts throughout the year.

Showcases have been part of Game Conference Guide for more than 3 years now and they are monitored throughout the year, not just during the Summer Game Fest. On the website you can find popular awards, game movie premieres, hardware premieres and game announcements, which you can filter by month or by a type.

Last year, there were 134 showcases with announcements and world premieres. The total length of the broadcasts was more than 200 hours, so if you would like to binge watch them, it would take you 8,4 days.

In 2025 we saw 33% more broadcasts than the year before, and in 2026 we can expect a slight increase. This year alone, Game Conference Guide is already tracking 79 showcases for the whole 2026.

If we zoom in just on June which is bringing historically the largest amount of showcases, 2026 is clear winner with 27 of them. And I suspect there will be more towards the second half of the month. So stay tuned and visit after the Summer Game Fest wraps up.

FEATURED EVENTS

Don’t miss DevGAMM Gdańsk 2026 – the event where the Baltic gamedev ecosystem comes together this summer! 🇵🇱

Join the conference on June 18-19 for two days of high-level content and massive networking, with sessions built around the real challenges studios face today: co-development, AI-driven workflows, LiveOps, monetization, and mobile trends.

REGISTER NOW

The North American Games Industry Summit (NAGIS) Powered by Xsolla is a high-impact B2B event uniting studios, publishers, investors, and tech partners through curated programming, executive sessions, and structured pitch meetings. Featuring world-class speakers, premium hospitality, and exclusive networking, NAGIS drives real deal-making. Launching June 18–19, 2026 at the Edmonton EXPO Centre alongside Game Con Canada.

REGISTER HERE

Game Con Canada is Canada’s largest gaming expo, uniting 40,000–50,000 fans for a three-day celebration of video games, board games, esports, cosplay, celebrities, and pop culture. Spanning 400,000+ sq ft at the Edmonton EXPO Centre, GCC features hundreds of demos, major stage productions, and immersive activations. Join us June 19–21, 2026, don’t miss it… BRING YOUR EH-GAME!

SECURE YOUR SPOT

Where to find them? And how to watch them?

On the website you can see all the broadcasts in the Showcase area, with dates & times and direct links to the streams. All these entries are hand-picked, manually curated and updated after the showcase concludes with such details like the length in minutes for example.

Most importantly, if you do not want to miss any of these announcements, head over to the calendar, add the favourite ones or all of them into your schedule with just one click and be reminded the day before about them.

So, what can you expect in the coming days?

☀️List of all upcoming summer game fest showcases and notE3 broadcasts and how to watch them:

Links to the streams will be updated if a direct link is missing.

Game Conference Guide Insights is a monthly newsletter covering games industry events. If you find it interesting, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

[Game Conference Guide is helping you find your next games industry event.]

Thank you for reading and supporting Game Conference Guide.

Consider sharing it with your peers, colleagues, and community.

Pavol Buday, curator @ GCG

]]><![CDATA[Opportunities and expectations - where to go for business]]>https://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/opportunities-and-expectations-wherehttps://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/opportunities-and-expectations-whereTue, 26 May 2026 10:49:47 GMTIn this month’s issue:

  • Where to find new business, leads and prospects?

  • Barcelona is calling, get ready!

  • Check out fresh new events from Poland & Canada

  • Upcoming showcases and deadlines for submissions

“We have been to multiple events and haven’t seen a lot of success.”

A recent post on LinkedIn was asking simple question, where others are finding successes at online or at on-site events? And I do believe it was leaning towards where to find leads, rather than should you attend conferences. Now, the answer is obviously “it depends”, and when I started to type up the response, it hit me, I could share my thoughts with a much more broader audience than the one I have on the dreaded, AI infested platform.

And while pre-booked meetings are important (this applies to on-site and remote events alike), as they are driving business, relationships and expand the network, the best ones are happening organically.

Those are the right time at the right location kind of meetings. Random ones on the sidewalks, bumps in the cafes, with a group of friends chilling outside, or just waiting in line for food during the lunch break. The opportunities are out there, and in majority cases luck is involved. The longer you are in the industry, the luck increases a bit, as you can see shortcuts, you are familiar with ins & outs of the events, how to throttle expectations and also how you can utilize your network to get to that dinner where everyone else wants to go.

I do not know the strategy of the person who posed the question at the beginning. We tend to flock to the same events as everyone else, talk in many cases to the same people as everyone else, which limits the time spent having the conversation leading potentially to pitching the services to the right people or having a future discussion about business. We have forgotten there are other ways you can talk to prospects or leads, and it doesn’t have to be only at events. You can visit them, traveling salesmen still exists, and in many cases going door to door brings more value than betting everything on one big event.

The opportunities are out there, but in many cases the calendar of meetings dictates if an event budget is going to be approved.

PARTNER OF THE MONTH

Pocket Gamer Connects returns to Barcelona on 15th–16th June for its second outing in one of Europe’s fastest-growing games hubs. After a hugely successful debut in 2025, the event once again brings together over 1,000 games industry professionals for two days of focused networking, deal-making and insight.

More than 100 expert speakers across 17 conference tracks will share practical knowledge on topics ranging from monetisation and publishing to AI, cross-platform development, and the future of the industry.

But PGC Barcelona is about more than talks. With curated investor meetings, publisher matchmaking sessions, a Careers Zone, and the return of the Big Indie Pitch and huge indie expo showcase, the event is designed to help developers, publishers, and investors connect and get real business done.

Set in a city that has rapidly become a major centre for studios, talent and investment, PGC Barcelona offers a rare opportunity to build meaningful industry relationships while gaining insight into the trends shaping the global games market.

REGISTER NOW

Personally, I am a huge fan of local events.

This is where my career started and gained traction and where the strangest relationships have been created. The careers of professionals are unplanned, they change the companies, trajectory and positions, especially now when the job market is under a lot of pressure. Also, many youngsters are not attending events, they either don’t know about them, they don’t have resources or simply just don’t care. That goes for indies, creators, studios.

So, where to do business?

There are more than 300 events each year, and I can’t pinpoint 10 of them for you. I could but then I wouldn’t consider your goals, your challenges, nor how difficult it is to convince your line manager to approve the budget. Making meaningful connections takes effort and what I learned in the co-dev space, if your relationships are weak, you are not going to see RFPs coming, you won’t be having off record conversations, nor hearing what is going on in the pipelines. These kind of dialogues are happening at events, at private dinners, oftentimes during studio tours.

Recently I tried to trace where I met the decision makers who gave me the opportunities and who are responsible for where I am now, and what I do for living.

They all lead to events that are not there anymore, to small local initiatives that exploded after a year or two, and to places where I was basically by chance and without a full agenda. The job at Reboot and all the others except few freelancing gigs were tied to this conference inn Croatia which was sunsetted without an official statement this year. I am not in a position to explain what happened, nor do I possess all the information needed to have a conclusive closure. During the past 10 years, hundreds of impromptu conversations happened and they lead to something beautiful; friendships, tribalistic affinity to a space and time, which will always be cherished as we have experienced it together.

And the reason why I was there in the first place is another local event that has seen only two editions. It was happening in Vienna and was led by a person who is no longer in the industry.

Local events have the power to change your trajectory, affect your opinion, learn new things, be inspired and get to know a very passionate community of professionals and aspiring developers who are not going to travel where everyone else goes.

What I am trying to say is: go off the beaten path, skip one of your classics, endure the FOMO, and go where you have never been. But how do I know who will be in the audience? Check the type of companies sending speakers, look at the sponsors, these are pretty easy to find. And then talk to your peers. Or just reach out to organizers and ask for a list of attending companies. Some will be happy to share it with you.

Just last week I learned a lot of companies are going to a well known conference focusing on advancement of graphics to talk business, not just present papers. And I can bet there won’t be that many service providers. Yet.

FEATURED EVENTS

Don’t miss DevGAMM Gdańsk 2026 – the event where the Baltic gamedev ecosystem comes together this summer! 🇵🇱

Join the conference on June 18-19 for two days of high-level content and massive networking, with sessions built around the real challenges studios face today: co-development, AI-driven workflows, LiveOps, monetization, and mobile trends.

REGISTER NOW

The North American Games Industry Summit (NAGIS) Powered by Xsolla is a high-impact B2B event uniting studios, publishers, investors, and tech partners through curated programming, executive sessions, and structured pitch meetings. Featuring world-class speakers, premium hospitality, and exclusive networking, NAGIS drives real deal-making. Launching June 18–19, 2026 at the Edmonton EXPO Centre alongside Game Con Canada.

REGISTER HERE

Game Con Canada is Canada’s largest gaming expo, uniting 40,000–50,000 fans for a three-day celebration of video games, board games, esports, cosplay, celebrities, and pop culture. Spanning 400,000+ sq ft at the Edmonton EXPO Centre, GCC features hundreds of demos, major stage productions, and immersive activations. Join us June 19–21, 2026, don’t miss it… BRING YOUR EH-GAME!

SECURE YOUR SPOT

Exploring and discovering takes resources, which are tight at the moment. If you go to the same place, you will talk to the same people. The recent XDS report says, the biggest amount of deals for external projects are happening at conferences. And it is important to add, not just for xdev. If there is prior contact between the parties, ideally facilitated with a great recommendation, then the conversations are much easier.

There are more events one could ever attend during a year, and if you are in a position where you can travel, pick very carefully, as FOMO can be strong, but also a lot of events are deceiving. Where one gains, you might lose time and energy. And it happens to all of us. I stopped counting how many events I have visited and they didn’t bring any immediate results. In these cases, the seeds were put in the ground and I am still in touch with my new friends. Will they ever sprout into opportunities or something beyond that? I can’t tell.

The goals to attend events are different for each of us, the great thing is they are ever changing, adopting and with that the attendance mix as well.

On top, where one event sunsets, a new one takes the stage, like Splitscreen in Croatia. And who knows, there might be new opportunities. New relationships.

You never know, if you don’t go.

Game Conference Guide Insights is a monthly newsletter covering games industry events. If you find it interesting, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

🚀Upcoming Showcases to watch in May 2026

⏰Upcoming Deadlines on the horizon

Get all deadlines here.

[Game Conference Guide is helping you find your next games industry event.]

Thank you for reading and supporting Game Conference Guide.

Consider sharing it with your peers, colleagues, and community.

Pavol Buday, curator @ GCG

]]><![CDATA[Time for a change, time to start tagging events]]>https://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/time-for-a-change-time-to-start-tagginghttps://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/time-for-a-change-time-to-start-taggingWed, 22 Apr 2026 09:21:16 GMTIn this month’s issue:

  • Introducing a brand new system to identify events

  • Barcelona is calling! Are you ready?

  • Check out fresh new events from Canada and Romania

  • Watch out for upcoming showcases and deadlines for submissions

This one took me a while. Ever since I started to play with an idea to track events, I wanted to label them. The idea of having an understanding of what type of an event you are looking at after a quick glance kept coming back for years. And I am glad that I can introduce it to everyone now. It is that kind of quality of life improvement, you won’t need unless you see it. I do hope it will be useful to you.

The other reason why I am a bit late with this blog post, is personal. After 12 months, I have landed a full time gig. Yay. The weeks leading up to it were moving so fast, I was not having time for anything else outside of keeping the database up-to-date.

Anyway, labels. Why? And, why now?

PARTNER OF THE MONTH

Pocket Gamer Connects returns to Barcelona on 15th–16th June for its second outing in one of Europe’s fastest-growing games hubs. After a hugely successful debut in 2025, the event once again brings together over 1,000 games industry professionals for two days of focused networking, deal-making and insight.

More than 100 expert speakers across 17 conference tracks will share practical knowledge on topics ranging from monetisation and publishing to AI, cross-platform development, and the future of the industry.

But PGC Barcelona is about more than talks. With curated investor meetings, publisher matchmaking sessions, a Careers Zone, and the return of the Big Indie Pitch and huge indie expo showcase, the event is designed to help developers, publishers, and investors connect and get real business done.

Set in a city that has rapidly become a major centre for studios, talent and investment, PGC Barcelona offers a rare opportunity to build meaningful industry relationships while gaining insight into the trends shaping the global games market.

REGISTER NOW

“Events listed on the Game Conference Guide have very broad and generic descriptions. Without additional research, knowledge or help from peers it is not possible to find similar events, nor find more detailed information with a simple glance over the entry in the database,”

The quote above is from an early design document I wrote back in December 2020. The descriptions I am mentioning are first labels I used to differentiate the nature of the event (virtual, or on-site) and what type of event it is (B2C, B2B, Festival and so on). While these are still being used, they are now enhanced with supporting tags describing the target audience, and event size (from official numbers / info from organizers themselves / an educated guess). About them later.

First glimpse at the NTG - new tag system, as I was calling them back in the day. It was never used.

“The New Tag System has to provide more details and it has to describe the core of the event without polluting the database with non-descriptive words that can mean thousands things like „Indie“, Awards, „pitching“, Core gaming.“

Even after almost 6 years, the goal is the same, so why did it take so long?

Events are evolving and reacting to the games industry needs. At this year’s edition, one prominent focus could be the indie arena, the next year the event might refocus to something else more pressing like AI, or tougher financing, or the target audience would change from serving a wider industry to students and universities. And these changes are impossible to track = tag properly without first hand knowledge. I had to come up with an easier solution that is also applicable to every type of event out there. The solution was pretty simple.

Just zoom out.

The current tag system is not perfect. If you do have a feedback, comment or idea, feel free to reach out.

FEATURED EVENTS

Dev.Play Conference returns to Bucharest on June 8th–9th, bringing together 500+ game industry professionals for two days of networking, insights, and business opportunities. Explore key topics in game development, new technologies, and industry trends, while connecting through matchmaking sessions, networking events, and the online Indie Festival.

REGISTER HERE

The North American Games Industry Summit (NAGIS) Powered by Xsolla is a high-impact B2B event uniting studios, publishers, investors, and tech partners through curated programming, executive sessions, and structured pitch meetings. Featuring world-class speakers, premium hospitality, and exclusive networking, NAGIS drives real deal-making. Launching June 18–19, 2026 at the Edmonton EXPO Centre alongside Game Con Canada.

REGISTER HERE

Game Con Canada is Canada’s largest gaming expo, uniting 40,000–50,000 fans for a three-day celebration of video games, board games, esports, cosplay, celebrities, and pop culture. Spanning 400,000+ sq ft at the Edmonton EXPO Centre, GCC features hundreds of demos, major stage productions, and immersive activations. Join us June 19–21, 2026, don’t miss it… BRING YOUR EH-GAME!

SECURE YOUR SPOT

The new tags are taking heavy inspiration from Steam. While these are not telling you about the content of game itself, you can quickly identify the theme, topic, certain mechanic and even search for similar games you would like to enjoy.

Very similarly to events, the goal is not to highlight the content of the conference or festival (pitching session, showcase, round tables, tent pole speaker line-up etc.) as these components might be added or taken away with the future editions, or change, and it would take an immense amount of time to curate and pinpoint which 2 - 3 features best describe the event in question. On top, it is impossible to correctly tag each event as I haven’t personally been to the majority of them and lack the objective angle.

Every event has its own core audience, size, specific vibes. The old labeling / tagging convention was simply not enough, as business oriented events are catering to different groups, and there is cross pollination between the categories happening as well. Festivals can have business components, academia events can target just industry, not only students. These details were missed when new events were added to the database. With the new system in place, these won’t slip through the cracks.

The solution are the three tags you will find under each event.

  • Type: the first tag which could be: Conference, Summit, Trade Fair, Showcase, Awards, Pitching, Festival, Job Fair, Networking, Game Jam, and Expo, describes what the event is all about.

    Over time I might reduce / expand the amount of types, but for now these are the tags describing the type of the event.

  • Target: B2C, B2B, B2B2C (= Mixed), Academia, Students, Legal, Executives are the groups of attendees you will be interacting with at the event.

  • Size: is pretty self-explanatory, the number under the event shows how big it will be and from there you can identify if it is an intimate summit, or crowded expo or massive trade fair. The numbers are coming directly from the organizers, their reports or they are educated guess in some cases.

    If you do find a mistake, please do let me know.

If you look at the Game Conference Guide now, by glance you are getting more details about the events listed. And it is easier to the eyes when browsing on desktop.

When browsing for events on a mobile device, you do not have to click on each one to find out more about them.

The best part is, you can now use these tags when doing research and filter all the events. Let’s say you are interested only in small events targeting academia, or festivals in Europe for industry people. Now you do have more options to narrow down your search when building your events calendar.

Given the fact almost 90% of all events during the years are happening on location, the label focused on Nature (On-site, Virtual & Hybrid) lost its purpose and you won’t find in the events card anymore. Worry not, you can still filter out virtual only events, if you desire by clicking on the filter “Nature”.

And one more thing.

Not many of you are aware of the Calendar, so I moved adding events directly to the event card. If you want to follow it, you just hit the link and it is in your calendar. Small improvement, but very helpful.

All new events added to the Calendar will now have the new tags as well included above the description.

Anything else?

Deadlines and Showcases will get similar treatment in coming weeks. Each of them will have the tags underneath. I just have to figure out the naming convention for tags, as showcase, can mean on-site expo, broadcasted press conference, or new games stitched together in one lengthy stream. If you have ideas, feel free to share them with me.

Now, before you scroll away, I wanted to thank my friends who saw the labels first: Alessandra, Pietro, Martijn, Shanna, Kristian, Mateusz & Mehdi and massive thanks goes to Thomas Bidaux who started the whole things about rating and labeling events.

What do you think? If you think tags should be color coded, or the B2B should be renamed to Industry, do let me know. Tags went through multiple iterations and in some areas there was 50/50 split between opinions.

All comments, ideas and feedback will help!

And if you want to discuss events face to face, you will be able to bump into me at Digital Dragons in Krakow & Nordic Game in Malmo next month.

Game Conference Guide Insights is a monthly newsletter covering games industry events. If you find it interesting, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

🚀Upcoming Showcases to watch in April 2026

⏰Upcoming Deadlines on the horizon

Get all deadlines here.

[Game Conference Guide is helping you find your next games industry event.]

Thank you for reading and supporting Game Conference Guide.

Consider sharing it with your peers, colleagues, and community.

Pavol Buday, curator @ GCG

]]><![CDATA[Imagine a world without GDC]]>https://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/imagine-a-world-without-gdchttps://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/imagine-a-world-without-gdcMon, 23 Mar 2026 13:14:42 GMTIn this month’s issue:

  • Yet, another hot take on GDC from a very different perspective

  • Barcelona is calling! Are you ready?

  • Check out featured events happening in April with discounts

  • Watch out for upcoming showcases and deadlines for submissions

Day before the kick off of the GDC week a photo was circulating around social media condemning the predatory overtake of Yerba Buena Gardens, one of the agoras where developers naturally congregate each year to hang out, exchange ideas, sit down for meetings, or just listen to others while making friends and trying not to be awkward. It is a safe space for everyone to interact, exchange sweets and have fun. And if the weather is nice, everyone is having lunch outside occupying every inch of the park.

The aforementioned photo captured a fenced tiny festival city with food tents in the middle of the park with GDC branding. It lacked the much needed context though, but it spread around and the organizers tried to mitigate the outcry by saying: it is open for everyone. Which was true. Partially.

Picture taken on Friday morning. The picnic area occupied the majority of the park and was open only for 3 hours. Not very inviting. On the stage on the right (in the back) were artists performing live every day, which was a nice addition.

The tent city was open for 3 hours and it offered everyone an opportunity to buy food and have a picnic in the park. Outside of the lunch hours (11AM - 2PM), it was fenced and empty. Like a testament from the organizers to the games industry which occupied the outskirts of the park standing around, that we do not care and we do not listen.

The idea of having a picnic in the park was awesome, execution not so much. Same with the opening party at Oracle Stadium, home of San Francisco Giants. I am sorry, guys, but whose idea was this? On paper it might have sounded awesome for a few seconds; we will gather gamers and they will watch Scott Pilgrim on the big screen in the middle of the field. How cool is that? Well, not so much because the auditorium was almost empty.

Yerba Buena Park during this year’s GDC is a perfect metaphor for how big of an impact the conference has on the city. The space inside creates such a big gravity well that despite the rising tension on the global geopolitical scene, increased prices a lot of industry folks decided to travel, and they were orbiting around it while not carrying about what is going on inside (= ticketed activities). And it was not that great inside.

The park also sits on top of the North Hall of the Moscone Center, which was empty, apart from the main stage which hosted four sessions in total during the show (three of them evening awards and a concert)! It was supposed to be a place where Hideo Kojima should deliver a keynote speech. He cancelled.

PARTNER OF THE MONTH

Pocket Gamer Connects returns to Barcelona on 15th–16th June for its second outing in one of Europe’s fastest-growing games hubs. After a hugely successful debut in 2025, the event once again brings together over 1,000 games industry professionals for two days of focused networking, deal-making and insight.

More than 100 expert speakers across 17 conference tracks will share practical knowledge on topics ranging from monetisation and publishing to AI, cross-platform development, and the future of the industry.

But PGC Barcelona is about more than talks. With curated investor meetings, publisher matchmaking sessions, a Careers Zone, and the return of the Big Indie Pitch and huge indie expo showcase, the event is designed to help developers, publishers, and investors connect and get real business done.

Set in a city that has rapidly become a major centre for studios, talent and investment, PGC Barcelona offers a rare opportunity to build meaningful industry relationships while gaining insight into the trends shaping the global games market.

REGISTER NOW

You may have noticed from multiple hot takes on social media that this year’s GDC was a mixed bag. From best conversations ever, to very honest hi-quality meetings in the nearby hotels that organizers don’t have any control over and they would like to have a piece of that pie, newcomers flocking to the west hall and basically creating traffic jams in the hallways while filling every single spot in the breakout rooms. You may have heard about how easy it was finding a seat on the mezzanine floor in Marriot Marquis, how great executive rooms were to participating companies, how the quality of the showfloor improved production wise while many companies were missing and they won’t be returning back, how disastrous and outrageously overpriced food was served, or how everyone wants GDC to move somewhere else. For every good idea and nice addition like the live acts during lunch break in the park, you could find a couple of not so great ones.

I am not here to repeat what was already reported. My GDC was great. I truly enjoyed it, it was productive, but before I move on and cover the clickbait headline, I have to return back to my report from last April where I encouraged everyone to follow the money.

If you think you know festivals, think again.
Festivals are one of the newest parts of the B2B events market: events that inspire and celebrate business by delivering unmissable experiences.

This out of touch quote is from the latest financial report (covering 2024 fiscal year) published by Informa, owner of GDC. The one for 2025 is expected to be released in the coming days.

The festival format is lauded in the report as the next step in evolving their B2B offering going beyond the borders of the conference halls, and having activation sprinkled around the city. I honestly do not know which executive was inspired by European art or music festivals, but this approach won’t work that well in a city like San Francisco with the crowd that GDC pulls in. Not without involving the public.

Have you noticed these stickers on the sidewalks pointing towards the Moscone Center?

“The company has identified that as B2B events continue to grow and become more sophisticated, a new category of ‘experience-led’ events is emerging, which they call B2B Festivals,” explains Elysia, Informa’s AI chatbot while browsing through the report. Why are they doing it? To attract more people, and to offer the same in a new “trendy” packaging they can charge more for?

The discrepancy between what the GDC board is fighting for, what the industry under attack itself needs, what are the expectations of the business crowd and what the owners are trying to pull off is pretty huge. Informa has three years to make the festival work with GDC. The first year was trial by fire and it bombed, next one needs to deliver the vibes and show the format works, while the third should capitalize on the momentum and bring more people together.

Within the Festival vertical are other big events like Money 20/20, Cannes Lions, Black Hat, Finovate Europe and London Tech Week. Together they have generated £377 million in 2024, with 45% of the revenue coming from US events (GDC, Money 20/20 and Black Hat) and 40% from events in the EU. The rest are from the Middle East and Africa. Informa is not reporting the attendance levels nor revenue per individual event.

From the press releases you can learn, the events in the Festival vertical are flat lining when it comes to attendance, with Cannes Lion being the only exception seeing 20% increase in attracting more crowds (from 2024 to 2025). Black Hat on the other hand is reporting record breaking numbers while the attendance is dipping steadily from 2023.

The important thing here is the revenue, and in a few days when the new financial report will be released, we will see if it went up or not. GDC attendance fell by 30% this year, while the rest of the events are reporting the same numbers from 2024.

FEATURED EVENTS

Gamesforum Cyprus is back this 15-16 April! Gamesforum brings together the mobile gaming community for two days of growth, innovation, and actionable insights. Gain practical strategies across user acquisition, ad monetization, product, and alternative growth that you can implement immediately.

New for Cyprus 2026, the event will also feature interactive roundtable sessions for more candid, off-the-record discussions.

REGISTER HERE

Mobile Ad Eaters is the first truly creative-focused event in mobile gaming. It’s an intimate gathering of 150 CMOs, UA leads, creative strategists, and producers to discuss AI, storytelling, and creative processes.

Discount: 10% discount to be applied on the check-out. Solo pass code KZAHAD, duo WYLEGE, trio HSXBBS.

REGISTER HERE

Don’t miss Games Meets Music — a groundbreaking event that unites the games and music industries for a day of insight, collaboration and innovation!

Designed for developers, composers, publishers, and music professionals alike, this Games Meets Music gathering brings together thought leaders for fireside chats, panel discussions and real-world case studies on music’s role in games — from licensing and sync to creative collaboration and new revenue opportunities.

SECURE YOUR SPOT HERE

The festival part is forced, bolted on top of a conference which had issues even before Informa got involved. The organizers are facing impossible mission, as exhibitors are pulling out, business meetings are naturally not happening inside but in neighboring hotels and conference rooms filled to the last seat, newcomers and students are much welcome and needed crowd but from the business perspective they are not bringing enough revenue, indies and smaller developers are not going for the expensive ticket (do you miss $200 - $300 expo pass as well?), and even if the Informa has three years to pull this off, there is another blow that will come in early 2027.

Since the dates for GDC 2027 were pushed to the beginning of March (1 - 5th), there is only a week or two between DICE in Las Vegas. Business people will choose only one event to attend in the US, meaning less of them traveling to both events.

And as each year, there are rumors. This time voices are whispering about allowing the public to the show. It is a festival in the end, so why not? There is a big if, but if that happens, organizers are desperately trying to chase the winning model of gamescom, which broke E3 the neck. Hopefully those are just rumors.

I like the festival approach, I really do, and I do wish it could somehow work. San Francisco is living by GDC, and even before the organizers posted the official numbers, Julius, my Uber driver on the way to the airport, casually mentioned 25 - 30% decrease in the number of rides he and his buddies were getting around Moscone compared to the year prior. The city is feeling the dip in the attendance as well. In previous years it was unheard of to get a room in Marriott week before the GDC with lower rates than before.

GDC is bleeding the same as the industry. The events always reflect the state of the business and it seems there are ducktapes everywhere.

Dates for 2027 are way too close to DICE in Vegas. Many overseas attendees will visit only one of these events for business.

While a lot of you are asking where would be the best place to host GDC, or in which format, I am proposing a radical question. What would you do, if there is no GDC in March?

Really think about it.

Where would you go?

What would your calendar look like?

In which lobby you would be waiting for high fives or hangs? Gamescom is the obvious answer, but it happens only once per year (yes, there is gamescom Asia and gamescom LATAM). Without GDC there would be a massive hole in the calendar.

I am not here to defend GDC, the show made a massive impact on my career and it creates a lot of opportunities and serendipity. The question popped up pretty naturally when I sat down with Stephan Reichart while analyzing what we have experienced so far in San Francisco. His write up is worth reading and is spot on.

I do not have an answer. I do believe the organizers are under immense pressure to deliver, while turning the tanker and changing its course with the festival nature attached to it. It might take more than three years, and the trust of those already left is almost impossible to get back on board. And without the large companies, who will flock down to the showfloor to check games and have meetings?

We might see more aggressive monetization being introduced, more services offered to partnered companies, more sponsored sessions. GDC 2026 had 225 sponsored sessions (marked as presented by) out of 696 in total, a staggering 32%, one third, which is 33% increase compared to last year.

Let that number sink in.

Game Conference Guide Insights is a monthly newsletter covering games industry events. If you find it interesting, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

🚀Upcoming Showcases to watch in March / April 2026

⏰Upcoming Deadlines on the horizon

Get all deadlines here.

[Game Conference Guide is helping you find your next games industry event.]

Thank you for reading and supporting Game Conference Guide.

Consider sharing it with your peers, colleagues, and community.

Pavol Buday, curator @ GCG

]]><![CDATA[How expensive were events in 2025?]]>https://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/how-much-were-we-paying-for-eventshttps://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/how-much-were-we-paying-for-eventsWed, 18 Feb 2026 10:34:19 GMTIn this month’s issue:

  • A deep look at the ticket prices and conference passes

  • Pitch your game to Poki!

  • Check out Indigo in Rotterdam

TL;DR No surprises here, we were paying more for some type of tickets. Conference passes were up by 2% compared to 2024 o average and general admission tickets to public shows were down by 16%. You could save more than 30% on average when buying passes during the early bird period.

Before I dive into the numbers, there are few changes I want to point out that may help you understand the results better.

Each year price comparison brings a different challenge. While naming convention on the tickets offered is not standardized (not all business passes are VIP, and a developer pass has a different price point than standard required for vendors), each event has a different early bird window (some are skipping it completely), there are events offering free admission but companies have to pay, or vice versa international business travelers are admitted for free, while public has to choose from several paid options.

All of this throws a curve ball into data collection, sorting and analysis. The biggest challenge so far was how many new events were added to the calendar, and how many were not able to continue with a new edition in 2025.

In some cases events changed their name (Indie Dev Day is BCN Game Fest nowadays), others skipped a year and have paused their activities or completely shut down operations. And with this, the results produced couldn’t be properly compared to previous year.

The decision was made to compare prices only between events that had hosted the 2024 edition against their 2025 editions. With this the sample data shrunk by one third, 35% for business events and 36% for public ones to be exact.

All prices in this report are in USD. The ticket prices are coming from their regular sales period, in between early bird and late bird (at the door), which is usually the longest. In 2025 I failed to capture ticket prices for 22 events (out of 343, not bad) and 7 events were cancelled.

With this out of the way, let’s look at the new amazing partner before counting the numbers.

PARTNER OF THE MONTH

Pitching a Web Game at your next event? Meet Poki!

Our partner this month is Poki! Poki is the leading platform for free online games and free browser based games, working with developers who want to build sustainable successes on the web. With 90M+ players and over 1B gameplays each month, Poki focuses on high-quality web games that load instantly, feel great to play, and work across devices.

For teams pitching web titles at industry events, Poki is especially interested in games that play seamlessly on mobile and PC. As a curated platform designed around easy access, Poki helps standout games reach large audiences, stay relevant longer, and maximize lifetime earnings. Developers can start by playtesting their games for free with real Poki players, before moving towards a publishing partnership.

Pitch your web game to Poki

EVENT SPOTLIGHT

INDIGO 2026 is The Premier Benelux Game Business Event, a two-day B2B meet-up in Rotterdam at World Trade Center Rotterdam on June 2–3, 2026. Expect a curated showcase of 30+ games, high-quality 1:1 meetings in our dedicated MeetToMatch area, and talks featuring industry legends alongside standout voices from the Benelux and beyond. We also celebrate one project that truly shines with the INDIGO Award.

It’s intentionally boutique: not a giant maze of booths, but a place where you get time and space for real conversations. Lunch is included, so the break becomes part of the experience, a shared moment where introductions happen naturally and you might find yourself chatting shoulder-to-shoulder with the people who inspired you.

Register now with 20% off

Are there still free events?

There have been 62 truly free events out of 343 in total in 2025, which is a 22% decline compared to 2024. If we zoom in, only 9 of them were virtual and 53 were held on-site. Decrease of free events attributed to higher focus on on-site events, virtual events fell by 45% compared to 2024.

Majority of the free events in 2025 were business focused conferences, pitching sessions, curated meetings with publishers or gatherings of developers.

Showcases, like Indie Live Expo, Future Game Show, Steam Next Fests or LudoNaraccon, were not counted at all. Similar to a hi-profile trade show gamescom Asia was not considered as truly free event, as it was offering business passes for international visitors for free, but the general public had to buy a ticket.

Industry (B2B) Events

Prices for the industry events are plateauing, which is a direct reaction to the challenging job market, and offering discounted conference passes to drive the interest. Running events is not cheap and the prices for renting the venues, suppliers, AV production went up, which is reflected in the median price increase.

For a single B2B pass we were paying on average $502 (2% increase compared to $493 in 2024), $340 median (36% increase compared to $250 in 2024).

If you preferred VIP or top shelf experience, you paid on average $855 (2% increase compared to $827 in 2023), $702 median (8.7% decrease compared to $768 in 2023).

Prices for the industry events (B2B) are plateauing.

Even with a steep decline in the number of virtual events, you could attend a conference from your sofa. On average you paid $217 or $142 median for a virtual access, compared to 2024 it is 44% and 92% increase respectively. Long gone are free B2B virtual events.

And how about the early bird period?

As mentioned, it varies from event to event, but on average you could save 32% if you decided to buy a pass immediately. Usually these tickets are offered during the “save the date” period or shortly after.

If you want to save on your next event, the easiest solution is to subscribe to their newsletter and support them once the tickets go on sale.

Public (B2C) events

There is a difference in daily tickets across all B2C events, weekend entries are usually higher (Saturday is always the most expensive), while you can opt-in for fast passes, afternoon entries. The sample data was focusing on weekday daily rate where available.

For a single daily ticket in 2025 we were paying on average $38, (16% decrease compared to $45 in 2024), $34 median (29% increase compared to $26 in 2024).

All Access passes prices were selling on average for $99.95 (6% decrease compared to $106 in 2024), $50 median (33% decrease compared to $76 last year).

For top shelf experience (VIP) we were paying last year on average $426 (88% increase compared to 2024), $219 median (17% increase compared to 2024).

Public events do have an early bird period, but it is rarer compared to their business counterparts. Early bird prices for public events were not collected.

And this is it, all the data I managed to collect, put together and compared to the previous season.

Reports like these take an immense amount of time to compile. After finishing this one, I am reconsidering how deep I should go for next year, or if I should skip the price monitoring completely and have it available on demand.

Do let me know if ticket prices are valuable information to you.

Thank you for reading and see you at GDC in a few weeks!

Game Conference Guide Insights is a monthly newsletter covering games industry events. If you find it interesting, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

🚀Which showcases to watch in February 2026


Get all details, dates, times & direct links to broadcasts here.

⏰Upcoming Deadlines on the horizon

Get all deadlines here.

[Game Conference Guide is helping you find your next games industry event.]

Thank you for reading and supporting Game Conference Guide.

Consider sharing it with your peers, colleagues, and community.

Pavol Buday, curator @ GCG

]]><![CDATA[Year in Review - State of the games industry events]]>https://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/year-in-review-state-of-the-gameshttps://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/year-in-review-state-of-the-gamesThu, 22 Jan 2026 10:23:25 GMTIn this month’s issue:

  • Looking at 2025 through the lens of data collected throughout the year

  • More events, less time

  • Check out the amazing events planned for 2026!

Numbers can be deceiving. When I started preparing the annual Year in Review, it was clear that 2025 will beat 2024 in number of the events. We have seen a slight increase, but what struck me most is we are spending less time at events. And while the number of events went up by 1.7%, the time spent at events was shorter in total by 3.3%.

It was so surprising that I had to re-run the numbers twice. I see all kinds of data gathered throughout the year, so please continue reading. There are more interesting numbers below.

But before we continue a word from one of the coolest partners Game Conference Guide collaborated with:

PARTNER OF THE MONTH

Talking to Press at Your Next Event? Be Ready.

Events like GDC and PAX put you face-to-face with the press. That is exciting. It can also go sideways fast if you are not prepared. One offhand comment can become the quote everyone remembers.

The media team at UberStrategist created the Talking to the Press Media Guide and Media Connect Checklist to help developers, publishers, and anyone suddenly told to “Go talk to IGN” walk into interviews with confidence.

The guide acts as a practical cheat sheet for demos, pitches, and interviews. It covers:

  • How to craft a clear and compelling pitch that gets attention

  • How to navigate tricky questions with ease

  • How to guide the conversation to keep your game in the spotlight

Pair it with the Media Connect Checklist to get prepared before interviews and follow up effectively after.

If you never want to walk away from an interview thinking, “Did I really say that?”, this free guide and checklist is for you.

Nail Your Next Press Interview

This is a two part article.

The first one you are reading now is covering the events in general and the state of the website tracking them. The second part scheduled for February is going to take a look at the ticket prices, conference passes, their tiers and comparing them with previous years. Make sure you are subscribed, so you won’t miss the next issue.

Will we see numbers going up? Of course we will.

Number of scheduled events per month throughout 2020 - 2026. The peaks are getting taller each year. May/June and October/November are the busiest periods of any year when it comes to events. Conference goers are having trouble choosing, while events are alienating each other and fighting for (in many cases) the same crowd.

Game Conference Guide tracked the highest number of events in 2025 since its launch, 343 to be exact (an increase by 1.7% from 337 in 2024).

Now this number needs to be taken with a pinch of salt.

The increase is a little higher, as all the showcases have been moved into their dedicated space in 2025, while in 2024 some of them were tracked among events. Adjusted increase without the showcases would hit almost 6%.

Virtual events fell by 45% compared to 2024, but you could still access quality content from the comfort of your home. With green color are highlighted physical events, dark blue represents hybrid and light blue are virtual events. Notice the months of October and November with the highest concentration of events. Each of them with more than 50 events.

Number of showcases (= broadcasts during which new games are being announced) has seen an increase by 29% from 2024, from 104 to 134 in 2025. New formats have been introduced, while selected influencers were laser focusing on niches (small indies and genre specific games).

Showcases are popular format with peaks in the Spring around GDC, Summer around Summer Game Fest and then in the Autumn and winter around The Game Awards.

New trends on the horizon

  • Leadership, leadership and leadership summits. It looks like these types of events are popping up everywhere. On islands, with luxurious treatment, invite-only getaways shrouded with a veil of exclusivity that feels like a vacation.


    These summits are targeting usually 100 - 150 attendees, they are more manageable, bringing higher revenue to organizers, while the pressure shifts from managing the crowd to delivering on quality for a more pickier audience. And the target audience will likely agree to attend a smaller event without the noise of a larger conference, especially if they know likeminded people will show up to discuss current challenges.

    There is a room for more carefully positioned leadership summits, or at least special programmes focusing on the studio directors, leaders of the companies and CEOs. There can only be a certain number of them though, otherwise they will become just another event on the calendar. We might see more of them in 2026.

  • Local events are on the rise. They are stronger than before and more initiatives are popping up. Some of them are being tracked for the first time, despite their longer history. It is always great to hear about these initiatives driven by passion and the community. And the industry is responding, attending them and going off the beaten path to scout for new games, new leads and meeting new companies.

  • Despite the turbulent times in the wide game industry and whatever is happening in the tech world, the events were very stable. There weren’t that many surprises. Among the highlights is definitely the rebranding of GDC to a Festival of Gaming which has raised some eyebrows, including mine when reading the interviews with the new director. In a few weeks we will see how the new format suits the attendees and how big of an impact it will have on attendance in general.

  • It was sad to see some of the events not returning in 2025 like Valencia Summit in Spain, WASD, Insomnia and Develop North in UK, Horizon(s) in France, Hamburg Games Conference in Germany, Promised Land in Poland, Tokyo Sandbox in Japan, DevGamm in Lithuania, Gamelab in Spain, LatinX Festival or Games First (SuperCell conference) in Finland. The last one will return in 2026.

    On top, many events organized with the help of local government or private groups addressing the current issues of the industry never made it past its first edition.

EVENT SPOTLIGHT

Gamesforum is where 20,000+ mobile games industry decision-makers meet each year. 2026 will see the return of Gamesforum Barcelona on 10–11 February. Connect with over 600 attendees, 140+ Publishers/Studios from across the globe. Expect two days of growth, innovation and actionable insights.

“One of the best events I have ever attended. Perfect ratio of industry professionals and vendors.” - Michal Prokop Grno, Head of Marketing, Pixel Federation

Use code GamesConf20 for 20% off your ticket.

Register here

gamescom dev leadership summit returns to Lisbon, February 24-26, 2026

Unlike traditional conferences, this summit is designed to foster confidential, high-level exchange, allowing senior leaders from companies like Guerrilla, Massive Entertainment, IO Interactive, Quantic Dream, Techland and many more to speak candidly and collaborate with peers on shared challenges.

Find out more and join the leadership summit

Game Conference Guide Insights is a monthly newsletter covering games industry events. If you find it interesting, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Games Conference Guide in numbers

The website grew in number of visitors and subscribers, which is amazing. The community grows each month, and I must thank each and every one of you who are visiting, and especially those who are sharing the website with their peers, colleagues and friends.

The Game Conference Guide turned 5 this year, which was at the beginning of the project an impossible target to have. I managed to finally finish the new design, and squash a lot of bugs that were popping up along the way. The website is running on a much more stable and faster backbone, it loads faster and it has more content on it.

In 2025 the number of subscribers went up by 29% to 2795.

The Partner of the Month programme was gaining a lot of traction as well. Last year the website was powered by these 7 amazing partners namely: Amber, devcom, DevGamm, GameDays, Pocket Gamer, Super Scale, UberStrategist and XP Summit. You are all awesome!

If you would like your event to be always on top, marked as FEATURED and cutting through the rest with a nice promotion space in this newsletter, reach out.

2026 is bringing a small change in the form of event featuring. If you are an event organizer and would love to cut the noise and turn the spotlight on your event, feel free to reach out.

Special shout-out goes to Jeanette, Kate, Chris, Takaaki, Masatoshi, Jason, Robin, Erik, Etienne, Justin, Tobias & Jay. These amazing humans are supporting the website each month, for which I am beyond thankful.

If you feel you would like to buy me a coffee, turn your free subscription to paid directly here in Substack, or you can support the website on Patreon.

Game Conference Guide in a nutshell:

  • Total number of events in 2025: 343 (increase by 1.7% from 337)

  • 88% of all of them were physical, compared to 89% in 2024. Virtual events decreased by almost 45% from 38 in 2024 to just 21 of them in 2025.

  • Only 2,6% (9 out of 343) were cancelled or postponed compared to 2,7% (9 out of 337 in 2024).

  • The biggest number of events originated from the EU (51%) followed by North America (26%).

  • The United States hosted 74 events (not counting broadcasts / press conferences), in Europe it was the UK with 37 events (+5 from last year), followed by Germany (18), Sweden (15) and Spain (12).

  • You are accessing the website mostly on desktop 65% (last year it was 56%), mobile saw a decrease from 44% to 35%. What was surprising, is that you are accessing the website on Smart TVs as well. Who are you, you legends?

  • Longest running events in 2025 were: London Games Festival (12 days), New Zealand Festival (10 days) and Melbourne Games Week (9 days).

  • The busiest day of 2025 was not just one, but two, 9th of October and 7th of November, each of them with 9 events happening simultaneously. In 2024 it was 14th November with 13 events (In 2023, 12th & 13th of October with 9 events).

  • Events are getting shorter, while there was overall increase in the amount of them during the year, average duration dipped from 2.69 days from last year to 2.53 days in 2025, while median duration stayed the same since 2023 - 2 days.

  • If you would have decided to attend every single event in 2025 (except those that were cancelled) it would take you: 602 working days and 251 weekend days. Compared to 637 working days and 245 weekends in 2024.

  • In total you would be conferencing nonstop for 2 years and 4 months, 853 days to be exact (decrease by 3.3 % from 2024 with 882 days).

During the 2025, Game Conference Guide has seen:

Most of the website visitors were coming from:

  • United States (-)*

  • United Kingdom (-)

  • China (4)

  • Canada (3)

  • Germany (6)

Followed by Poland, France, Spain, Brazil and India closing the top 10.

*The number in the brackets is the position from last year.

Most readers of the newsletter are coming from:

  • United States

  • United Kingdom

  • Canada

  • Germany

  • France

❄️Which showcases to watch in January 2026


Get all details, dates, times & direct links to broadcasts here.

⏰Upcoming Deadlines on the horizon

Get all deadlines here.

And that is it for the Year in Review.

Hope you enjoyed reading it.

Now, you might be asking, what 2026 will look like?

I do not expect any major changes in the current line-up. There are already almost 150 events announced, the majority are returning back from 2025 and it looks like you will be able to attend way more events your calendar allows you to.

So, prepare to be paralyzed by choice.

[Game Conference Guide is helping you find your next games industry event.]

Thank you for reading and supporting Game Conference Guide. Consider sharing it with your peers, colleagues, and community.

Pavol Buday, curator @ GCG

]]><![CDATA[GDC’s attempt to control spaces around the venue, plus how to watch The Game Awards ]]>https://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/gdcs-attempt-to-control-spaces-aroundhttps://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/gdcs-attempt-to-control-spaces-aroundFri, 05 Dec 2025 10:46:33 GMTIn this month’s issue:

  • GDC is on the hunt for revenue while taking over places where conversations happened organically

  • The Game Awards is upon us, see how to watch the main event + handful of supporting showcases

  • Updated December’s deadlines for awards, funding, etc.

Service announcement

As we are slowly winding down and preparing for the upcoming holidays, we are looking at the upcoming 2026 events calendar. Which events to visit? Which are already announced? Which one is going to create the biggest FOMO? Where everyone will flock, and which one will be on everyone’s mind? Questions, questions, questions.

As of now, you can choose from more than 83 events scheduled to happen in 2026. It is a fraction of the 300+ events happening each year, so expect new events added to the database in coming days and weeks.

During the upcoming days a server maintenance is scheduled as well. What will happen?

As per usual, you won’t notice a thing. The maintenance window will be very short and everything will happen on the server side. In a nutshell, 2025 events will be archived and on the main page you will have access to the upcoming 2026 events.

The archive will welcome 342 new events from this year, boosting the total to 1799 events. The Archive is an essential part of the Game Conference Guide, feel free to travel back in time and check which events happened in the previous years reaching back to 2020.

Now, with service announcement out of the way, we can cover two short topics, but before we do, check out this festive message from our sponsor:

PARTNER OF THE MONTH

Happy Holidays from the UberStrategist Team!

As we enter the holiday season, we are reminded of how grateful we are to have been a part of the gaming industry and its community for the last 12 years. Working alongside teams who create meaningful and memorable experiences is a privilege we never take for granted.

If you are planning your event schedule for 2026, now is the perfect time to build your strategy. Our team can support your presence at key shows and strengthen your visibility with PR, influencer outreach, and coordinated media planning. Thoughtful preparation now helps you create more impact when the season begins.

From our team to yours, we wish you a happy and restful holiday season.

Boost Your Visibility in 2026

GDC’s attempt to take over conversations

The organisers of GDC Festival of Gaming (formerly known as GDC) are saying the tickets are 40% cheaper. Let’s break it down.

For the past 4 years I have been looking closely at prices for every event. Prices for GDC conference passes were steadily rising each year. The average increase in 2025 was 12% per pass. While the step to overhaul the conference pass offering for GDC Festival of Gaming and even making the passes more affordable is a welcome chance, when you look closely, you will notice not very popular decisions.

Compared to previous years, the focus is on offering full access to every ticket holder. Long gone is the tiered approach and everything is consolidated into Festival pass costing $649 (for indies) and $1199 (everyone else). Very nice, but access to GDC Vault is missing (valued at $649) which was included in the conference pass in previous years.

There is an All Access pass called Game Changer with GDC Vault included but the price is $2,499 (same as last year for All Access pass). It also features a daily picnic in Yerba Buena Gardens (we will get to it shortly) and additional services like concierge and networking, which begs the question how on Earth they want to manage it on a scale with demanding clientele if not with a “very smart AI system”. I believe it won’t be the concierge level of service you know from hotels or boutique events.

Each year the prices for GDC passes were going up. The cheapest one (Expo) by 25% in 2025. All prices are in USD.

Speaking about networking. GDC Festival of Gaming organizers are going for places where all the cool kids were hanging out without the pass. You know, Yerba Buena Gardens, W Hotel to name a few. These places are popular each year and if the weather is nice, the park is the place to be. Going for these specifically is very strange, as the business people are all around Moscone. Marriott Marquis takes the majority of the crowd, not to mention the Jessie Square behind it, Four Seasons has a busy lobby and there is a nice cafe inside SOMA.

Going for open space and privatizing them, while claiming they will create much needed NDA space for meetings is a predatory takeover of the conversations you do not have control over as they are happening organically and turning it into additional revenue. I do wish the organizers all the best, pulling an event the size of GDC is a massive endeavour, but this is not going to help them to win the business crowd that goes to San Francisco but not attend GDC.

Imagine, gamescom taking over Marriott, Radisson and Dorint and naming them the official gamescom hotels! Let’s not give them ideas.

Moving on.

Have you noticed the Expo Pass is gone? It was not a popular choice just among indies and bootstrapped companies travelling to one of the most expensive cities in the world. It was the only way to attend the biggest developers conference and mingle with developers, checking out games, and expo hall when you were running on a tight budget. Now with this tier gone, they basically cut away a pretty large group of people who will not attend anymore.

On one hand the conference pass is 40% cheaper than last year, but for this group the ticket is 44% more expensive as they have to buy the Indie Pass now.

GDC Festival of Gaming will find a new audience for sure and I do believe many will travel to San Francisco, but only a fraction of people who were in the city without a ticket will be buying the passes in 2026. There is zero incentive to buy a pass for business people occupying hotel lobbies. And with the current state of the industry, with tough funding, rough job market, non-existent discoverability, and competition beyond the limits, the attendance level overall will dip.

I personally like the festivals, but in the case of GDC it is a misunderstanding of the target group and its needs with changes that are coming way too late.

EVENT SPOTLIGHT

Pocket Gamer Connects London is the largest b2b conference for the UK games industry, now in its 12th year, bigger than ever, with extra meeting space plus activities at the nearby Barbican - the Apps Business Summit and Beyond Games: Transmedia Summit side events!

Use promo code “GAMECONFLDN” and get 10% discount by clicking the button below:

Register here

❄️How to watch The Game Awards

The Game Awards marks the end of the year as the industry is winding down and rushing to squeeze and finish everything before Christmas. This year familiar faces among showcases are returning back and they are sprinkled around the main event.

As always, at the Game Conference Guide you can find direct links to the streams, all the times, dates and there is a handy calendar with reminders so you won’t miss a single World premiere.

Below is a list of all the showcases and awards broadcasted round The Game Awards.

Get all details, dates, times & direct links to broadcasts here.

🏆Upcoming Deadlines on the horizon

Get all deadlines here.

And this is it for this year

I want to thank you all for reading, visiting the website and sharing it with your friends. It means a lot.

I want to wish you all Happy Holidays. Try to unplug from all the feeds for a few days and spend the time with the loved ones. My plan is to read as many books as possible.

We can talk about them at some of the events next year.

[Game Conference Guide is helping you find your next games industry event.]

Thank you for reading and supporting Game Conference Guide. Consider sharing it with your peers, colleagues, and community.

Pavol Buday, curator @ GCG

]]><![CDATA[Deep Dive: DICE Europe]]>https://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/deep-dive-dice-europehttps://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/deep-dive-dice-europeTue, 11 Nov 2025 13:40:54 GMTIn this month’s issue:

  • Deep dive into one of the hi-profile events out there

  • Updated November’s showcases & deadlines for awards, funding, etc.

This newsletter and report below is brought to you by the Slovak Art Council. Their generous support helped me to travel to Edinburgh, attend DICE Europe and deliver this report.

Disclaimer #1: What follows is a pilot of a new format I call Deep Dive. It is a direct continuation of a previous blog post covering how to rate events inspired by ICO’s Thomas Bidaux. This is a first step in trying to come up with a system on how to rate events and unlocking them to a wider audience.

DICE is not sponsoring this post in any way whatsoever. They were fabulous hosts and kept the whole organization in check.

Just chill.

Go with the flow.

Have conversations.

Be present.

These are just a few recommendations from my friends when I asked on my socials “How to DICE”. I was planning to visit this event for the first time, and I wanted to be prepared, maybe even overprepared.

My goals were very simple - make as many new friends as possible, scout for speakers and leaders who could be helpful in advancement of Slovak Game Developers Association and be great guests at our conference Game Days.

DICE has always been on my mind as an End Boss. When you make it, you will sit down with the top people and discuss “How’s the business”? It is very well known as a high-profile, very exclusive event and some are saying that without a proper network you will get lost. Which is true, only partially.

You see, this was my first DICE, first trial by fire and I also wanted to verify if all the urban legends are true or not.

So buckle up, we’re going to deep dive into DICE Europe.

PARTNER OF THE MONTH

Why PR Remains Essential for Game Marketing

In a landscape where discoverability is brutal and showcases are crowded, PR gives your game the three essentials for success: credibility, trust, and story.

That’s why if you want real reach, you start with PR!

PR builds credibility that paid ads alone can’t buy. It gives your studio a voice that audiences trust. That trust drives stronger engagement and more loyal players.

At UberStrategist, we help developers and publishers reach the right audience with stories that stand out. Our team connects your message with media and influencers who matter to your community.

If you want players to pay attention, you need more than reach. You need relevance. You also need a team that can bring it all together—PR, Influencer, paid media, and event strategy—to make every campaign work harder for you.

Read More On Boosting Visibility

What is DICE Europe all about?

DICE Europe is a smaller sister event of DICE Summit happening annually each February in Las Vegas culminating with AIAS DICE Awards. Both are organized by AIAS Foundation.

The European event is changing location each year, alternating between colder and warmer climates while choosing luxurious venues. It sits perfectly at the end of the summer, where tourist season is winding down. Last year it was happening at Lake Como, Italy and next year it is going to Athens, Greece.

You do not see many pictures from DICE apart from side events. Organizers are encouraging not to publish screenshots from the sessions. Pictured: the main hall for sessions and part of the round-tables.

DICE Europe is a very compact, small-sized event, with capped attendance at 200. The 2025 edition had 190 registered attendees and was sold out. It also attracts dozens of brave souls who travel without a conference pass and mingle in lobbies and bars with the rest. It always depends on the venue how successful they are and I am sure the organizers are aware of it, as they are checking your badge like a hawk each time you enter the conference grounds.

The venue dictates if the event has a common area, where you can decompress or catch a break in between sessions. The Intercontinental didn’t have much space to spare, only if you stepped outside or sat in a cafe / bar or in a lobby usually occupied by other guests staying at the hotel.

The conversations flow naturally, and the schedule changes from passive listening (during the morning sessions) to active participation starting with lunch and followed by insightful round tables. The programme is a bit overwhelming, sessions have the correct cadence, with almost no room to breath in between. Only at DICE Europe have I seen such a high attendance rate at sessions (at least during the first day) it felt like everyone was there.

The capped capacity allows you to meet and have a conversation with everyone. The usual crowd are executives, investors, those with decision power, service providers and attendees not going to a lot of other events. No one is shielded and everyone is approachable.

DICE Europe has some unspoken rules and the vibe is defined and protected by the attendees themselves. Sessions are not recorded for a reason, some include insights not for the public, others interesting inside stories. No media on site allows everyone to have conversations without paying attention to who might be listening. There are still NDAs, but you know how it goes. The sense of belonging creates an environment where everybody is following the Chatham House rule.

Slovakia was represented by Peter Nagy (pictured right), my dear friend and founder of Grindstone and myself holding the Art Council sign.

The trust goes beyond the event. The app is your black book. Not a lot of people are aware, but you have access to contact details of each attendee. You can opt out from messaging and meetings, but your email registered to the badge is visible. It gives you an option to reach out and set up a meeting through a more traditional channel.

But, here are the rules.

No sales. I don’t have to remind you about the risks tied to sending a cold email. Selling won’t get you anywhere. I was lucky to get replies to almost all of the emails, while the app itself was not useful for making connections.

I am a bit puzzled why no other event copied this concept. You are not forcefully signed to a system you don’t want to utilize. Not everyone is there to fill the calendar with meetings, but it is helpful to see who is coming and if there is someone who would you like to meet, you can send an email.

Some are saying, DICE Europe is for Americans going for a late summer vacation. And it is structured like that; the luxurious venues, locations, and the option to travel with your loved ones, are clear indications why this one was created and why it works. You are allowed to bring significant others with you and they are welcome to join all the social events (mixers and parties). The significant others have a special daily programme, while you are networking. They do have a dedicated Whatsapp group to coordinate as well.

Game Conference Guide Insights is a monthly newsletter covering games industry events. If you find it interesting, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

What it isn’t?

DICE Europe does not have any showcase. There are no games to play, no booth to see or have a meeting at, no stores to buy games related gifts. There is merchandise inside your goodie bag though. A notepad with a printed programme would be more useful, than the sleeping mask if you ask me. There isn’t a lot of branding either around the venue, which was refreshing to see.

It isn’t a show where you go from booth to booth and talk to developers selling services. It isn’t definitely a place where you set up your meetings back to back and have them in a special area. The venue is small, it doesn’t allow it, and is being focused on interaction between attendees and the tight programme (handful of sessions accompanied by round tables). There are no side-events like pitching, publishers meet-up or job fair you might find at your typical conference.

How much does it cost? Who is it for?

The price reflects the format and quality of guests. It is one of the most expensive event out there. We always point a finger at GDC, but 1,750 USD for a conference pass is a lot. DICE Summit in Las Vegas is twice as expensive.

My budget for the whole trip was almost 3,000EUR (not counting representative budget, nor daily allowance), while not staying in the venue (Intercontinental). The budget itself is self explanatory for who the event is aimed at.

The pinacle of the event was evening reception at Edinburgh castle. A party that will be hard to top especially with the bagpipe bands and access to parts of the castle public is not allowed to enter.

At DICE you are getting to know very influential individuals, successful developers and make powerful new friends. The access is unprecedented. I would not recommend attending the event to newcomers. Executives, founders, thinkers, creatives who want to exchange ideas with others, compare notes and discuss challenges in a more friendly environment that provides enough time and space will be right at home.

The attendees are changing each year, DICE is bringing companies from the US as there are not that many places where you can meet them (apart from GDC). Personally I would love to see more younger developers there.

Kudos to the Sandfall guys, who were a blessing to hear while sharing their crazy successful journey on stage.

While there are similar events happening in Europe with even more focused programmes and very limited audience, DICE is still DICE. It occupies and dominates its own category.

Should you go?

If you have never been and have a budget for it, just go for it. As for myself, I loved it and would like to attend 2026 edition in Greece.

❄️November’s games industry showcases

Get all details, dates, times & direct links to broadcast here.

🏆New Deadlines on the horizon

Get all deadlines here.

[Game Conference Guide is helping you find your next games industry event.]

Thank you for reading and supporting Game Conference Guide. Consider sharing it with your peers, colleagues, and community.

Pavol Buday, curator @ GCG

]]><![CDATA[Celebrating 5 years of tracking events]]>https://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/celebrating-5-years-of-tracking-eventshttps://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/celebrating-5-years-of-tracking-eventsTue, 14 Oct 2025 09:13:14 GMTIn this month’s issue:

  • GCG Celebrates 5th anniversary

  • Updated October’s showcases & deadlines for awards, funding, etc.

Five years ago I launched the Game Conference Guide.

It grew from a simple spreadsheet to a website helping you to find your next event. Local associations liked it, they shared it among their members and the rest is history, as they say.

The website was created during a very difficult time for anyone who was working in hospitality and events. It was a period much like today, with a lot of uncertainty and unknowns around. We haven’t had a clue what would come when the pandemic started, and planning was impossible. The website became a north star, tracking movement of others and shifting dates became vital information for a conference organizer who doesn’t want to cross dates with others.

At the beginning there were a handful of voices saying it will create a time capsule for events and it will help to paint a better picture on the state of this industry. They were true, events mirrors the current shifts and the on-going challenges.

Then there were some saying running a website like Game Conference Guide and tracking so many data points will take too much of time, predicting demise in 5 years or sooner. They were wrong.

It was tough, but the website is still here, tracking more events than I could have imagined. The database started with dozens or so events, and now it has 1853 events spanning 2020 - 2026. It is incredible and the challenge is still here.

This is the Game Conference Guide in a nutshell. The graph breaks down the number of scheduled events per month for 2020 - 2025 period.

PARTNER OF THE MONTH

DevGAMM Game Conference brings the perfect workation to Portugal this November!

With Peter Molyneux headlining in Lisbon, expect 50+ talks from Riot Games, Ubisoft, Sandfall Interactive, 11 bit studios, Unity, 80+ new games in the showcase, and networking with up to 1,000 attendees powered by MeetToMatch. Add parties, VIP experiences, and the first-ever Madeira Games Summit – it’s a full week of gamedev you can’t miss.

Use promo code GameConfGuide for a 15% discount on BUSINESS and SESSIONS tickets – get your tickets today!

CATCH THE WAVES IN PORTUGAL

Each year we see 300 events or more. For every cancelled one there are few taking their position. Some are one of, some are surviving longer, some are no longer happening. You can check the archive and go back in time.

Tracking data is super hard. I am not using scrapers, robots, nor AI, as it is unreliable. Data points like dates, ticket prices, and sometimes hyperlinks are changing as the event organizers are getting closer to the events itself. Sometimes the events are cancelled, prolonged or shortened, or just announced and abandoned until the domain expires and the last trace is gone.

Every data point is manual labor. After five years, I have created a routine and even with it adding events still takes time, but I want to continue doing so. I will try to make the website better in the next five years.

I was thinking about what this month’s newsletter issue should be about, and it is about you.

  • Thanks to all partners who partnered up! You are awesome.

  • Thank you for being an active supporter (Jeanette, Kate, Jason, Takaaki, Masatoshi, Erik, Robin, Justin, Tobi & Jay, you are all awesome!)

Join them by buying me a coffee

  • Thank you for visiting.

  • Thank you for being a reader.

  • Thank you for spreading the website with your peers and friends, and recommending it to anyone who is looking to discover their next event.

Since you are here, you are a subscriber or you are coming from my personal social channels. Thank you.

If you like Game Conference Guide and you want to keep it free, without any registration needed, support it by:

By doing so, I know there are more and more awesome people who enjoy my work, who feel what I do is important to them. And it gives me a much needed validation.

Game Conference Guide Insights is a monthly newsletter covering games industry events. If you find it interesting, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

I am not good at predictions, so I do not know what will happen in the next 5 years. What I know for sure is, the website is going to be the same, and it will operate as before. As announced in the last issue, I have partnered up with Games Industry Network to make it better, and I am not planning to introduce paywalls or require registration to access much needed details about events.

Game Conference Guide is bringing me joy, helping me to stay in touch with fellow event organizers and it is so ingrained in my daily routine that it is hard to imagine not updating the database each morning.

I started already thinking about version 3.0 (potentially with new design and faster loads), but more importantly, I want to bring events closer to you with better categories, labels and tags.

This is going to be my next challenge. As for my next event?

My next one is Game Days in Slovakia. See you in Kosice.

☔October’s games industry showcases

Get all details, dates, times & direct links to broadcast here.

🏆New Deadlines on the horizon

Get all deadlines here.

[Game Conference Guide is helping you find your next games industry events & showcase.]

Thank you for reading and supporting Game Conference Guide. Consider sharing it with your peers, colleagues, and community.

Pavol Buday, curator @ GCG

]]><![CDATA[How to rate events equally for everyone]]>https://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/how-to-rate-events-equally-for-everyonehttps://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/how-to-rate-events-equally-for-everyoneThu, 18 Sep 2025 16:18:22 GMTIn this month’s issue:

  • How to rate events equally for everyone

  • GCG join forces with GiN

  • Updated September’s showcases & deadlines for awards, funding, etc.

For the first time ever, I had to skip gamescom. I missed all the fun, high fives, hang outs, chasing the next big thing and all the amazing games. Life sometimes happens and plans change. And you know what? Gamescom is going to return next year.

But there were a couple of things that happened during the month of August worth covering in more detail.

So what happened?

Before that, take a look at one of my favourite events of all time, Game Days. I am biased, as I helped to create it, but now it is in more capable hands and it is growing steadily each year. There is no better way go experience what Slovakia has to offer.

PARTNER OF THE MONTH

Join the Game Days conference, taking place October 23-25 in the beautiful city of Košice, Slovakia - three days filled with gaming insights, inspiration, and innovation.

Here’s what you can look forward to:

Talks & Workshops
Learn from a world-class lineup of speakers - game designers, developers, artists, and business experts, sharing best practices, new technologies, and the latest innovations driving the industry forward.

Networking Opportunities
Connect with developers, publishers, indie studios, and professionals from across the globe. Whether you’re looking for partnerships, investment, or new talent, Game Days is where it all comes together.

Showcase & Expo
Explore upcoming games, services, and projects. Our expo hall will feature innovative studios and developers presenting their newest creations to an international audience.

Don’t miss your chance to be part of one of the region’s premier gaming events. Secure your ticket today and join us this October in Košice!

REGISTER NOW

Do you know what GiN is?

Game Conference Guide has been here for five years (and the anniversary is coming up next month).

Each month, I am blown away, as I am learning about how you are finding your next event, how it helps you navigate in the sea of conferences, summits and festivals and keep you up to date. The goal is not going to change, but the reach will.

You might have come across an announcement saying the Game Conference Guide is joining forces with the Games Industry Network (GiN) and will power their database of events. What does it mean?

It is very simple.

The Games Industry Network or GiN for short (who doesn't like gin?) is a curated professional social network, a small microcosm cutting through the noise of algorithms and focusing on one thing, connecting relevant people and companies and giving you a few tools on top to orient better, like a massive database of companies, BD service and full events support. And this is where the collaboration comes in.

Game Conference Guide will be providing all the data I am gathering and curating and will power GiN’s database. As a return, GiN will provide me with resources to properly manage the database and keep it even fresher for you.

There won't be no sharing emails, contacts, nor they won't have any say in which events to track. Game Conference Guide remains independent, and is going to continue operating as it was. This collaboration won't affect how you access, or use the website.

And if you are looking for a meeting solution enhancing your event or want to manage the community in a very nice environment, feel free to drop a message to my buddy Mehdi Benkirane.

Game Conference Guide covers more than 1450 events in the database including archived 2020 – 2024 season. Massive thanks to everyone who is using the website every day and recommending it to colleagues and peers.

I want to give a special shout out to my patrons (Jeanette, Kate, Jason, Takaaki, Masatoshi, Erik, Robin, Justin, Tobi & Jay) supporting the website with fresh supply of coffee each month!

You are more than welcome to buy me a cup at Patreon (I drink decaf nowadays) or consider switching to paid subscription directly here on Substack.

As a patron you are receiving the insights ahead of everyone else and are helping to keep the website available free-of-charge without paywall or registration to everyone. Thank you.

Game Conference Guide Insights is a monthly newsletter covering games industry events. If you find it interesting, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

How to rate events equally for everyone

A few weeks ago, Mikolas Tucek asked me the impossible question I had on my mind ever since the launch of the Game Conference Guide. During the beta I sent the invites to test drive the website to a few of my friends. The feedback helped to form the final version, although there were suggestions I am trying to find a workaround till this day.

And one of them was, having an easy rating system for events so others can decide quicker and be helpful to join next time. If you can pick a restaurant, bar or a shop based on Google reviews, why not events?

Well, it is not that easy.

Events ID card created by Thomas Bidaux (ICO Partners) tried to anwer a lot of questions about which events to visit and what they are offering. We are talking about bringing this concept back.

You see, we go to events with different sets of goals, expectations and looking to bring home different results. The programme is changing every year, you might see similar faces giving lectures, but they are covering different topics. The showcase is filled with new games, and the event attracts new faces as well. Events are reflecting the current state of the industry, influencing the topics and driving the conversations.

If you are shopping for small games, you are not going to be interested in companies looking for engineering support. If you are there to network, you won't be spending that much time listening to sessions. Your preferences define how you are going to attend the event.

Location and venue are another factor that could affect the rating. Size of the crowd? Definitely. Weather? You can bet. Events have a different dynamic when you combine out-door and in-door activities, conversations then flow differently.

You could say, but how about rating the different components? If a conference is famous for meeting with publishers, are you going to be able to meet with each of them every year?

I said it before, the quality of the event is defined by the people you meet. And your best event is not going to be my favourite one and vice versa. Our preferences differ, and are defined by goals we are trying to achieve. Some go to events each year without blinking an eye, others fluctuate and listen to recommendations.

Having a number of stars encapsulating the event poses more questions the more you think about it. Who would curate it? Can you guarantee the people rating it? Were they actually participating? Can the rating be equally fair to small local events compared to highly focused executive off-site?

Years ago Thomas Bidaux tried to solve it with Event ID cards (check the picture above) described in a great blog post breaking down who events are for, what you can find there, and how to choose one. It could be a solution, but it won’t cover all events at once.

Now, imagine, you have 300+ events each year, it is impossible to cover each of them honestly, fairly and bring back a review / report. This is not the way.

So, how do you rate the events? For now, it is an open question.

I am still thinking about it here and there. I have reached out to Bidaux as well, and we are talking about going back to the Events ID cards together, as they were and could be very helpful for newcomers or returning attendees. Not sure if we can come up with a permanent solution.

Stay tuned.

☀️August’s games industry showcases

Get all details, dates, times & direct links to broadcast here.

🏆New Deadlines on the horizon

  • 🎮Wholesome Snack
    Deadline: September 23, Showcase + Steam event, entry: Free

Get all deadlines here.

[Game Conference Guide is helping you find your next games industry events & showcase.]

Thank you for reading and supporting Game Conference Guide. Consider sharing it with your peers, colleagues, and community.

Pavol Buday, curator @ GCG

]]><![CDATA[Essential tips to survive (almost) any event ]]>https://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/essential-tips-to-survive-almosthttps://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/essential-tips-to-survive-almostThu, 07 Aug 2025 09:42:21 GMTIn this month’s issue:

  • Practical tips for attending (not just) gamescom

  • Cool partner message

  • Showcases to watch in August

  • Deadlines for awards, funding etc. in August

Whenever I was working with clients or within a team, shortly before gamescom I put together a list of things to do and how to prepare for meetings. For newcomers it was essential reading, for those who have been visiting each year a reminder and for those who took a break for a year or two, a vital refresher.

Each year, gamescom feels like a yearly pilgrimage filled with stress and anxiety. There is nothing like overpreparing for it.

This year I looked back on the list of how to survive almost every event and updated it with some fresh takes and tips. Bear in mind this is not covering taking meetings, how to prepare, how in advance and where to go in the evening.

Also, each of us heading to gamescom will have different goals and our energy levels vary. We function differently in crowded spaces, in-doors and some need to take a break, that is why I would love to start with:

PARTNER OF THE MONTH

devcom developer conference 2025 is almost here – make sure to join us!

Cologne is heating up this August, and it’s not just the weather. From August 17–19, the devcom developer conference (#ddc2025) returns with our most anticipated edition yet - and we’d love to see you there.

More than 300 speakers are joining us, covering everything from creative direction to production pipelines, from AAA to indie. This year’s speaker survey revealed what’s really on developers' minds: economic uncertainty, rising development costs, and the complex future of AI - and devcom will get into all of it.

Whether you're joining for the sessions, roundtables, networking, the devcom Award, our huge lineup of side events, or simply to catch up with friends and the global dev community - #ddc2025 is more than a conference. It’s where you come to learn, connect, and start your gamescom week.

🎟️ Don’t miss your chance to grab a pass to #ddc2025!

Get your ticket NOW

Pace Yourself. Gamescom is overwhelming. You can only take a certain number of meetings fully focused. The rest you will do on autopilot, and if you want to be able to function at mixers or dinners after a full day of meeting with new people, you have to take a break.

For example, I like to block Wednesday morning for strolling around the public area, taking photos, checking out the booths, merchandise hall and wondering how many Gundams I can buy from my favourite Italian group.

As an introverted person, I usually go back to my room for an hour or two before evening activities and just stare into the wall, or listen to some music. Recharging the social battery is essential, as the longer you will stay at gamescom, the quicker it will drain. You do not have to fill each minute of your calendar, as you won't be able to…

Be ready for unpredictable events. Invite to a dinner with important people you wanted to meet / chat to. A social gathering organized by friends just started, and you don’t want to be left out. You run into your business soul-mate and you want to continue the conversation over a meal or drink. Wait a moment, there are people going to the spa after marathon of meetings?

The rule of thumb is to break your calendar into 60 minute slots, and leave enough space between the meetings to catch a break (if you are exhibiting, I highly recommend to go breathe a fresh air at least every 2 hours), write notes or to walk to your next meeting spot.

The likelihood of you bumping into someone on the way to meetings, strolling around, or just walking on the bridge connecting the venue with the city center, is very high. Be prepared to react. Are you pitching a game? Are you selling services? Being able to walk and talk were crucial in my career. Practice your pitch, what you do and what you are looking for.

devcom starts before gamescom and it is a great place to meet new friends, plus they are organizing great sunset mixer.

Know your surroundings. Do a bit of research in which area you are staying. Are there any new bistros, cafes? Are they opening early, so you can squeeze in a pre-breakfast meeting? Where can you have killer donuts? Are you going to walk to the venue? Which path do you want to take? Does public transport work after midnight? Are scooters safe to use in the crowd?

Did you know, that each exhibitor and trade pass comes with a public transport ticket? You can use it each day to get to and from the venue. It is very handy. Save the QR code. And since you will be walking a lot as well, you must have…

Comfortable Shoes. I can't stress enough how important this is. You will walk 18 - 20K steps each day easily. If you are on the showfloor, you might be standing all the time. If you have the opportunity to sit, take the seat! It is very important to bring your comfortable pair of shoes, and don't buy shoes shortly before the event. Even new sneakers can give you painful blisters.

Prepare to walk a lot. Every day. If you decide to visit the public area, make sure it is on Wednesday, before the crowds. Otherwise expect waiting in lines snaking around corridors.

Taking care of yourself is key to surviving the whole week. Remember, each following day will be harder and on Friday you might run on fumes. Adjust your schedule according to your rhythm and energy levels.

Take a refillable water bottle with you. You will forget to drink it while buzzing from excitement and endorphins from meeting with your peers.

Take with you a power or protein bar to give you energy when you feel hungry or you have skipped lunch. On many occasions the protein bar was for someone else who hasn't had time to eat.

Your body needs energy, same with your gadgets. Are you presenting? Well, make sure you have all notebooks / tablets fully charged each morning. We are most of the time outside of meetings catching up on news and conversations on mobile devices. Make sure you pack a small charger. Again, you can help charge your friend's phone, or someone in need.

Pack lightly. A heavy back-pack will wear you down quickly.

The artery between the venue and the city center. When commuting consider walking, or using public transport. Sometimes it is faster then with Taxi.

Make sure you have antibacterial cream with you. You will be opening / closing a lot of doors, while meeting people with tons of handshakes. To decrease the likelihood of catching conference flu, wash your hands and use the cream. And take some vitamin C.

Make a note. If you don't write it down, you will miss it and forget about it. If your schedule is similar to mine, you are constantly on the move. Without the notes by afternoon I would forget what I was talking about in the morning. And before the meeting ends, always agree on next steps. Was I supposed to send you a deck? Send it. Did we agree to take another call? Book a follow up on the spot. If you can execute some actions, do them right away. The rest? You can write it down.

If you have a cool notepad (stickers on it), or a nice pen, it can break the ice before the meeting even begins.

Pay attention. Gamescom is one of the most demanding events out there. You do have your goals, agenda, time to be at a precise minute, just remember, you are surrounded by hundreds of others constantly. And in the crowd we get tunnel vision. You might bump into each other while reading an important message, stumble upon a backpack near a group. Pay attention to your surroundings and treat everyone like you would like to be treated.

Lastly, I want to remind you that FOMO at events as big as gamescom is real. You won’t be able to catch-up with everyone, play all games, get that cool merch. Throttle the expectations, have a clear goals and you will survive it with flying colors.

Did I miss anything? Do you have any secret tips? Feel free to share it.

Good luck everyone at devcom & gamescom!

Game Conference Guide covers more than 1450 events in the database including archived 2020 – 2024 season. Massive thanks to everyone who is using the website every day and recommending it to colleagues and peers.

I want to give a special shout out to my patrons (Jeanette, Kate, Jason, Takaaki, Masatoshi, Erik, Robin, Justin, Tobi & Jay) supporting the website with fresh supply of coffee each month!

You are more than welcome to buy me a cup at Patreon (I drink decaf nowadays) or consider switching to paid subscription directly here on Substack.

As a patron you are receiving the insights ahead of everyone else and are helping to keep the website available free-of-charge without paywall or registration to everyone. Thank you.

Game Conference Guide Insights is a monthly newsletter covering games industry events. If you find it interesting, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

☀️August’s games industry showcases

Get all details, dates, times & direct links to broadcast here.

🏆 New Deadlines on the horizon

Get all deadlines here.

[Game Conference Guide is helping you find your next games industry events & showcase.]

Thank you for reading and supporting Game Conference Guide. Consider sharing it with your peers, colleagues, and community.

Pavol Buday, curator @ GCG

]]><![CDATA[And the best event in the world is...]]>https://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/and-the-best-event-in-the-world-ishttps://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/and-the-best-event-in-the-world-isWed, 09 Jul 2025 09:07:17 GMT

You have heard it somewhere. I am sure of it. It came either as a statement in a conversation, or in the form of a question. We all attended the best event in the world, and based on that experience we are going to benchmark others.

However you look at it, and whatever metric you will use to measure the size, number of indies, exhibitors, halls, prize pool, signed contracts, price of a ticket, number of tiny beers, meetings taken, connections created, business cards collected, how full the swag bag is, you will compare your previous experience with the new one. We measure success differently and solely based on the goals. What changes is, with whom we are experiencing the event. And who is around us.

We are constantly seeing posts and very enthusiastic reports from business trips, events, conferences or studio visits (ironically I just made one on my LinkedIn). And if you ever thought, was I missing something? How would the experience be for me? Would it change my perspective, if I was there? You are not alone.

This is why we travel to events, for the next high, seeking the next best thing. And if you are going there because of this, you are attending them wrongly.

Could your next best event be devcom happening in less than 6 weeks? You never know if you never go. Read the partners message below, and check their website. The organizers are nicest people in the universe and they really do care about the community.

PARTNER OF THE MONTH

Europe’s Biggest Game Developer Event – devcom developer conference 2025

If you’re heading to cologne this August, kick off your week with #ddc2025.

This is where the conversations happen, and the industry meets. Developers, publishers, creatives, biz folks, and decision-makers all come together for three days of learning, sharing, and connecting right ahead of gamescom.

It’s everything you’re looking for in a conference:

  • World-class talks, panels, and workshops from the people making the games we play.

  • Honest insights, real lessons, and practical advice about what’s working in the industry right now.

  • Networking that feels natural — from coffee breaks to sunset mixers, VIP receptions, and those legendary parties you do not want to hear about secondhand.

  • A buzzing expo floor, the devcom Indie Showcase, keynote stages, and partner booths.

  • The perfect way to line up your gamescom meetings, talk industry with peers, and kick off the week with the right energy.

If you’ve been to devcom before, you already know what's coming. If not — this is your sign to change that.

⚠️ As a heads-up: ticket prices increase after July 31.

Get your ticket NOW

👉 All info, program & passes: https://www.devcom.global/ddc-2025

I have returned from two different events last month. These two couldn't be further apart in terms of the format, target audience and size.

One was inaugural, a vehicle to bring the community together. Very important for the locals and the vision they are trying to materialize. That means it was the best in its own category. And for some attendees it was their first event, meaning it was the best one they have experienced so far. And it was the first in the country, meaning it was the best regionally. You see where I am getting at?

The second event was a small think-tank summit with hi-profile attendees interacting in a secluded area. Personally, it was the best one so far, outcompeting every single one I have attended in the past few years. There was no business discussed, no meetings, and preparations for it were minimal. And the quality of conversations? Beyond measure.

You see, I found myself in a very strange place this year, where the combination of unforeseen circumstances (both professional and private) would put any rollercoaster to shame. And with the industry being continuously challenged, I have started loosing faith in it. I have been here before. It took time for me to realize it and the remedy was a new trajectory in my career. The process is painful during which you question everything, even your achievements. Not a good place to be in and I am not out of it. I am working on it.

And while I was looking back, I was looking at the events as well. Which one was helpful at that given time, where I was shining, which were the most important in my career, at which I was barely sleeping, which I organized and so on. Each had an impact, opening the horizons a bit, teaching a valuable lesson, allowing me to meet incredible talented people I call friends nowadays, and going to places I would only dream of.

You see, the best events are defined by people.

Those that:

  • you meet,

  • hang with,

  • have a deep conversation with,

  • you will do business with,

  • you share an embarrassing moment with,

  • you discover ways to collaborate over the proverbial last drink with,

  • you help to navigate a tricky challenge,

  • you introduce to others and create a relationship they can benefit from,

  • you bring together to solve tough problems,

  • you decompress in a park with a donut in hand after a marathon of meetings and without the word you just stare to the distance.

Which are the best ones? And where can you find them?

There are at least 300 events happening each year, plus tons of smaller meet-ups and drink-ups supported either by the local community or trade groups. You have plenty to choose from and Game Conference Guide is here to back you up.

I am sure your event calendar is already fully booked by now (at least for this year). Does your line-up include the best event? Will the next edition top the previous experience? You never know. And that is the gift and curse of going to events. There are still 140 events scheduled to happen this year, with October and November being the busiests, with 42 and 36 event respectively.

You can bet on one thing: you will always meet new people and be surrounded by them. And they can elevate any event to new heights.

You just have to choose wisely.

My next event will be devcom in August.

See you all in Cologne and lets make it the best one.

Game Conference Guide covers more than 1450 events in the database including archived 2020 – 2024 season. Massive thanks to everyone who is using the website every day and recommending it to colleagues and peers.

I want to give a special shout out to my patrons (Jeanette, Kate, Jason, Takaaki, Masatoshi, Erik, Robin, Justin, Tobi & Jay) supporting the website with fresh supply of coffee each month!

You are more than welcome to buy me a cup at Patreon (I drink decaf nowadays) or consider switching to paid subscription directly here on Substack.

As a patron you are receiving the insights ahead of everyone else and are helping to keep the website available free-of-charge without paywall or registration to everyone. Thank you.

Game Conference Guide Insights is a monthly newsletter covering games industry events. If you find it interesting, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

☀️July’s games industry Showcases

Get all details, dates, times & direct links to broadcast here.

🏆New Deadlines on the horizon

Get all deadlines here.

[Game Conference Guide is helping you find your next games industry events & showcase.]

Thank you for reading and supporting Game Conference Guide. Consider sharing it with your peers, colleagues, and community.

Pavol Buday, curator @ GCG

]]><![CDATA[How to watch summer game fest showcases + new events Archive]]>https://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/how-to-watch-summer-game-fest-showcaseshttps://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/how-to-watch-summer-game-fest-showcasesMon, 02 Jun 2025 12:03:08 GMT

Each year we are bombarded with new announcements, festivals of playable demos, various sales, broadcasts, trailers, showcases and myriad of other activities. And each year, June has the biggest amount of showcases.

Last year we saw 160 of them (in 2023 it was 164). In 2025 the staple ones are returning (especially those directly attached to the Summer Game Fest (12 of them so far)), but many newcomers already jumped the gun in May to stay away from the heavy hitters and distancing themselves from the avalanche of world premieres at the beginning of June.

Showcases at Game Conference Guide goes beyond Summer Game Fest. The website tracks gamescom and all the other important events from special labels, publishers and development studios spread out throughout the year.

So what to expect in the coming days?

PARTNER OF THE MONTH

Looking for the Right PR and Marketing Partner?

At UberStrategist, we work alongside game developers, publishers, and entertainment brands to elevate launches, grow awareness, and spark real engagement. With a decade of experience and deep relationships across gaming media, we know how to craft stories that get attention—and results.

Whether you're launching your next game, planning a showcase, or looking to grow your brand’s presence, our expert team brings strategic insight, creativity, and seamless collaboration to every campaign. We're more than a service provider—we're your partner in success.

Let’s play to win—together!

Learn More About UberStrategist

In total there are two dozen of showcases that fall under the Summer of Games / nonE3 umbrella or could be considered as part of the week. We are missing some of the traditional ones like Ubisoft’s Forward and Tribeca Games Spotlight, alongside Capcom Showcase and Future of Play. On the other side Upload VR was moved to July as the organizing crew is attending the biggest VR event AWE.

Each year there are more than 150 showcases, various broadcasts and streams with new announcements, world premieres and updates to already unveiled games. Game Conference Guide is tracking all of them.

Below you can find is the most comprehensive list covering all summer showcases happening, before, around and after Summer Game Fest spanning the MAY - JULY period.

Bear in mind, some events / showcases might be added in coming days, like rumored Nintendo Direct broadcast to support Switch 2 launch on June 5th.

For more details (including description, fancy logo, length of the broadcast), visit directly Showcases section at Game Conference Guide tracking all the showcases for 2025.

Events marked with ☀️ emoji are the official Summer Game Fest events (12 of them).

Title of the events are hyperlinked directly to the broadcast on YouTube (where available).

MAY

JUNE

JULY

Game Conference Guide covers more than 1450 events in the database including archived 2020 – 2024 season. Massive thanks to everyone who is using the website every day and recommending it to colleagues and peers.

I want to give a special shout out to my patrons (Jeanette, Kate, Takaaki, Masatoshi, Erik, Robin, Mateusz, Justin, Tobi & Jay) supporting the website with fresh supply of coffee each month!

You are more than welcome to buy me a cup at Patreon (I drink decaf nowadays) or consider switching to paid subscription directly here on Substack.

As a patron you are receiving the insights ahead of everyone else and are helping to keep the website available free-of-charge without paywall or registration to everyone. Thank you.

Re-Introducting Archive

When the Game Conference Guide 2.0 was launched I had to sunset some of the features (not used, or completely ignored). And one of them was the Archive.

It held all the events since the website started going back to January 2020 and each year it grew to the current 1457 events spanning last five years (including the canceled ones). For a long time I thought I am the only one using the Archive to cross reference events when adding new ones, or going back in time to see what other events happened and never returned.

A snapshot of almost 1500 events spanning 2020 - 2024. The Archive acts as a time capsule and you can go back in time with filters and full time search. Bear in mind, some of the links are broken, as the domains expired or the events no longer exists.

And while this feature is not as popular as Calendar, some of you were missing it. So I am bringing it back.

The new Archive is the same as before. It required a little bit of rearrangement of the data set and re-formating some of the assets, but overall it is the same and it offers the same full-text search and filters as you were used to; you can go back in time by months or years, filter by country (province, county), city or just by type of the event you are looking for.

The Archive boasts almost 1500 events (next year it will have more than 1800), and it requires a bit of time to load as the whole dataset is being loaded at once. Bear in mind, some of the hyperlinks are broken, as the domains expired or the events no longer exists or were abandoned by organizers.

You might come across a mistake or a bug, if you do, please report it.

Game Conference Guide Insights is a monthly newsletter covering games industry events. If you find it interesting, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

🏆New Deadlines on the horizon

Get all deadlines here.

[Game Conference Guide is helping you find your next games industry events & showcase.]

Thank you for reading and supporting Game Conference Guide. Consider sharing it with your peers, colleagues, and community.

Pavol Buday, curator @ GCG

]]><![CDATA[Attending events without agenda]]>https://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/attending-events-without-agendahttps://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/attending-events-without-agendaThu, 15 May 2025 09:47:33 GMT

One of the common questions asked at events is: where do you go next? Which is your next event? It is returning like a boomerang and through the answers we get to learn about new events we have never been to.

And it was asked over and over at last month’s Reboot Develop. One of my friends told me: come to Dubai, there is something going on and you will like it. At that time I was deciding between two other trips, but since I do not have any real agenda at the moment (I am still looking for opportunities), I opted to go to a place where I had never been before.

The opportunity to explore, get to learn about the region and meet locals was very enticing. And I wanted to try something out: going to an event without too much preparation or meetings booked.

This is going against the notion and mantra preached by everyone including me to newcomers, that you have to have goals, otherwise you are up for disappointment.

So I went to Dubai and this is what happened.

PARTNER OF THE MONTH

Amber is a global game development service provider led by industry veterans with teams in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Bucharest, Botosani, Guadalajara, Bogota, Montreal, Kyiv, and Manila, offering a variety of world-class creative and technical solutions for the game industry. The agency offers a full range of turn-key product development solutions, including concept-to-delivery game production, live operations, co-development, and studio services.

Amber is structured as a network of studios with different specializations, which retains over 850 staff around the world. Established in 2013, the agency earned the trust of some of the most important players in the games space, such as Amazon, Disney, Warner Media, King, Roblox, Rovio, Netflix, and Riot Games. Its portfolio includes titles like Tetris Beat, Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle: Chomp Champs, Super Spy Ryan, PositronX, and Link Twin, as well as contributions to successful games such as Sky: Children of the Light, Gotham Knights, and Stumble Guys.

REACH OUT TO US

The anxiety was off the charts, I have to tell you. There are no KPI’s to hit, nor expected ROI after you return back, I was telling myself. The trip was a little bit easier, as two of my close friends decided to join as well. At least we will burn in the hot sun together.

You may have already seen and probably read report about the MENA 3 region (Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia), how it is booming and also how crazily fast it is growing. The analytics firm Niko Partners is saying it is the second fastest growing region by number of players and revenue they track. The region itself is very much alive, while Dubai is mobile centric with a wide variety of companies tinkering with esports platforms, web3 & AI.

There was one thing missing - community, as Mohamed El Sheakh pointed out. That is why they launched Game Majlis, an umbrella body bringing the key players together and strengthening the whole ecosystem. They started with 20 members first, and they plan to expand. For this region specifically it is crucial to be a little bit louder. They do have immense governmental support already seeing gaming as one of the growth pillars.

Game Majlis was the main reason for my travels, an intimate mixer for a selected few, to mingle and get to know each other. And it was amazing. I wish there was more time to talk to everyone, as the evening went by very quickly.

During my visit, Pocket Gamer was hosting their conference as part of the Dubai GameExpo kicking off the region's public gaming event attracting 25,000+ visitors. During the Zero day reserved for the schools, more than 7,000 of them visited the public part.

I don't want to go too deep into the offering, as the conference part was professionally organized, the showfloor was spread out nicely, and it was busy during the whole day. There was a little bit of sound bleed from the main stage sitting next to the meeting area, but this is a general issue of all events having everything in one massive hall. The conference was lively, full of interesting people and indies exhibiting their games.

One of the surprising things was the asking price for a standard conference pass: 77€. You could opt in for VIP (including refreshment throughout the day and access to the lounge), but the standard one got you covered. Speaking of the budget, the whole trip, including flight (direct with FlyDubai), accommodation (4 nights) and a conference pass was under 1,000€. Not bad.

Now, how about the experiment?

Despite not having booked anything prior (except two meetings I didn't want to miss), there was always someone to talk to, at the coffee stations, around the meeting area, or at the mixers organized by various partners. As there were no goals to hit, there was no pressure to deliver. There was no backlash afterwards, even though me being me, I was comparing and evaluating after I returned back home.

The main learning is you won’t be able to grasp the whole ecosystem with just one visit. And you won't have high quality relationships with the locals immediately. It takes time. One trip can give you an overview of what is going on and potentially bring back insights and make a decision if to visit again, or recommend the event / region to your peers. The two of my friends I have mentioned, they will be back 100%.

Going to an event unprepared or not having anything booked is freeing you from the typical meeting spots. You can flow around and because of this you can extend the conversations, and keep the dialogue going beyond the typical 30 minutes slot. The organic meeting and your friends introducing you to others, makes it even more perfect. This is why Reboot Develop is hard to crack for newcomers. With each visit, you will feel more comfortable and more confident to go there without massive preparations. And with each visit, your network will expand. And in return it will help you to connect.

Should you go to events unprepared?

It depends. Again, if your goals align with just discovery, networking and exploration, give yourself more freedom to be reactive to lunch invites, quick change of plans and unplanned meetings & events happening during the day. It is worth it to just go with the flow, making new friends, finding time to sit down and play some demos. If you are attending on a company's dime, preparations are highly recommended and shouldn’t be omitted.

Was it worth it? Absolutely.

Will I go next time?

I am thinking about it, while I would prolong the stay and visit Abu Dhabi or Riyadh, as these offer completely different communities.

The scene is alive, it will take time to mature, but things are already happening and it was great being part of it.

Massive thanks to Ali Farha, Mohamed El Sheakh and the whole Pocket Gamer Crew for having me. It was a blast.

Game Conference Guide Insights is a monthly newsletter covering games industry events. If you find it interesting, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

🏆New Deadlines on the horizon

Get all deadlines here.

And that is it for this month.

As we are entering the nonE3 showcase period, be prepared for avalanche of trailers, announcements and side-events surrounding Summer Game Fest & The Game Business happening in June.

In the next issue we will be looking at the packed schedule and on top I will bring one old feature back.

See you all next month.

[Game Conference Guide is helping you find your next games industry events & showcase.]

Thank you for reading and supporting Game Conference Guide. Consider sharing it with your peers, colleagues, and community.

Pavol Buday, curator @ GCG

]]><![CDATA[QUO VADIS, GDC? ]]>https://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/quo-vadis-gdchttps://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/quo-vadis-gdcTue, 08 Apr 2025 09:24:44 GMT

Oh please not another hot take on GDC! I hear you. We have seen the beloved conference moved to Austin, Seattle, Las Vegas, six feet under with deserted expo floor & silenced meeting area, we screamed collectively and proudly we are not supporting the event by buying a ticket, measured the success of 2025 edition based on the number of parking spots, people in the lobbies, lanyards on the streets, yet Informa (owner of GDC) posted the conference attracted nearly 30,000 attendees. Same as last year.

Now, where they were, I do not know. I was not in the attendance (because restructure), and I just realized I should tone down my snarky commentator's voice. You see, I was reading a little bit about Informa, went through their financial statements and was looking into attendance of other events they have in their portfolio. 

Informa is a massive corporation, they have bought UBM (another corporation and previous owner of GDC) in 2018 for eye watering 3,8 billion dollars. Their portfolio is divided into six divisions and one of them is Festivals, currently not tracked in their annual financial reports. Part of Festivals are 10 brands including Cannes Lions (Marketing), Money 20/20 (Fintech), London Tech Week, Africa Tech Festival, ATX (Tech), Black Hat (Cyber Security) & finally GDC (Gaming).

GDC is one of the biggest events they have and it is the largest among the Festival division based on the number of visitors, followed by Black Hat, ATX and London Tech Week. This September the crown might be taken by Money 20/20 expecting to attract 45,000 visitors at their premiere event in Riyadh, a flagship event in the territory where Informa smells a lot of money.

Next year, we will have visibility on how much revenue the Festival division is bringing to the bank. Informa boasts double digits growth with revenues for 2024 exceeding 3.5 billion GBP (compared to 3.1 billion GBP in 2023).

Collectively all events in the Festival division are platoing as they post the same numbers as the year before (= not a good indication). And investors like to see the numbers go up.

PARTNER OF THE MONTH

Ready to forge the connections you need to drive your success and unlock the potential of gaming IP?

Join the video game industry at XP Game Summit 2025 in Toronto for two days of business to business networking, deal making, and expert insights.

  • Learn from 100+ Experts: Gain actionable insights, stay ahead of industry trends, and accelerate your professional development with 50+ masterclasses, panels, & workshops.

  • Connect & Grow: From MeetToMatch meetings to casual chats, every conversation at XP25 could be the game-changer you need to build your future success.

  • Showcase & Discover: Explore the latest groundbreaking tools, services, and innovative games or showcase your own on the Exhibition Showfloor and Indie Zone.

When: June 12-13, 2025

Where: Hyatt Regency Toronto, Canada

Game Conference Guide friend discount: save 15% with code XP25GCGFRIEND (stacks with the Early Bird Discount!)

GET YOUR DISCOUNT

Why is this so important? Well, many were saying GDC will face the same destiny as E3. It might be true, I do not see it happening anytime soon. E3 was not owned by a corporation with a massive portfolio of large scale events while successfully operating around the whole world and catering to other industries. On top, E3 faced a generational shift similar to what traditional media faced when let’s plays exploded and we stopped reading the news. 

Disclaimer: I do not have any affiliation with GDC, I know few individuals who were running it before UBM snatched it and I managed to support Slovak Game Developers Association with free passes through scholarship programme. 

We can look at GDC from many different angles. I do feel it outgrew its values, goals and community needs. It is still an institution and a destination event with such a huge gravity well, that nothing else matters in March and it seems everyone will go to San Francisco. 

Similar to E3, look how Summer Game Fest shaping up its brand, and expanding their broadcast by adding media days for publishers & media and this year throwing in B2B offering with help of Christopher Dring. Cant wait to see what the team will bring with The Game Business LIVE.

I am not here to defend GDC either, the event has its own caveats and I do agree with many bringing forward safety, increased pass prices, quality of food and predatory hotel room rates. 

Let's start with the venue. Moscone is a super modern conference center, owned by the City and County of San Francisco. It is not privately owned. They are renting it with incentives directly from public funding. The city itself wants to have huge crowds around as it brings cash to the coffers from hotels, restaurants and other services. They will do everything in their power to extend the agreement which should expire next year. 

Of course, even though the Moscone is public, the rents are not publicly available. 

Even if you would change the venue, Informa would negotiate with state, county, municipality and city to get the rents as low as possible, because they are bringing the “value” and they want to extract it from the attendees. And they are so big, their negotiation power is immense.

And don’t get me wrong, cities compete to get events like GDC. Informa is definitely looking at other options, as the venue rentals and affiliated services went up alongside with utilities and workforce. As every big company in the games industry they are looking to reduce overhead, cut costs, and they will go whenever a better option is offered.

Informa exists to make investors happy and to extract value from the brands, attendees, speakers, community, volunteers, staff, compensation for speakers, IGF finalists etc. Informa is not a games business. They do not care about the games industry, what is happening within it and what challenges we are facing together. To quote their financial report, what they care about the most is to: “consistently delivering 5%+ underlying revenue growth, underpinned by a market-leading B2B platform, world class B2B Brands and a decade of focus on the geographic growth markets of the world.”

It is very naive to think the prices for hotel rooms in other cities wont be spiced up, and I can bet if the move happens to another location, there will be a lot of voices saying: lets wait and see how the new edition will pan out and then we wont be buying a ticket, because we will have meetings in nearby lobbies. 

Informa is a publicly traded company, so the ticket prices won't go down. They will go up. What they might do is freeze some of the not popular tiers, to keep the loudest group quiet a bit. Expo passes this year were 25% more expensive than last year. They have increased the prices by 12% across all the tiers compared to last year. 

I want to touch upon the number of attendees as well. You can cook numbers in multiple creative ways and a lot of events are guilty of it. I am not saying GDC is doing it. You can take for example number of sold Summits Passes and multiply them with the length of the event in days, you can count the number of visits to the venue itself. You can take the prediction and pretend this was the amount of visitors in the attendance.

Last year, we saw a 10% decrease among the exhibitors and this year they omitted to mention it in the press release. In all likelihood the numbers went down a bit, which is the result of cost cutting and companies spending on events in general. 

GDC is a victim of its own success. It is too big to change quickly (same as E3), and it will hurt them in the long run as the big players are either nowhere to be seen, or they are throwing satellite events in nearby hotels or full blown conferences like Nvidia with their GTC in nearby San Jose. And this won't change. Companies like to control the narrative and the space they invite a certain number of people they want to interact with. 

We all know the GDC Nights is just a duck tape and trying to capitalize on those that are not buying tickets and create FOMO around networking events. Not sure how it was, but clearly this is a response to mixers happening around the city. I like the concept of GDC Nights, but with a $75 entry fee you can't cover drinks nor food for your guests, what numerous parties are doing. 

Speaking about meeting places, MeetToMatch is killing it and sucking all air. You can't go head to head with the most popular meeting system, when yours is abysmal and no one is using it. And GDC is not alone, gamescom is facing the same issue. 

I really do not know where GDC is heading, or how hard it is for the board to convince the owners, but we will see cutting corners on services, quality of the production (already visible on the Expo floor since 2022 edition) and service on-site, budgets for the supporting programmes, and of course increasing number of sponsored sessions. The 2025 edition featured 182 out of 751 sponsored sessions and summits, a staggering 24% (6 sessions were cancelled). Let that number sink in. 

Game Conference Guide Insights is a monthly newsletter covering games industry events. If you find it interesting, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

🏆New Deadlines on the horizon

Get all deadlines here.

And that is it for this month.

Next week I am travelling to Dubrovnik for Reboot Develop Blue, I will be part of multiple panels and on top will host annual painting mini figures.

As always, if you want to meet, just let me know.

[Game Conference Guide is helping you find your next games industry events & showcase.]

Thank you for reading and supporting Game Conference Guide. Consider sharing it with your peers, colleagues, and community.

Pavol Buday, curator @ GCG

]]><![CDATA[Are you (really) ready for GDC?]]>https://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/are-you-really-ready-for-gdchttps://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/are-you-really-ready-for-gdcWed, 12 Mar 2025 09:41:31 GMT

This one is going to be more personal than I imagined. The countdown for GDC is on and I was supposed to be squeezing the last free slots out of my schedule and preparing for the trip. I was supposed to fly on Friday to San Francisco. But that has changed.

After few years of running events and organizing them, Game Conference Guide is a form of therapy for me. I am staying close to events while not getting the hands dirty from day-to-day organization. The website is a delicate bridge; it allows me to stay in touch with fellow organizers, while providing knowledge and insights to everyone interested in events and on top, I see what events I should attend. And I do hope it will stay that way for years to come.

If you haven’t missed the last month’s update, you already know the website is doing well, number of visitors is increasing steadily and the reader base is being expanded each month, which makes me beyond happy.

Game Conference Guide is not my primary income, it occupies majority of my free time, and I enjoy updating it. You see, I do have a regular daily job, or better yet, I had a job. The layoffs within our industry are continuing and sadly, I ended up redundant.

Last couple of weeks were very stressful, and the whole situation took most of my attention resulting in lack of concentration, depression and not enough mind-space for side projects. And it had a massive impact on this very short blog post, which you are reading now. For this I apologise and thank you for understanding.

To be without a job, is a new thing for me. It will take a while to figure out what to do next. Worry not, this won’t have any impact on running the website or keeping up the database fresh and updated.

In the meantime, I will be looking for opportunities. And I you would like to help with your events strategy, or you would like to pinpoint events / conferences / summits you should not miss, do let me know. I would be more than happy to advise and help you out. Just reach out.

With the imminent GDC around the corner, this month I am focusing on all the activities happening virtually and on-site in San Francisco while bringing forward deadlines in completely new section. You can find both sections below partner’s message.

Give it a look and let me know what you think.

PARTNER OF THE MONTH

Breaking into the gaming industry? Whether you're a B2B innovator or a game studio looking to scale, SuperScale Launchpad has you covered.

For B2B companies, Business Launchpad helps prove your value by testing your product on real, successful games. By leveraging SuperPlatform’s B2B sales network, you can accelerate your sales and land high-value deals. Additionally, our system optimizes onboarding, enhances lead generation, and drives MRR growth, ensuring long-term success.

For game studios, Game Launchpad offers a unique self-publishing opportunity to help you understand your game’s true business potential. Whether you are looking to secure funding, attract favorable publishing deals, or explore M&A opportunities, our ecosystem supports your goals. By overcoming growth barriers and scaling organically, your studio can reach the next level with confidence.

Don’t leave growth to chance—leverage SuperScale Launchpad to take your business or game to the next level.

APPLY NOW & START SCALLNG!

🗓️Tune in for the upcoming showcases and broadcasts during GDC

GDC is not just hanging around Yerba Buena Gardens, running around hotel lobbies for meetings or waiting in line to get into the rooms and listen to a lecture.

In March there are multiple showcases, plus additional side events tied directly to GDC spread around the whole week.

Get all showcases beyond GDC here.

And of course, meetings throughout the week are best handled by MeetToMatch.

If your calendar is still not full, there are obviously couple of great GDC party lists. Check this one and this one.

Game Conference Guide Insights is a monthly newsletter covering games industry events. If you find it interesting, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

🏆New Deadlines on the horizon

This is a brand-new section for the blog post. So far, I haven’t been putting deadlines in the spotlight apart from events and showcase.

Each month I would like to list deadlines for awards, showcases, various festivals, where you can submit your projects and exhibit. And each month you will get additional reminder (on top of those in the calendar) about upcoming important calls for projects.

Get all deadlines here.

This is it for this month.

Once again thank you for understanding and I do wish you a productive GDC!

See you all in April.

[Game Conference Guide is helping you find your next games industry events & showcase.]

Thank you for reading and supporting Game Conference Guide. Consider sharing it with your peers, colleagues, and community.

Pavol Buday, curator @ GCG

]]><![CDATA[State of the games industry events in 2024 - Year in Review]]>https://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/state-of-the-games-industry-events-fefhttps://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/state-of-the-games-industry-events-fefThu, 13 Feb 2025 12:03:46 GMT

January is usually reserved for retrospective, flashy presentations and reflections. In the last month’s issue of the newsletter the new design of Game Conference Guide took the priority and if I left you hungry for stats. I do apologise for a delay and now it is time for Year in Review.

How were the events doing in 2024?

Since the launch of Game Conference Guide, I haven’t seen such a busy, yet well balanced year. If you would judge by the sheer number and variety of events, you would not see how challenging the year was for the whole industry. With 337 events (almost 10% increase compared to 2023) it was the busiest year since launch. It was also the most stable, with only 9 cancelled events, which is good for long-term planning. After the events were announced, the organizers were not shifting dates, nor changing the duration. Virtual events are long gone, with few exemptions. Kudos to devcom, IndieGame Business and GAConf to name a few taking an extra mile to provide value to everyone tuning in from behind their desks.

Breakdown of the nature of all events in 2024 (except cancelled ones). With green color are highlighted physical events, dark blue represents hybrid and light blue are virtual events. Notice the months of May and Octeober with highest concentration of events.

The events have their own seasons, and during the year they copy very similar curve; with peaks during Spring, Summer with showcases and then in Autumn (check the picture below). October was the busiest month so far (same in 2023) with record breaking 63 events.

Number of scheduled events per month throughout 2020 - 2025. The calendar each year gets very busy in March (a lot of B2B events), in June before the summer (with a lot of showcases) and then again in October, which is always bringing the biggest number of events.

We haven’t seen that many surprises either, the events grew in numbers, more visitors are flocking in to more established ones due to increased hunger for projects, funding or publishing services and those looking for a new job.

Events are not without its challenges, the obvious one being funding. The big consolidation and restructuring are taking its toll on number of sponsors, partners and attendees while travel and events budgets are cut. Local events and initiatives continue to have trouble accessing public funding. Some of their events won’t be returning back this year. If you are in a position of power, consider to support local events. With extra support, they can do more.

Looking ahead into 2025, we should expect the same number of events in general. As of now 143 are scheduled for this year and 3 so far for 2026, including the new E3 now focusing on bringing together leader also from outside of games industry called iicon.

PARTNER OF THE MONTH

Build essential connections at Pocket Gamer Connects San Francisco 2025! Join the global mobile games industry at The Hibernia on March 17-18 during conference week. As the leading global B2B games conference, PG Connects offers unrivalled networking opportunities in the heart of San Francisco.

You’ll hear from over 80 experts sharing insights on key topics, including monetisation, global trends, and investment opportunities. Explore indie games in the dedicated expo area, and take part in fringe activities like the Big Indie Pitch and publisher/investor matchmaking sessions.

Your ticket unlocks two days of cutting-edge content and five full days of access to the MeetToMatch platform, enabling thousands of business meetings throughout the week.

Don’t miss Monday night’s legendary Pocket Gamer networking party, with priority access for PGC ticket holders – your informal setting to make lasting industry relationships.

Conveniently located not far from downtown San Francisco, PG Connects highlights the often-overlooked mobile games sector during gaming’s biggest week. Whether you’re seeking investment, partnerships, or industry insights, PG Connects San Francisco 2025 is the place to grow your business. Thrive in ’25!

REGISTER NOW

How much we were paying for events in 2024?

There is an increase in ticket prices across all the board. From B2B events, to festivals, to B2C events. Inflation, challenging market conditions or opportunity from suppliers and venues, call it however you like, attending events are again more expensive. By how much you ask?

Before you scroll down to numbers, bear in mind the tickets are offered in different tiers, naming conventions are not standardized and each of the organizer have different rules on when a price is increased from Super Early Bird to Late Bird price windows. More about data collection you can read here.

Despite my efforts, I failed to capture ticket prices from 13 events out of 337 (3.8%). From the total number 9 were excluded, as they were cancelled.

Industry (B2B) events

In 2024 you could attend a B2B event with free admission. From the total there were 79 truly free events (23% from the total number of events, same as year before). Out of those, 25 were broadcasts, Steam festivals and umbrella events for game festivals in various cities. The rest were industry events, various networking, pitching and festival like experiences, including those requiring registration (free) or direct invitation by organizers.

All prices are in USD.

Last year you were paying for a single B2B pass on average $418 (12% increase compared to $369 in 2023), $227 median (14% increase compared to $200 in 2023). If you preferred VIP or top shelf experience, you paid on average $827 (17% decrease compared to $964 in 2023), $768 median (3% decrease compared to $795 in 2023). The increased offering of VIP tickets on almost all professional events is lowering the average price.

If you decided to skip travel and join virtually, you paid on average $147 or $85 median, very similar averages to last year, no big changes here.

When is the best time to buy ticket?

Immediately once the tickets go on sale, during Super Early Bird period months before the events starts. On average you could save $226 ($187 median) compared to when you are buying on the last minute, just few weeks before the event.

A traditional look at GDC prices covering prices for the four tiers going back to 2020. Each year the prices are going up for the most popular tickets. The cheapest one (Expo) by 25%. All prices are in USD.

Public (B2C) events

For a single daily ticket in 2024 you were paying on average $41, (41% increase compared to $29 last year), $26 median (53% increase compared to $17 in 2024). All Access passes prices were selling on average for $122 (43% increase compared to $85 last year), $64 median (69% increase compared to $38 last year)

And if you wanted to opt in for a VIP / Business pass you were paying on average $283 (136% increase compared to $120 last year), $225 median (201% increase compared to $75 last year).

All prices are in USD.

Game Conference Guide Insights is a monthly newsletter covering games industry events. If you find it interesting, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Games Conference Guide in numbers

The website grew in number of visitors and subscribers, which is amazing. The community grows each month, and I must thank each and every one of you who are visiting, and especially those who are sharing the website with their peers, colleagues and friends.

Since last year, the subscribers number grew by 47%, paid subscribers sit on 12 in total.

Number of subscribers since the launch of the newsletter. During the last year the list grew by 47% to 2154 subscribers.

Again, I was pleasantly surprised by the reception of the Partner of the Month programme. Returning and new partners snatched the slots shortly after the new year began, so I can proudly say that 2025 is sold out. And if you are interested to hear more about overtaking the website for a month with your brand comes with, let me know, we can talk about 2026.

Last year the website was powered by these 7 amazing partners: Pocket Gamer, MeetToMatch,XP Summit, My.Games, devcom, Game Days, Game Developers Session. You are all awesome!

And a special shout-out goes to Jeanette, Kate, Takaaki, Masatoshi, Jason, Robin, Erik, Robin, Mateusz, Justin, Tobias & Jay. These individuals are supporting the website each month, for which I am beyond thankful.

If you feel you would like to buy me a coffee, turn your free to paid subscription here in Substack, or you can support the website on Patreon.

Game Conference Guide in a nutshell:

  • Total number of events in 2024: 337 (increase by 9,8% from 307)

  • 89% of all of them were physical, compared to 82% in 2023. Long gone are times where virtual events dominated.

  • only 2,7% (9 out of 337) were cancelled or postponed compared to 5% (10 out of 321 in 2023).

  • The biggest number of events originated from EU (51%) followed by North America (27%).

  • United States hosted 76 events (not counting broadcasts / press conferences), in Europe it was UK with 32 events (+2 from last year), followed by Germany (20), Canada and Spain (with 14) and Japan with 11 events rounding up the top 5.

  • You are accessing the website mostly on desktop 55.6% (last year it was 65%) and more and more utilizing mobile 43.6%. Are you also checking other events while attending one?

  • Longest running events in 2024 were: Inde Cade Anywhere & Everywhere (17 days), London Games Festival (16 days) and Game Discovery Exhibition (12 days).

  • The busiest day of 2024 was 14th of November with 13 events happening simultaneously. In 2023 it was 12th & 13th of October with 9 events (In 2022, 8th of November with 8 events).

  • Median duration of a single event was 2 days (same as in 2023), average duration was 2,69 days (compared to 2,7 in 2023).

If you would have decided to attend every single event in 2024 (except those that were cancelled) it would take you: 637 working days and 245 weekend days. Compared to 604 working days and 225 weekends in 2023.

In total you would be conferencing nonstop for 2 and a half years, 882 days to be exact (an increase by 6.4 % from 2023 with 829 days).

During the 2024, Game Conference Guide has seen:

  • 624 entries in the Calendar

  • 131 entries in the Deadlines

  • 156 entries in the Showcase

Most visitors were coming from:

  • United States (-)*

  • United Kingdom (-)

  • Canada (5)

  • China (3)

  • Poland (8)

And you have reached the end of Year in Review. Thank you for reading and see you all next month.

As almost everyone else, I will be heading to GDC. If you want to hang or meet, give me a shout. See you there.

*The number in the brackets is the position from last year.

[Game Conference Guide is helping you find your next games industry events & showcase.]

Thank you for reading and supporting Game Conference Guide. Consider sharing it with your peers, colleagues, and community.

Pavol Buday, curator @ GCG

]]><![CDATA[Announcing Game Conference Guide 2.0, new year, new look, new features]]>https://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/announcing-game-conference-guidehttps://gameconferenceguide.substack.com/p/announcing-game-conference-guideThu, 16 Jan 2025 12:27:39 GMT

As you may have noticed, Game Conference Guide has changed a bit. The new version has been launched. Welcome to the Game Conference Guide 2.0.

The month of January is usually reserved for breaking down the data, zooming in on metrics and presenting the insights in annual Year in Review. The launch of new version of the website takes the priority here. Worry not, the Year in Review is coming up in February, you won’t miss the findings nor how many days you would spend conferencing if you would sacrifice your time to attend each event out there.

The launch of the new Game Conference Guide was delayed so many times for so many different reasons, I started to think, should I just skip the 2.0 version, and focus on what will come after? I remember showing the first prototype at gamescom 2023 and bragging about it. We have hit limits of the plugins we have been using; we switched to completely different new ones, we had to find a workaround and finally used a duct tape to put it all together. The most important thing is, the new version is live, and you can check it out, if you haven’t yet.

So why the new version?

PARTNER OF THE MONTH

The devcom Leadership Summit 2025, taking place on February 19-21, 2025, in Lisbon, is dedicated to creating a secure and open environment where top-level professionals can network and tackle critical industry challenges in an exclusive, confidential setting.

Among the C-Level managers and directors attending is Shawn Layden, former President of Sony Interactive, joining prominent participants including Jehanne Rousseau (formerly Spiders), Natasha Skult (MiTale), Lars Janssen (Deck13), Yves LeYaouanq (Focus Entertainment), and Lisa Kretschmer (IO Interactive).

A Program to foster real impact

In collaboration with industry leaders, the team behind Europe’s leading developer conference, has developed a three-day program centered on personalized networking, expert insights, and meaningful discussions. To foster these conversations, six expert-led roundtables are held, each focusing on a key theme and supported by potential subtopics designed to inspire and guide dynamic, meaningful discussions:

  • Leadership & HR

  • Production & Operations

  • Business, Strategy & Innovation

  • Design, Creativity & Player Experience

  • Tech & Tools in Game Development

  • AI in Game Development

Unlike traditional conference formats, the Leadership Summit emphasizes a confidential setting, enabling attendees to share experiences and strategies openly.

Why This Matters Now

The gaming landscape is still evolving at an unprecedented pace, with new technologies, shifting market dynamics, and heightened player expectations presenting both opportunities and challenges. devcom’s Leadership Summit offers a much-needed safe space for leaders to navigate these complexities together and refine their approaches to ensure sustained growth and innovation.

Join the Leadership Summit

Since the launch in October 2020, I was adding features I didn’t plan to have on the website initially. It started as a dashboard for a lot of data I was gathering and at the beginning it was not to supposed be used how it is being accessed now. New features were added (Calendar, Showcases, Deadlines) but not a lot of you noticed or used them. It was clear the website needs a more straightforward design, and I had to declutter the main page.

Until a few weeks ago, the graphs were still prominent feature on the website for example. They took space, they delayed the loading of what is important and why you all are accessing the website in the first place. So, they had to go. I am trying to find a better place for them and add more visualization by creating a dashboard for all the data nerds out there. For now, graphs were sunset.

Did you know Game Conference Guide had an archive with almost 1500 events covering 2020 – 2024? No? Archive is another feature that was put on hold. This section will be under construction, the dataset needs to be reorganized. It works like a time capsule, and I have been using it to cross reference the events. But for now, it has been sunset.

I believe most of the time you are spending in the tables, looking for your new event and not reading how to use the website. And for this, all the text has been rewritten and a lot of it is simple gone.

Game Conference Guide Insights is a monthly newsletter covering games industry events. If you find it interesting, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

For those, who have bookmarked Showcases or Deadlines, I must disappoint, the old bookmarks won’t work, but here are the new ones leading directly to your favourite sections:

What else is new?

The design or fresh coat of paint (look at the rounded edges) was not the main priority, but it was needed. The new version has a similar look & feel and the partners section is getting more spotlight.

The stars of the new design are these three buttons (pictured above). They are switching between different tables; they load in one go and you do not have to have multiple windows open. Yes, they are simple tabs, but for me, these are magic.

Events, Deadlines & Showcases are still separated, but they are so close now.

Tables shows more events at a glance, 15 to be exact at a given time. Deadlines and Showcases for now don’t have any limit, but with increased numbers, the pagination will be introduced.

The whole website runs on a faster and more secure backbone, which you should feel from the moment you visit the website.

Since the games industry moved to a new place, Game Conference Guide is on Bluesky as well. A lot of events, groups and communities are still on Twitter / X, so it won’t be the full move yet. The Bluesky account will start posting about new events very soon.

The new Game Conference Guide has been delayed many times, but it is finally here. I am very happy with it. We switched it with minimum downtime (the site was down for about 15 minutes in total) and without any mistakes. Everything works, it is faster and a little prettier. And it wouldn’t be possible without help from my good friend Marcel Klimo with steel nerves. Thank you, man!

Do let me know what you think about the new version. Are you missing any feature?

Suggest it.

And if you find a mistake, do bring it forward.

I have been testing this one for a long time, but you know how it is. Fresh pair of eyes can see it in a different light.

Stay tuned for all the data breakdown and some interesting math in the upcoming Year in Review report coming in February.

In the meantime, go and check out the scheduled 2025 events. The are 125 of them now. More will be added in upcoming days, weeks and months, as they are announced.

[Game Conference Guide is helping you find your next games industry events & showcase.]

Thank you for reading and supporting Game Conference Guide. Consider sharing it with your peers, colleagues, and community.

Pavol Buday, curator @ GCG

]]>