Gaming has quickly taken over the top spot in entertainment. The pandemic saw meteoric growth in mobile and console gaming and the industry is now larger than all other forms of entertainment combined.
Industry data saw a jump to 2.69 billion video game players worldwide in 2020. The figure will rise to 3.07 billion in 2023 based on a 5.6% year-on-year growth forecast according to industry data from leading games and esports analytics and market research company Newzoo.
The global games market had a remarkable $159.3 billion in revenues for 2020. Gamers are not the minority as TV and film might want everyone to believe, and this might be why we see the traditional streaming and broadcast entertainment companies like Netflix jumping into the fray. 2021 figures forecast that the 2.81 billion gamers will translate to the global games market being an estimated $189.3 billion dollars.
The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is an annual conference for video game developers. Originally called the Computer Game Developers Conference, the first conference was organized in April 1988 and had 27 attendees. This number expanded to over 27,000 attendees by 2019.
After becoming the first major international event to postpone operations at the beginning of COVID GDC is back in full force at its annual meeting place, San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center, from March 21-27th 2022.
The event includes an expo, networking events, and awards shows like the Game Developers Choice Awards and Independent Games Festival. The GDC schedule also includes a variety of tutorials, lectures, and roundtables by industry professionals on game-related topics covering programming, design, audio, production, business and management, and visual arts.
The conference will be enforcing strict vaccine and mask mandates, which include booster shots for all those who are eligible to receive them. The Moscone Center has enacted additional regulations, incorporating enhanced cleaning protocols, advanced air filtration, and an abundance of hand sanitizing stations available for all to use in their event space.
Today GDC announced its full lineup of In-Person and Virtual Sessions for attendees to see. Attendees can start picking and choosing which sessions, talks, and events from the GDC schedule to plan their week around. The sessions are happening in-person as well as many that will be accessible virtually through the digital GDC experience. View, browse and sort the ever-growing list of sessions by pass type, topic, format and experience. Virtual sessions will be available to watch on-demand through April 1st, 2022.
All registered attendees will be able to build their personal schedule in the virtual GDC event platform and mobile app, once it is live on March 14. All session and roundtable attendance is first-come, first served. Of course, the only way to access these sessions and more is to sign up for GDC 2022!
Premium partners sponsoring the event include Amazon Web Services (AWS), Intel, Meta, Microsoft, Unity Technologies, and Wemade.
On the GDC Mainstage in 2022 Wednesday March 23rd
The GDC Mainstage will get some insights from legendary Deus Ex and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Canadian developers Eidos-Montréal with Studio Head DAvid Anfossi. Joined by Playstation’s Davina Mackey and Mike Wilson of Devolver Digital the group will discuss the future of game development and its evolving workplace.
David Anfossi (Head of Studio, Eidos-Montréal)
Davina Mackey (Director & President, PlayStation Studios QA & Black@PlayStation)
Mike Wilson (Founding Partner, Devolver Digital)
Time: 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm
In this installment of the GDC Main Stage, ‘The Developer’s Renaissance’ is a multi-part presentation about the future of game development and the evolving workplace. It’s an introspection about how the pandemic allowed the industry to reexamine how things are done—figuring out what’s important (and perhaps what’s not), and how things can be better moving forward. Topics include: finding the right balance in a remote/hybrid work environment, taking a stronger approach to addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace, and empowering developers to “kill it with kindness.”
Part 1:
Reimagining Eidos-Montréal: Shifting Our Organizational Structure by David Anfossi (Head of Studio, Eidos-Montréal)
The pandemic pushed video game studio Eidos-Montréal to rethink their balance between well-being and efficiency in a remote/hybrid work environment. They worked to adapt their organizational structure, exploring ways to do things differently and engaging their staff in between ways. Sometimes, the results were great; other times, they had to go back to the drawing board. In this Main Stage session, head of studio David Anfossi will be sharing some of Eidos-Montréal’s findings during this transition.
Part 2:
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging: Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Journey to Improve DE&I During the Pandemic and Beyond by Davina Mackey (Director, PlayStation Studios QA & President, Black@PlayStation)
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been racial and gender-based current events that have impacted organizations across the globe, including the video game industry. Some organizations made a conscious decision to remain silent. Others responded with commitments to support social justice initiatives and advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I). In this session, Director of Support Services and Operations & Black@PlayStation Employee Network President Davina Mackey will share what initiatives Sony Interactive Entertainment chose to take a stance against racial injustice and increase its efforts to support DE&I.
Part 3:
Killing it with Kindness and Intention …Devolver and Beyond by Mike Wilson (Founding Partner, Devolver Digital)
Devolver Digital started as a scrappy, punk rock group of five industry veterans and outlaws with a mission to elevate indie games—without compromising artistic or business integrity. In this session, co-founder Mike Wilson reflects on what he considers the keys to the small team’s successful run over the past 12 years, and where he plans to take those hard-learned lessons into the future: Through purpose, intention, and integrity, all of which is grounded in basic kindness.
Registration for the conference can be completed here. Stay tuned for more higlights we find from the GDC schedule.
As always, keep your eye on TechBomb for the latest in our gaming news.
