Last month, we featured a walkthrough of the Game History Gallery at GDC 2024. Shifting from the expo floor to a presentation room, we continue with the Game Developer Conference (GDC) 2024 for this month’s video we’re highlighting.
Kate Edwards, well-known in the video games business as an applied geographer, writer, and content culturalization strategist, led a panel, “Unearthing ‘Tetris Reversed‘: A Tale of Rediscovery and Collaboration,” about the discovery of a prototype of Tetris Reversed. In 2011, the creator of Tetris, Alexey Pajitnov, wanted to explore an evolution of the legendary puzzle game’s mechanics based on his observation of the way players engaged with the original. The prototype was surfaced by Croatian game developer Vedran Klanac, owner of Ocean Media Games.
Kate Edwards opening the panel discussion about Tetris Reversed (Image: GDC Vault)
In this panel, Pajitnov and Klanac meet in person for the first time, and discuss how they worked on the game concept together from afar, how and why the project was abandoned, and what might developments happen (if anything) with Tetris Reversed going forward.
This almost hour-long in-depth and fascinating deep dive discussion into a part of Tetris’ is available free on the GDC Vault, where the videos from past GDC events are available on-demand, about 1/3 of which are free and unrestricted for anyone to watch.
Whether you are an event coordinator, press, or general attendee, if you have an event video to share with us, please let us know and we’ll be happy to feature it!
ARLINGTON, TX (May 6, 2024) – Collegiate Sports Management Group (CSMG) concluded its fourth Collegiate Esports Commissioner’s Cup (CECC) today crowning four new champions during the largest scholastic esports festival globally and celebrating another year of record growth. CECC Texas presented by McDonald’s welcomed more than 800 student-athletes representing 84 teams (up from 64 in 2023), including a record-breaking 19 conference champions, at Esports Stadium Arlington on May 2-5, along with thousands of fans. In total, 453 teams from 255 schools participated during the 2023-24 CECC season.
Champions included Winthrop University for Super Smash Bros.™ Ultimate through Generation Esports, Ball State University for Rocket League, St. Clair College for VALORANT, and Illinois State University for Overwatch 2®
Arial view of the CECc Texas 2024 Arena with fans and on-stage competition (Image: CSMG)
“By elevating scholastic esports, we empower students, schools and conferences while fueling industry growth. This is a testament to the increasing interest from brands, media entities, publishers making this the ultimate destination for the scholastic esports and the gaming community.“ said Michael Schreck, CEO for CSMG. “CECC isn’t just a competition; we’re providing structure, recognition and endless opportunities to shape the future of esports.”
Arlington Mayor Jim Ross joined Schreck on stage during the event along with Arminda and Anthony Grissett, Owner/Operators of McDonald’s of North Texas, to announce CECC will return to Esports Stadium Arlington in 2025, marking it the third straight year Texas will host this event.
CSMG also announced during CECC Texas it has joined forces with Capcom to launch the College Street FighterTM Tour during its 2024-25 academic year with the finalists competing at CECC Texas in 2025 throughout its May Madness event. Wim Stocks will serve as the Commissioner of the College Street Fighter Tour and bring his 20 years of experience in college esports to create a dynamic and engaging format of competitive gaming.
CECC Texas offered something for everyone including the Texas High and Middle School Esports Championships, the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC) championship finals across League of Legends, Overwatch, Rocket League, and VALORANT, open tournaments for Street Fighter 6, Teamfight Tactics and HALO Infinite 2v2, the Smoothie King Super Smash Bros.™ Ultimate Open, through Generation Esports with a prize pool up to $5,000, gaming-themed onsite activations, and various industry panels.
McDonald’s of North Texas returned for the second year in a row as the presenting sponsor with various promotions and giveaways through the McDonald’s App as well as awarding a free custom @McDonalds PC built by @Oasis PC’s.
“McDonald’s of North Texas was thrilled to once again sponsor CECC and to see first-hand the incredible experience this tournament brings to the teams and fans nationwide,” said David Floyd, Owner-Operator with McDonald’s of North Texas. “As local business owners, it’s an honor that our community could serve as the center of the esports world this weekend. We were also delighted to add a delivery service this year, which was a great success. This feature allowed fans to order food and continue in their CECC experience.”
The ESPORTSU Collegiate Awards took center stage throughout the weekend recognizing leaders who are driving the ecosystem forward, including:
Commissioner of the Year – J.J. Myers (NACE)
Community Ambassador – Yugina Yun (Gen.G)
Club of the Year – Indiana University
Club President of the Year – TJ Stephens (University of Georgia)
Club Impact Award – Arizona State University
Rising Star Award – Greyson Harding (Michigan State University)
Coach of the Year – Ethan Stone (Indiana University)
Director of the Year – Chris Bilski (Michigan State University)
Program Impact – Michigan State University
Ally of the Year – Christopher Turner (Southern University)
Program of the Year – St Clair College
CECC School of the Year – Winthrop University
The full array of CECC Texas 2024 Collegiate Awards (Image: CSMG)
The ESPORTSU Awards Committee Members included Kyler Tandal (ESPORTSU), ToniAnn Convertino (ESPORTSU), Nikita Bair (Syracuse University),Joey Gawrysiak (Syracuse University), Aaron Colaiacomo (Fisher College), Adam Antor (Ferris State), and Chase Neukam (St Cloud State University).
Finally, the Aurora Series, dedicated to supporting all who identify with a marginalized gender, made its debut at CECC Texas with the University of Houston Scarlet defeating the University of North Texas in a thrilling VALORANT match 13-11 on the main stage.
“The power of esports was on full display this weekend as many colleges are continuing to push this as the ‘new sport’ on campuses across the nation,” said Angela Bernhard Thomas, Chief Esports Officer for CSMG. “The students arrived in all their team gear, the fans came out to cheer, and the brands integrated into the competition. We’re excited to continue to shape the future of the ecosystem.”
Super Smash Brothers Ultimate through Generation Esports – Winthrop University
2nd seeded Winthrop University battled back after losing the first game to beat defending champion and 5th seeded Fisher College (Northeast), 3-1. Winthrop never backed down throughout the tournament, especially in the Grand Finals with Carlos “Sonix” Perez on the Fisher squad, who is considered a top 10 player globally in Super Smash. Bharat “Lima” Chintipall, a sophomore majoring in computer science from Dallas, TX, was named MVP for the tournament.
Winthrop advanced to the finals beating the 6th seeded University of Texas-Arlington 2-0, while Fisher College (Northeast) denied its fellow students and number one seeded Fisher College (East) 2-1 in best-of-3 series.
Rocket League – Ball State University
In one of the most epic Grand Finals in Rocket League, the top seeded Ball State University needed overtime in the final game of the best-of-7 series to beat the three seeded Boise State University, 4-3. No team won a game by more than one goal throughout the match. Arlin “Oath” Burns, a graduate student majoring in clinical mental health counseling from Westfield, IN, was named MVP for the tournament.
In the semi-finals in the best-of-7 series, Ball State bounced the 5th seeded University of Akron 4-0, while Boise State knocked out the 7th seeded Fisher College, 4-2.
VALORANT – St. Clair College
The 5th seeded St. Clair College completed the sweep in a best-of-3 series to defeat 3rd seeded Blinn College, 2-0. The Saints from Windsor, Canada, become the first non-U.S. college to win a CECC championship. Tanner “geeza” McGhee, a freshman majoring in business from Camarillo, CA, was named MVP for the tournament.
In the semi-finals in the best-of-3 series, St. Clair edged out the 8th seeded Winthrop University, 2-1, while Blinn College held off the 2nd seeded Fisher College (White), 2-1.
Overwatch 2 – Illinois State University
The 6th seeded Illinois State University captured their second CECC trophy in three years after taking down the 5th seeded Northwood University, 3-0, in a best-of-5 series. The Redbirds captured their first title at CECC Atlanta in 2022. Denis “Lethal” Tari, a sophomore majoring in business administration from Dubai, took home MVP honors for the tournament.
In the semi-finals in the best-of-5 series, Northwood upset the top seed Winthrop University, 3-1, while Illinois State advanced by sweeping the 2nd seeded Fisher College Esports, 3-0.
The broadcast team featured a stacked group of professional esports hosting, desk analyst, and casting talent. The event was stage hosted by Elyse “Herculyse” Herrera and floor hosted by Mathew “Septilence” Corfee II. The desk analysts included Carlos “Carlos Ivan” Braadt, Miles “KilomilesIRL” Catenza, Logan “Catinator” Brown, Cassandra “Chixxa” Meltsch, and Madison “N3RDYBIRD” Benge. Shoutcasters included Keegan “ClutchKey” Ohta and Jesse “Twinsalty” Brawders for Overwatch 2, Samuel “SamTalkz” DeLoach II and Sierra “ Zhobiii” Fisbee for VALORANT, Oliver “Bass” Bass and Jeffrey “TheDangerTaco” Skalamera for Rocket League, and Phil “EE” Visu and Saeed Hassan “Sai” Shareef for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Creators also streamed their own CECC Texas experiences directly to their audiences on their channels. Well-known Twitch personalities included Hungrybox for Super Smash Bros.™ Ultimate, TenacityTV for Rocket League, QuarterJade for VALORANT, and Flats for Overwatch 2®, creating a new engagement platform to build college esports fandom.
The Road to Texas featured official CECC sanctioned tournaments including the CECC Midwest Online Regional, CECC East Regional presented by the US Army and Army ROTC at Helix eSports in Foxborough, Mass. CECC South Regional, CECC West Regional, the Big Esports Conference live championship event at The Ohio State University and Game Arena featuring fourteen Big 10 schools, the Atlantic Coast Esports Conference online Rocket League championship, the Western Cactus League live championship at Grand Canyon University, the Military Services Academy qualifier, the ESPORTSU n’ I All Womens Qualifier, and the very competitive Last Chance Qualifier.
Champions representing participating conferences that receive automatic bids include the: Atlantic Coast Esports Conference, Big Esports Conference, Big Sky Conference, Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference, East Coast Conference, Great Lakes Esports Conference, Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference, Metro Atlantic Athletics Conference, Mid-American Conference, Mid-Atlantic Esports Conference, Midwest Esports Conference, Missouri Valley Conference, Mountain West Conference, National Esports Collegiate Conferences, National Junior College Athletics Association Esports, Peach Belt Conference,,Western Cactus League and Western Esports Conference
Full list of CECC Texas-qualified teams (in order of seeding):
Super Smash Brothers Ultimate (through Generation Esports)
Fisher College (East), Winthrop University, Northwood University, University of California-Riverside, Fisher College (Northeast), University of Texas-Arlington, Lubbock Christian University, Manchester College (Indiana), University of Akron, New Jersey City College, Oakland University, Wichita State University, Quinnipiac University, Sacramento State University, University of Houston, University of Miami-Ohio, Southwestern Oklahoma State University, San Jose State University, Marist College, University of North Texas, Southern New Hampshire University, Illinois State University, Arizona State University, and Michigan Tech University.
Rocket League
Ball State University, Boise State University, Indian River State College, Nichols College, University of Akron, Lubbock Christian University, Maryville University, St. Clair College, Davenport College, Fisher College, Syracuse University, Indiana University, University of Arizona, Old Dominion University, University of Air Force, Northern Arizona University, San Jose State University, Staten Island College, Montevallo University, and Saint Xavier University.
Valorant
Blinn College, Simon Fraser College, Northwood University, Fisher College (White), St. Clair College, Fisher College, San Jose State University, Winthrop University, Texas A&M University, Brewton-Parker College, Converse University, Boise State University, Grand Canyon University, Purdue University, Northeastern University, Utica University, Manhattan College, University of North Texas, University of Air Force, and Saint Xavier University.
Overwatch® 2
Wintrhop University, Maryville University, Fisher College, Northwood University, Arizona State University, Illinois State University, University of California-Irvine, Fisher College (Freaks), Converse University, Boise State University, Blinn College, Bryant and Stratton College, University of Miami-Ohio, Southern New Hampshire University, University of Maryland, University of Texas-Arlington, Grand Canyon University, Cleary University, University of Army-West Point, and Salt Lake Community College.
STAMFORD, CT (May 3, 2024) – Collegiate Sports Management Group (CSMG) announced today during the kick-off of its Collegiate Esports Commissioner’s Cup (CECC) Texas presented by McDonald’s that it has joined forces with Capcom to launch the College Street FighterTM Tour during its 2024-25 academic year with the finalists competing at CECC Texas in 2025 throughout its May Madness event. Street FighterTM 6 will join Super Smash Bros. Ultimate,Overwatch 2®, Rocket League, and VALORANT as part of the official game titles for CECC.
“We are immensely excited to welcome Capcom into the CECC family and provide a path to glory for student athletes to showcase their skills in Street Fighter 6,” said Michael Schreck, Chief Executive Officer for CSMG. “In our fourth year of building May Madness, we continue to listen to our players, coaches and fans on how to make our event more inclusive, and the partnership with Street Fighter 6 is a resounding success.”
“The Street Fighter franchise is a multi-generational and global game series, so it’s important for us to continue to grow that fandom at the collegiate level,” said Michael Larson, Head of Esports at Capcom USA. “CECC continues to set the standard for competition and community, so it’s a natural format for expansion, and we’re eager for College Street Fighter Tour competitors across North America to show off their skills and join us in Texas next year.”
”The vision for the College Street Fighter Tour is a publisher backed esports series that integrates into the existing infrastructure of The Collegiate Esports Commissioners Cup, a bracket style event series that takes place every year and has been coined May Madness. The path to championship includes invitational bids to national and regional level conferences as well as official CECC qualifiers held regionally,” said Angela Bernhard Thomas, Chief Esports Officer for CSMG’s ESPORTSU.
Every college or university from a 2-year or 4-year institution can participate through their conference or through select qualifiers. Wim Stocks will serve as the Commissioner of the College Street Fighter Tour and bring his 20 years of experience in college esports to create a dynamic and engaging format of competitive gaming.
“Since the launch of Street Fighter 6 in June of ’23, it is clear the rich legacy of Street Fighter is stronger than ever and helping lift the fighting game community to still greater heights,” said Stocks. “Having a structure now for a national collegiate competitive series, league, and events, Capcom and ESPORTSU are building a phenomenal ecosystem and mechanism for developing up and coming Street Fighter 6 competitors.”
More details on the College Street Fighter Tour will be shared later this year.
CSMG welcomes 84 teams (up from 64 in 2023) this weekend from a record breaking 19 conference champions to the largest scholastic esports festival globally. They will compete at Esports Stadium Arlington on May 3-5 for the chance to hoist one of the coveted trophies. Fans can watch the CECC Texas on ESPORTSU’s Twitch channel athttps://www.twitch.tv/esportsu.
CECC Texas 2023 was also recently awarded LAN Event of the Year during the inaugural Scholars Awards in Las Vegas, which are produced in partnership with the Esports Awards.
Happy May Madness! We’ve put together yet another great list of events you can attend for the month. As we continue to get into springtime, the event season settles into a solid cadence post-GDC with more conferences coming up with a few special hybrid events for you to enjoy. Notice more online and hybrid events popping up as well? We’re not sure why, but April was a dry month here.
Unfortunately, we are still in the midst of a series of layoffs. It’s a sad state when nearly every week you have hundreds, if not thousands, of fellow professionals having to announce on LinkedIn their need for work. There have been some studios that have been hiring with, interestingly, many in Japan such as Sony being one of them. The Japanese have a more ethical work culture industry-wide that helps maintain workers (for better or worse in some cases). We expect that in the second half of the year, we will start to see a turnaround, but it may take two or three years to recover.
Many of the listed events are included in the calendar from your contributions in submitting events to the calendar. Thank you for continuing to support us!
Check out this month’s event list below. You can also click here for the main calendar that includes events throughout the rest of the year and beyond.
ATLANTA — April 18, 2024 — MomoCon, the largest celebration of gaming and anime in the Southeast United States, returns to the Georgia World Congress Center from Friday, May 24, through Monday, May 27, 2024, and the legendary Suda51 joins as this year’s keynote speaker.
Goichi “Suda51” Suda, renowned director, writer, and game designer from the No More Heroes series, Shadows of the Damned, and killer7 among many other projects, will take the stage on Saturday, May 25, at 4 pm, for an intimate keynote speech about his career, game development, and his upcoming projects.
Furthering the excitement, MomoCon has added Japanese idol group BABYBEARD to this year’s performance lineup. Following the success of the singles NIPPON KARA KONNICHIWA (Hello from Japan) and PIENNIZER, the group will take the stage for “An Adorable Assault on the Senses” on Saturday, May 25, at 2:30 pm.
The show will also host several video game tournaments, with three major brackets for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Splatoon 3 to create the ultimate Nintendo brawl. Get those fight sticks ready for Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, Guilty Gear -Strive-, and Mortal Kombat 1 brackets throughout the weekend, alongside tabletop and card game faceoffs. Learn more and register through the MomoCon 2024 Start.GG page.
Stay up to date with all confirmed 2024 guests, concerts, panels, and more on the MomoCon‘s official website. An official schedule and a full list of events will be revealed closer to the event.
“We are over the moon to have Suda51 back in Atlanta to host this year’s keynote speech,” said Chris Stuckey, MomoCon Co-Founder. “His legacy and work is very important to our fans, and to have him back during such an important year for his career makes it even more important to us. We can’t wait to hear what he has to share!”
The 2024 Game Developer Conference (GDC) wrapped last month, but videos are still getting posted about some of the talks, speakers, ideas, booths, and more that caught and held people’s attention. So, we’ll share a corner of the GDC expo floor that shares some fascinating gaming history that will resonate with many developers and gamers alike.
The Video Game History Foundation (VGHF), a “non-profit organization dedicated to preserving, celebrating, and teaching the history of video games” organized a booth space at GDC this year. Narrated by Frank Cifaldi, Executive Director and Co-Founder at VGHF, the video is a thoughtful 10 minute walkthrough of their booth and highlight five games with a unique and impactful history.
Among the five games featured, one was Wabbit, an Atari 2600 game with the first known female protagonist, from the long-shuttered independent game developer Apollo. Van Mai, one of the game’s developers, was found after an online search ended successfully. The discovery reinforced that women were involved in the early days of the game industry and in more ways than might otherwise might’ve been known.
Frank Cifaldi goes on to explain the mission of the Video Game History Foundation, and how they made the most of their attendance at GDC 2024 by not only showing off some of their game preservation in action but also to raise funds to continue their mission. He also explains what he believed the VGHF excelled at in their booth and also what he might like to see them do better next year.
Grab a beverage or snack to accompany this shorter video!
Whether you are an event coordinator, press, or general attendee, if you have an event video to share with us, please let us know and we’ll be happy to feature it!
The last several months have been impactful for extended reality (XR), including, of course, the launch of developer-centric Apple’s Vision Pro and Meta’s Quest 3 consumer-targeted hardware. There are arguably as many questions as there are opportunities. How will the metaverse plug into hype-fueled AI technologies in a grounded and meaningful way? With the most recent headset launches, what’s the pathway from here for XR achieving lasting mainstream viability and growth?
The 15th anniversary of the Augmented World Expo (AWE) show will no doubt ride the latest wave of awareness of and interest in XR — as revealed by the show’s agenda announced this week.
This year’s AWE 2024 showcases not only new hardware and software XR technologies but a new location in Long Beach, California. The mixed reality-focused conference and expo will bring 15 agenda tracks, namely Enterprise Collaboration; Training & Education; Gaming, Entertainment & Media; Start-ups & Investors; Creator; Developer; Web3; XR Policy; Retail & Marketing; XR Enablement; Healthcare & Wellness; AI & Virtual Beings; and the Expo Stage. The immersive reality show’s agenda is not fully filled out yet, especially in the vendor keynotes, as more speakers and sessions remain to be announced.
Orin Inbar, Co-Founder of AWE and Super Ventures, will open AWE 2024 as keynote speaker as one of the leading evangelists in the XR space (Image: AWE 2024)
Here’s what we do know about the keynotes so far: On the keynote stage, Ori inbar, who heads up AWE and Super Ventures, leads with the opening keynote, followed by keynotes from Qualcomm, Meta, and Snap — each of whom have a high-profile stake in the success of XR. On the second day, Niantic, known for their Pokémon Go game with augmented reality features and their Lightship metaverse development toolset, and Sightful, who offers a unique XR-centered laptop, are slated to present their keynotes.
In the gaming track, which will be represented over all three days, from June 18-20, 2024, will include a diverse array of interesting topics and speakers, such as:
AI and the Spatial Web for Live Events & Festivals: How might artificial intelligence and spatial computing shape live events, such as esports tournaments, festivals, and other live events? The creative possibilities seem almost infinite. Eric Wagliardo, Founder / Executive Creative Director at &Pull and an AR Producer at Coachella, will cover the topic in this session.
History From Pixels to Portals: Tracing the Evolution of Gaming in XR: It’s hard to believe it’s been over a decade since the modern generation of virtual reality and mixed reality experiences have kicked off, if you consider the first-gen Oculus development kit as the starting point. But the roots go deeper still, which Stephanie Llamas, Founder, VoxPop Insights will look over the roadmap that brought game development in XR to this point.
Futurize: Crafting Tomorrow’s Games and Products: From the past and present to the future, it’s not an XR show if there’s not at least a little prognostication what the future might bring from XR and gaming. Ryan Canuel, CEO, Petricore, Inc.; Holly Hirzel
Director of Product Management – AR, Consultant; and Ben Taylor Technical Director, XR Initiatives, SQUARE ENIX discuss some of the possibilities for the future of XR in game development.
Those are just a few of the many sessions lined up in the gaming and XR space over the course of the AWE 2024 event. Participants attending AWE this year can be expected to join an event that will, according to an official communication, attract over “6,500 XR professionals, over 500 XR industry leaders, and 300+ global exhibitors.” To learn more about the tracks, speakers, expo, registration options, check out the official AWE 2024 website to stay up-to-date.
There’s a Guinness World Record-recognized world record for so many things, so why not for Spider-Man cosplayers? For the second time, MomoCon 2024 attendees will attempt to top the world record by trying to bring together more than 638 Spidey cosplayers in one spot. So, if you’re attending MomoCon 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia at the Georgia World Congress Center from May 24-27, you can also be part of the world record attempt if you’re interested.
To join the Spider-crew, here’s the process the MomoCon organizers have laid out for participants to follow:
Embody one of the various Spider-Man personas in a complete costume.
Your costume must have a matching top and bottom, and full facemasks are mandatory during the 5-minute record attempt.
Be ready to join us on Saturday, May 25th at 2 PM EST at the Georgia World Congress Center, outside the registration and entrance to Building B in International Plaza [Same location as in 2023].
Consent to being part of a group photo for the record attempt.
MomCon is an annual pop culture event with professionals, artists and the community that celebrates animation, comics, video games, tabletop games (and cosplayers too) over four days in Atlanta, Georgia. To learn more about the MomoCon event, visit the official website for more information, including registration details, speakers, and much more.
More than 100 speakers and fabulous fringe events including the Very Big Indie Pitch and Publisher Speedmatch, are great draws, while the main focus remains squarely on connecting the best local talent with leading regional and overseas businesses.
Three ways for investors to connect
It’s a perfect fit for investors and those seeking capital in particular, thanks to the Investor Connector event that helps plan pre-qualified one-on-one meetings, a central matchmaking system to make even more connections, plus a dedicated content track!
Award winners
You’ll even get a chance to rub shoulders with awards winners – or indeed pick up your very own award – at the inaugural MENA Games Industry Awards. Alongside the multiple games and service categories, we even have a dedicated gong for investors. Fancy your chances? Nominations are still open until April 7th!
GDC WILL RETURN TO THE MOSCONE CENTER MARCH 17-21, 2025
Conference Featured 1,000+ Speakers, 325 Exhibitors, 730 Lectures, Summits and Roundtables, The Independent Games Festival Awards, Game Developers Choice Awards and More
SAN FRANCISCO – March 27, 2024 – This year’s Game Developers Conference (GDC), the world’s largest and longest-running event serving professionals dedicated to the art and science of making games, has officially come to a close after hosting nearly 30,000 registered attendees for five full days of inspiring sessions and networking opportunities with peers and leaders in the games industry. GDC will be returning to the Moscone Center next year, Monday, March 17 to Friday, March 21, 2025, and the call for submissions for GDC 2025 will open in early July 2024.
GDC 2024 featured 1,000+ speakers across 730 sessions, workshops, roundtable discussions in addition to networking opportunities. 325 top game industry companies exhibited their latest innovations. It was also a space for attendees to play and connect with the developers behind new and exciting independent games, including the finalists from the Independent Games Festival (IGF) in the IGF Pavilion and the alt.ctrl.GDC exhibit that is home to games that use alternative controllers including wheelchairs, toaster ovens and giant oversized hats.
“GDC exists to give developers a space to meet, network and learn. The need for that connection has never been more urgent. We were gratified to witness first-hand as aspiring developers and veteran game makers convened to share their knowledge and ambitions to create the amazing games that we will enjoy in the years ahead,” said Stephenie Hawkins, GDC Event Director. “In light of emerging generative AI technologies, layoffs and evolving working conditions, the Game Developers Conference will continue to provide developers with the key understandings and relationships to forge their way forward. We will also continue our efforts to recognize the amazing work of game makers and expand access to GDC content to a wider audience.”
GDC featured workshops and sessions led by some of the biggest names in the games and entertainment industry. Esteemed developers shared their insights into the creations of hit games including: Alan Wake 2, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Zelda: Tears of Kingdom, Baldur’s Gate 3, and more. During GDC, there were several major reveals including Xreal’s live demonstrations of its Xreal Air 2 AR glasses, AMD’s announcement of AMD FSR 3.1 and Magmic’s unveiling of their Web3 MLB-licensed mobile and web game. Roblox, NVIDIA and Ubisoft also sparked interest with their AI reveals, where Roblox presented its AI-powered tools to boost 3D content creation, NVIDIA announced its AI B200 chip and Ubisoft unveiled its generative AI NEO NPCs. Lastly, Epic Games’ State of Unreal revealed news about its upcoming iOS and Android store debut, new Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra trailer, new Chrono Odyssey trailer, addition of MetaHumans to UEFN and expanded partnership with Lego Group.
A centerpiece of the event was the “GDC Main Stage: A Developer’s Concert.” The live instrumental performance showcased influential and notable game scores throughout history, including 2024 IGF, GDCA and Grammy Awards nominees. Conducted by Austin Wintory, composer for games like Stray Gods, Journey and more, and co-hosted by Troy Baker, acclaimed actor known for The Last of Us, Bioshock Infinite, plus many more, the concert was performed by the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
GDC 2024 honored the top developers of the past year with the 26th annual Independent Games Festival Awards and the 24th annual Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA). Notably, Visai Games’ Venba won the Seumas McNally Grand Prize and Anthology of the Killer, developed by Thecatamites, Tommy Tone and A. Degen, won the Nuovo Award, which honors titles that make the awards jurors think differently about games as a medium. At the Game Developers Choice Awards, Baldur’s Gate 3 took home four trophies: Game of the Year, Best Narrative, Best Design and the Audience Award, while the developers of Venba earned two awards: Best Debut and Social Impact Award. A recording of the IGF and GDCA ceremonies can be viewed at http://twitch.tv/gdc.
GDC introduced several new initiatives this year including GDC Travel Together program to help attendees form networking walking groups between six locations throughout San Francisco and the Moscone Center; a 24-hour GDC Safety phone line (+1 925-852-4361) that is available from March 14 through April 5 to field any safety concerns that came up around GDC; the Game History Gallery that showcased games from marginalized developers as well as tips on how to preserve games; introduced sunflower stickers for attendees with invisible disabilities who may need additional assistance; and launched brand-new GDC Start-Up for companies that have been in the industry for less than 5 years and have fewer than 50 employees.
GDC continued multiple programs to expand access to GDC content, including the Equal Opportunity Attendance Program, which offers 1,000 complimentary GDC Expo passes to applicants who were otherwise unable to attend without considerable financial assistance. This year, 700+ passes were donated through the GDC scholarships program, made in partnership with more than 25+ organizations dedicated to supporting and uplifting underrepresented voices in the industry.
In addition, GDC provided all IGF finalists travel stipends to ensure they could attend and participate in the conference. GDC celebrated finalists with the annual IGF Pavilion with a kiosk and equipment to highlight their games to the public at no cost and IGF Award winners receive prize money for their incredible work.
Other support resources included affordable onsite childcare services, an ADA accessible kiosk at the IGF Pavilion, accessible controllers at alt.ctrl.GDC and Arcade Play, reserved seating at all sessions for those with visual or auditory impairments, and a complimentary bike valet service for attendees. Each year, GDC adds a selection of sessions to its video archive, GDC Vault, available at no cost to the game developer community. All sessions added to GDC Vault include closed captions in English, Spanish, Mandarin, and Japanese.
To ensure an inclusive environment, all GDC attendees were required to abide by GDC’s strict Code of Conduct, which was heavily promoted throughout Moscone. It states that GDC will not tolerate any unacceptable behaviors including intimidating, harassing, abusive, discriminatory, derogatory or demeaning conduct by any attendees of GDC and related events, and that these behaviors could result in expulsion from the event.
For more details on the Game Developers Conference, please visit the GDC’s official website, or subscribe to regular updates via Facebook or Twitter. Official photos are available via the Official GDC Flickr account: www.flickr.com/photos/officialgdc/.
About GDC
The Game Developers Conference® (GDC) is the world’s largest professional game industry event with market-defining content for programmers, artists, producers, game designers, audio professionals, business decision makers, and others involved in the development of interactive games and immersive experiences. GDC brings together the global game development community year-round through events and digital media.
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LONG BEACH, Calif., March 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — This year, there’s only one place to get immersed in the entire XR ecosystem while getting a deep dive into Apple Vision Pro. Brands, developers, designers and product managers: mark your calendars for Augmented World Expo.
AWE, now celebrating its 15th anniversary as the only “must attend” global XR industry event, announces that registration is now open for the AWE Vision Workshop, a FULL DAY workshop for Apple Vision Pro. The workshop will take place at the Long Beach Convention Center on June 17th, 2024, immediately before the three-day AWE conference from June 18-20th. (Note: this event is not affiliated with Apple.)
The workshop will be sponsored by Unity, the world’s leading platform of tools for creators to build and grow real-time games, apps, and experiences across multiple platforms. Unity will showcase and demo how its platform works forspatial computing, enabling a wide range of experiences, from games and entertainment to industrial use cases such as training for Apple Vision Pro.
Raven Zachary and Dom Sagolla, co-founders of VisionDevCamp, will host the workshop. Workshop sessions will be led by top experts who have successfully built the first visionOS consumer and enterprise apps. Some of the world-class speakers include:
Bert Nepveu, Co-Founding Partner of Triptyq Capital
Andy Roth, Founder, Deviant Labs
Daniel Marqusee, Lead Spatial Designer, Bezi
James Ashley, previously XR Engineering Lead for Walmart’s Apple Vision Pro app
Dulce Baerga, Virtual World Builder, Immers Space
Sarah Hill, CEO, Healium
Andrew Eiche, CEO, Owlchemy Labs
Adam Lisagor, Founder, Sandwich
Zac Duff, Co-Founder/CEO, JigSpace
And more to be announced!
“Apple Vision Pro not only sets a new high bar for spatial computing, but also promises to provide a lucrative ecosystem for developers hungry for revenue. So, we’ve assembled the very best instructors to teach anyone how to build for the Apple Vision Pro and harness those opportunities,” explained Ori Inbar, co-founder of AWE. “This workshop is not to be missed!”
Attendees will:
Get an overview of Apple Vision Pro hardware and software capabilities
Dive into real world case studies from Apple Vision Pro experts
Learn the 3 development paths (visionOS, Unity, web), their strengths, and limitations
Understand how to navigate the publishing process for visionOS apps
Enjoy hands on time with Apple Vision Pro
Beyond the workshop itself, dozens of exhibitors will be showcasing Apple Vision Pro and various applications for it throughout the three days of AWE – with many dozens of Apple Vision Pro units on site – we anticipate that this will be the highest concentration of Apple Vision Pro devices ever in a single public location.
Seats are limited. To register for the conference, go here. The Vision Workshop can be added to an Early Bird AWE ticket for just $99
Win an Auggie Award for Apple Vision Pro Innovation
In addition, this year’s Auggie Awards – the XR industry’s most prestigious and long-standing awards competition – is now accepting submissions. We expect many Apple Vision Pro entries in categories such as Best Consumer App, Best Enterprise Solution, Best Game, Best Societal Impact, Best use of AI, and more.
New Auggie Award categories this year include “Best Climate Change Solution”, “Best Content Creator(s)”,”Best Education & Training Solution” and “Best Web3 Implementation.” With 19 categories in total, there’s opportunities for all to secure recognition. Nominations may be submitted through April 23rd.
More information on the Auggie Awards can be found here.
Happy April Activity! We’ve put together yet another great list of events you can attend for the month. As we continue to get into springtime, the event season settles into a solid cadence post-GDC with more conferences coming up.
Many of the conferences listed in April will have sessions and discussions about the state of the industry that continue from GDC. The most prominent talking point that is bound to be made is the layoffs and investment troubles that nearly every major studio (and many indies) is facing. We expect that in the second half of the year, we will start to see a turnaround in both of these areas, but it may take two or three years to recover.
Notice something else for this month that’s been trending since January? There is only ONE hybrid/online-only event! We’re officially back to ‘normal’ mode for the event industry.
Many of the listed events are included in the calendar from your contributions in submitting events to the calendar. Thank you for continuing to support us!
Check out this month’s event list below. You can also click here for the main calendar that includes events into 2024 and beyond.
