- First 40 Sessions published!
- Andrew Sheppard (COO of GREE International)
- Ed Fries (Microsoft Game Studios founder)
- Joost van Dreunen (CEO of SuperData Research)
- Kate Edwards (IGDA Executive Director)
- Marek Ziemak (11 bit studios/ “This War Of Mine”)
- Timo Ullman (YAGER/ “Dead Island 2”/ “Dreadnought”)
Berlin / Mülheim a.d. Ruhr, 6 February 2015: Since 2003, Quo Vadis has been the most important international game developers’ conference to be held in Germany. The expanded line-up of top international speakers to appear at its 13th edition from 21 to 23 April 2015 in Berlin now also includes: Andrew Sheppard (COO of GREE International), Ed Fries (former Vice President of Microsoft Game Studios/ co-founder of the XBOX project),
Joost van Dreunen (CEO of SuperData Research), Kate Edwards (Executive Director of the International Game Developers Association), Marek Ziemak (Senior Producer at 11 bit studios), Kacper Kwiatkowski (Game Designer, “This War Of Mine”) and Timo Ullman (CEO of YAGER). Conference organizer Aruba Events is also announcing the first 40 Sessions, which are now online on www.qvconf.com. Tickets for Quo Vadis are available on www.qvconf.com/tickets.
As part of the International Games Week Berlin in April, Quo Vadis offers game developers, industry professionals and students an exciting three-day program packed with specialist lectures, workshops, tech summits, business panels and a wide range of networking events. The topics will cover all aspects of the games industry, from the development of worldwide blockbuster games, the challenges facing start-ups and indie developers, to best-practice marketing talks and training for career starters. The complete program will be available online shortly on www.qvconf.com.
Andrew Sheppard left US mobile game developer Kabam Games in 2014 to join the Japanese competitor, GREE International. As COO of GREE, Sheppard has a hand in driving the company’s expansion course, and he will share some of his knowledge of the mobile games market at Quo Vadis.
Industry veteran Ed Fries designed his first computer game in the early eighties for the Atari 800, before joining Microsoft in 1986 to set up Microsoft Game Studios. During his tenure as Microsoft’s Vice President until 2004 he oversaw the growth of the Microsoft games division from 50 to over 1200 employees and had a pivotal role in the creation of the XBOX.
Joost van Dreunen is the CEO of SuperData Research and will examine best practice
examples of games that are both innovative and commercially successful, in his talk “How to catch a unicorn: De-risking creativity”.
Kate Edwards is the Executive Director of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) and thus, one of the leading figures behind this globally active organization. She was named one of the “10 most powerful women in the games industry” by Fortune Magazine in 2013. At Quo Vadis, Edwards will discuss the role of women in the games sector.
Marek Ziemak (Senior Producer) of Polish game developer 11 bit studios and Kacper Kwiatkowski (Game Designer) are the creators of the acclaimed anti-war game, “This War of Mine”; that has garnered a string of international awards.
Timo Ullman (CEO of YAGER) is the publisher of “Spec Ops: The Line”, the game that sparked much debate with its profound story about the brutality and fog of war. Currently, the Berlin-based game studio is working on the eagerly awaited multi-platform title “Dead Island 2”, as well as spacecraft shooter “Dreadnought”, whose previews have already caused quite a stir.
Also confirmed for Quo Vadis 2015 are the developers of the world’s most popular game series, “Call of Duty”, Michael Condrey (Co-Founder & Studio Head of Development) and Glen Schofield (Co-Founder & General Manager) of Sledgehammer Games, as are Dorian Kieken (Project Development Director at BioWare) and Matias Myllyrinne (CEO of Remedy Entertainment).
In 2014, a total of 170 speakers presented 110 lectures and workshops which addressed current developments in the computer and video game industry. Having hosted over 2,500 visitors in 2014, Quo Vadis is about to nearly double its capacity in 2015. The established venue, Café Moskau, will be augmented by Berlin’s nearby Kino International, where the keynote presentations and other featured talks are to be held. Quo Vadis has reserved a whopping 800 sqm of floor space for the “Pitch & Match” business format which will be introduced at the conference to support games companies in their targeted business development activities
