At the end of February, this year’s Games Developers Conference – scheduled to take place this month, in March – was postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak. A statement on the GDC website said the plan was to host the annual event later on in summer.
Everything has now been sorted and in place of the original conference is a brand new three-day summer expo, taking place between 4th – 6th August, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Here’s the full rundown:
GDC Summer’s conference program will consist of high-quality technical content, mixed with valuable roundtable discussions to foster conversation and connection.
The event will host a new series of microtalks and fireside chats, as well as a dedicated space for comprehensive career development sessions covering topics such as how to pitch your game, effective communication strategies, how to land an investor/publisher and business development strategies.
As a celebration of the game development industry, GDC Summer 2020 will roll out a new community partnership program. Organizations will have the opportunity to apply for space onsite to host meetings and gatherings alongside the main event. Qualifying organizations could include SIG meetings, non-profit board meetings, local meet-ups, hosted “office hours” by community professionals, portfolio review rooms, podcast recording and more.
This program enables GDC as an organization to reach areas of the industry previously untapped due to space restrictions. Meanwhile, sponsorship packages are designed to be easy to execute, with a shorter-than-average runway compared to other industry events.
GDC Summer will give the game development community a chance to come together in a way that hasn’t currently been possible due to COVID-19. Safety remains the GDC organizers’ paramount concern and the GDC team will continue to monitor the latest information from health officials to ensure a safe and compelling event for everyone at GDC Summer, GDC 2021 and beyond.
More details about GDC summer can be viewed via the official GDC website. And for additional information, you can subscribe to regular updates on Facebook and Twitter.