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March 9-13, 2026
Moscone CenterSan Francisco, CA

Agenda

External Development (Outsourcing) Roundtable Day 1

Carl Schmidt  (Senior Director of External Development, Zynga)
Location: Room 306, South Hall
Date: Tuesday, March 10
Time: 3:10 pm - 4:10 pm
Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass - Get your pass now!
Audience Level: All
Track: Team Leadership, Production
Format: Roundtable
Vault Recording: Not Recorded
Audience Level: All

External Development, or Outsourcing as it is commonly referred, plays a huge role in the game development industry and with it comes a huge amount of challenges. The External Development Roundtable is a moderated forum discussion surrounding external development topics which are mainly generated by the participants. Whether it's team/leadership buy-in, career growth, best practices, vendor relations, etc. this roundtable will provide a forum for questions, ideas and solutions from industry peers on the front lines of external development. Attendees from all experience levels and disciplines are welcome and will benefit from the discussion. Attendees are strongly encouraged to participate in the conversation.

Takeaway

Attendees should leave with an increased awareness of the challenges and solutions that come with external development and how different studios, developers and service providers approach these challenges. They will have a better understanding of external development which they can apply to their own pipeline for more successful external engagements.

Intended Audience

The primary audience for this session are game developers and producers, outsource/ExDev managers and studio team leadership across all disciplines as well as service providers who are interested in candidly discussing topics related to the challenges and successes of Outsourcing and External Partnerships in game development.