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March 9-13, 2026

Moscone CenterSan Francisco, CA

Agenda

View, browse and sort the ever-growing list of sessions by pass type, track, and format. With this Session Viewer, you can build your schedule in advance and access it during the show via export or with the Mobile App, once live. Sessions do fill up and seating is first come, first serve, so arrive early to sessions that you would like to attend.

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Mar 11 Wednesday | 9:45 am

Wednesday, March 11 | 9:45am - 10:00am

GDC Festival Hall Open!

Festival Hall Networking

Location: South Hall Lobby, Moscone Center

Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass

Audience Level: All

Track: Special Event

Format: Special Event

Mar 11 Wednesday | 10:00 am

Wednesday, March 11 | 10:00am - 1:00pm

Base Camp: Day 1

Networking Festival Hall

Location: Booth 1765, South Hall

Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass

Audience Level: All

Track: Career

Mar 11 Wednesday | 10:30 am

Wednesday, March 11 | 10:30am - 11:30am

It Takes a Village: Live at GDC Day 1

Speakers: Samantha Beart (Independent), Austin Wintory

Location: Festival Stage, South Hall

Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass

Audience Level: All

Track: Culture & Sustainability

Format: Fireside Chat

Mar 11 Wednesday | 11:00 am

Wednesday, March 11 | 11:00am - 11:30am

GDC Side Quest Podcast Live: Sam Carlisle

Moderator: Beth Elderkin (GDC Festival of Gaming)

Speaker: Sam Carlisle (XDS)

Location: GDC Commons Stage

Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass

Audience Level: All

Track: Special Event, Business Strategy

Format: Fireside Chat

Mar 11 Wednesday | 11:10 am

Wednesday, March 11 | 11:10am - 11:30am

Redefining Quality: The Critical Role of QA in a Changing Games Industry (Presented by Testronic)

Sponsor Speaker: Samantha Williams (Testronic)

Location: International Stage, South Hall

Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass

Audience Level: Intermediate

Track: Production

Format: Power Talk

Mar 11 Wednesday | 11:45 am

Wednesday, March 11 | 11:45am - 12:15pm

Player Safety Strategy in Action: Real-World Moderation Strategies from Two Live Multiplayer Games (Presented by Modulate)

Sponsor Speaker: Mark Frumkin (Modulate)

Location: Festival Stage, South Hall

Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass

Audience Level: Intermediate

Track: Game & Production Technology, Product Management

Format: Lecture

Mar 11 Wednesday | 12:35 pm

Wednesday, March 11 | 12:35pm - 1:35pm

GDC Pitch: Day 1

Speakers: Rebekah Saltsman (Finji), Jason Della Rocca (Execution Labs), Justin Woodward (Media Indie Exchange), Sylvain Sechi (New Tales)

Location: Festival Stage, South Hall

Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass

Audience Level: All

Track: Special Event, Business Strategy

Format: Special Event

Mar 11 Wednesday | 2:00 pm

Wednesday, March 11 | 2:00pm - 3:00pm

Live Podcast Interview: Scaling Up a Project with the Creators of 'Clair Obscur: Expedition 33' (Presented by Perforce)

Sponsor Speakers: Jase Lindgren (Perforce Software), Tom Guillermin (Sandfall Interactive)

Location: Festival Stage, South Hall

Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass

Audience Level: All

Track: Game & Production Technology

Format: Fireside Chat

Mar 11 Wednesday | 2:30 pm

Wednesday, March 11 | 2:30pm - 3:00pm

GDC Side Quest Podcast Live: Samantha Béart

Moderator: Beth Elderkin (GDC Festival of Gaming)

Speaker: Samantha Beart (Independent)

Location: GDC Commons Stage

Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass

Audience Level: All

Track: Special Event

Format: Fireside Chat

Wednesday, March 11 | 2:30pm - 2:50pm

Responsible AI (Presented by Villain Studios)

Sponsor Speakers: Mark Long (VILLAIN Studios), Don Norbury (VILLAIN Studios)

Location: Indie & Education Stage, South Hall

Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass

Audience Level: All

Track: Independent Development

Format: Power Talk

Mar 11 Wednesday | 3:00 pm

Wednesday, March 11 | 3:00pm - 4:00pm

GDC Side Quest Podcast Live: State of the Game Industry Panel

Moderator: Beth Elderkin (GDC Festival of Gaming)

Panelists: Liam Deane (Omdia), Laine Nooney (New York University), Ben Porter (Newzoo)

Location: GDC Commons Stage

Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass

Audience Level: All

Track: Special Event

Format: Panel

Mar 11 Wednesday | 3:10 pm

Wednesday, March 11 | 3:10pm - 4:10pm

'Pianomania': Piano Rhythm Game Debut & Live Tournament

Speakers: Matt Takao (Pianomania), Will Sievern (Pianomania)

Location: Indie & Education Stage, South Hall

Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass

Audience Level: All

Track: Game & Production Technology, Audio

Format: Special Event

Wednesday, March 11 | 3:10pm - 4:10pm

Content Creation in Game Development

Speakers: Juniper Dev (Independent), Nick Kaman (Aggro Crab), Jordan Ottesen (O. and Co. Games), Emily Pitcher (SonderingEmily)

Location: Monetization & Player Engagement Stage, South Hall

Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass

Audience Level: All

Track: Discovery & Marketing, Culture & Sustainability

Format: Panel

Mar 11 Wednesday | 3:20 pm

Wednesday, March 11 | 3:20pm - 4:20pm

Fireside Chat with Amir Rao of Supergiant Games

Speakers: Trent Kusters (League of Geeks), Amir Rao (Supergiant Games)

Location: Festival Stage, South Hall

Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass

Audience Level: All

Track: Design, Independent Development

Format: Fireside Chat

Mar 11 Wednesday | 4:30 pm

Wednesday, March 11 | 4:30pm - 5:30pm

Built to Share: How 'Date Everything!'’s Royalty Framework Turned 100+ Performers into Partners

Speakers: Ray Chase (Sassy Chap Games), Logan Burdick (Sassy Chap Games), Matthew Cohen (Creative Artists Agency (CAA))

Location: Monetization & Player Engagement Stage, South Hall

Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass

Track: Business Strategy

Format: Lecture

Wednesday, March 11 | 4:30pm - 5:30pm

Critique My Page: Live at GDC

Speakers: Chris Zukowski (Howtomarketagame.com), Derek Lieu (Derek Lieu Creative)

Location: Festival Stage, South Hall

Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass

Audience Level: All

Track: Independent Development, Discovery & Marketing

Format: Special Event

Wednesday, March 11 | 4:30pm - 5:30pm

From Star Trek to Start Up: Turning Science Fiction into Science Fact

Speaker: Brent Bushnell (DreamPark)

Location: Future Tech Stage, South Hall

Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass

Audience Level: All

Track: Game & Production Technology

Format: Forum

Mar 11 Wednesday | 5:00 pm

Wednesday, March 11 | 5:00pm - 5:30pm

Amber: Distributed Development in Rising Countries

Speakers: Mihai Pohontu (Amber Studio), Andreea Enache (Amber Studio)

Location: International Stage, South Hall

Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass

Audience Level: All

Track: Business Strategy, Culture & Sustainability

Format: Fireside Chat

Mar 12 Thursday | 10:30 am

Thursday, March 12 | 10:30am - 11:00am

Gaming Success on Discord: Data-Driven Insights into Community Growth and Player Engagement (Presented by Discord)

Sponsor Speaker: Timothy Lu (Discord)

Location: Festival Stage, South Hall

Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass

Audience Level: Entry-Level

Track: Business Strategy

Format: Lecture

Mar 12 Thursday | 11:00 am

Thursday, March 12 | 11:00am - 11:30am

GDC Side Quest Podcast Live: Austin Wintory

Moderator: Beth Elderkin (GDC Festival of Gaming)

Speaker: Austin Wintory (Independent)

Location: GDC Commons Stage

Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass

Audience Level: All

Track: Special Event, Audio

Format: Fireside Chat

Mar 12 Thursday | 11:10 am

Thursday, March 12 | 11:10am - 11:30am

The Player Journey Revolution: Why Gaming's Next Billion Users Will Never See a Password (Presented by FusionAuth)

Sponsor Speaker: Brad McCarty (FusionAuth)

Location: Monetization & Player Engagement Stage, South Hall

Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass

Audience Level: All

Track: Game & Production Technology

Format: Power Talk

Mar 12 Thursday | 11:30 am

Thursday, March 12 | 11:30am - 12:00pm

GDC Side Quest Podcast Live: Amra Khullar & Shafik Quoraishee

Moderator: Beth Elderkin (GDC Festival of Gaming)

Speakers: Amra Khullar (The New York Times), Shafik Quoraishee (The New York Times)

Location: GDC Commons Stage

Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass

Audience Level: All

Track: Special Event

Format: Fireside Chat

Thursday, March 12 | 11:30am - 12:30pm

How Do I Get My Game on IGN?

Speakers: Peer Schneider (IGN Entertainment), Ryan McCaffrey (IGN Entertainment), Justin Davis (IGN Entertainment), Miranda Sanchez (IGN Entertainment)

Location: Festival Stage, South Hall

Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass

Audience Level: All

Track: Discovery & Marketing

Format: Panel

Mar 12 Thursday | 11:50 am

Thursday, March 12 | 11:50am - 12:10pm

Six Months to a Playable Demo: Building Aelwater as Indie Devs (Presented by Yeariver)

Sponsor Speaker: Yuning Yang (Yeariver)

Location: Indie & Education Stage, South Hall

Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass

Audience Level: Advanced

Track: Independent Development

Format: Power Talk

Thursday, March 12 | 11:50am - 12:10pm

Why Games Fail to Scale: Stop Optimizing CPI and Start Fixing the Game (Presented by Game Lyft)

Sponsor Speaker: Noman Ahsan (GameLyft AI)

Location: Monetization & Player Engagement Stage, South Hall

Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass

Audience Level: All

Track: Business Strategy

Format: Power Talk