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GDC Festival of Gaming
March 9-13, 2026
Moscone CenterSan Francisco, CA
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Agenda

Your Festival lineup starts here. Browse and filter by Pass Type, Track, Format, Audience Level, and (new this year) Tags!

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Mar 11 Wednesday | 9:45 am
GDC Festival Hall Open!
Festival HallNetworking
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
Base Camp: Day 1
NetworkingFestival Hall
Location: Booth 1765, South Hall
Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass
Audience Level: All
Track: Career
Boss Rush Live Podcast Recording
Community Partner
Location: Podcast Studio, GDC Commons
Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass
Track: Special Event
Format: Special Event
Tabletop Free Play & Playtesting Lounge
Community PartnerTabletop Summit
Location: Tabletop Free Play & Playtesting Lounge, West Hall Level 3
Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass
Track: Special Event
Format: Special Event
Mar 11 Wednesday | 10:10 am
Building a Co-Playable Character: 'PUBG' Ally, an AI Teammate Powered by NVIDIA ACE (Presented by NVIDIA)
Sponsor Speakers: Hyunseung Kim  (KRAFTON AI), Evgeny Makarov  (NVIDIA)
Location: Room 3020, West Hall
Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass
Track: Game & Production Technology
Building for the Future with Xbox (Presented by Microsoft Xbox)
Sponsor Speaker: Jason Ronald  (Microsoft Xbox)
Location: Room 3001, West Hall
Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass
Audience Level: All
Track: Game & Production Technology
Built for Games: Explore Apple Hardware and Software for Game Developers (Presented by Apple)
Sponsor Speakers: Allan Schaffer  (Apple), Alexey Vinogradov  (Apple), Rich Forster  (Apple), Charlyn Keating  (Apple)
Location: Room 3014, West Hall
Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass
Audience Level: All
Track: Game & Production Technology, Production
Format: Lecture
Maximize Performance: Porting, Profiling, and 16KB Page Size Innovations for Android Games (Presented by Google Play)
Sponsor Speakers: Val O'Donnell  (Google Play), Simon Cooke  (Google Play), Steven Moreland  (Google Play), Mark Dochtermann  (Google), Emil Kjæhr  (Funday Games)
Location: Room 2009, West Hall
Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass
Audience Level: All
Track: Game & Production Technology
Format: Panel
Test Like the Top Studios: Actionable Player Insights in 60 Minutes (Presented by PickFu, Inc.)
Sponsor Speaker: Heather De Bernardi  (Scopely)
Location: Room 2011, West Hall
Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass
Audience Level: All
Track: Product Management
Format: Workshop
The State of the VR Ecosystem: Building a Sustainable Future (Presented by Meta)
Sponsor Speaker: Chris Pruett  (Meta)
Location: Room 2020, West Hall
Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass
Track: Game & Production Technology
Format: Lecture
Mar 11 Wednesday | 10:30 am
Bridging East and West Roundtable: Opportunities for Global Game Collaboration (Presented by the IGDA)
Community Partner
Speakers: Bo Mei  (GoodDay Solution), Chase Shi  (Blizzard Entertainment)
Location: Room 301, South Hall
Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass
Audience Level: All
Track: Culture & Sustainability
Format: Roundtable
Constructive Destruction: Fusing Voxel Tech and 3D Action Platforming in 'Donkey Kong Bananza'
Speakers: Kenta Motokura  (Nintendo Co., Ltd.), Tatsuya Kurihara  (Nintendo Co., Ltd.)
Location: Room 3004, West Hall
Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass
Audience Level: All
Track: Design
Format: Lecture
Developing Ethical Games: Why and How
Speakers: Celia Hodent  (Independent), Rachel Kowert  (University of Cambridge)
Location: Room 207, South Hall
Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass
Audience Level: Intermediate
Track: Culture & Sustainability, Business Strategy
Format: Forum
Developing Supports for Queer Game Developers (Presented by the IGDA)
Community Partner
Speaker: Greg Mc Guinness  (University College London)
Location: Room 304, South Hall
Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass
Audience Level: All
Track: Culture & Sustainability, Career
Format: Forum
Economics of a $1B Cosmetic Economy
Player EngagementRevenue Streams
Speaker: Phillip Black  (Game Economist Consulting)
Location: Room 2016, West Hall
Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass
Audience Level: Intermediate
Track: Business Strategy
G.A.N.G. Demo Derby: Voice Over
SeriesCommunityCommunity Partner
Moderator: Nick Hartman  (Sound Lab)
Speakers: Morla Gorrondona  (Independent), Tom Keegan  (Independent), Alyssa Gentile  (Riot Games)
Location: Room 2018, West Hall
Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass
Audience Level: All
Track: Narrative & Performance, Audio
Format: Special Event
Game Design Documentation Bootcamp​
Speakers: Nina Kim  (Rare Ltd), Ziz Simoens  (Warcradle Studios), Ben Sabin  (Unskippable Dialogue), Jefferey Sparks  (Mythwright)
Location: Room 215, South Hall
Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass
Audience Level: All
Track: Design, Team Leadership
Format: Workshop
Game Narrative Review Competition Winners: Poster Microtalks (Session A)
Location: Indie & Education Stage, South Hall
Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass
Audience Level: All
Track: Narrative & Performance
Format: Microtalks
Improv Games for Game Developers
Speaker: Rez Graham  (Independent)
Location: Room 3011, West Hall
Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass
Audience Level: All
Track: Culture & Sustainability, Team Leadership
Format: Workshop
Inside Indie (Self) Publishing
Speaker: Rebekah Saltsman  (Finji)
Location: Room 2010, West Hall
Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass
Audience Level: All
Track: Independent Development, Business Strategy
Format: Lecture
Invisible Cameras: Reimagining Cinematography in Real-Time Game Engines
Animation Summit
Speakers: Adam Myhill  (Black Eye Technologies), Erin Olorenshaw  (Pull Focus Consulting), Cory Williams  (Daydream Studios), Nick Romick  (RetroPixel Digital)
Location: Room 3018, West Hall
Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass
Audience Level: All
Track: Narrative & Performance, Game & Production Technology
Format: Microtalks
It Takes a Village: Live at GDC Day 1
Festival Hall
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
Lasers, Mimic Masks, and Squid Battles: The Technology Evolution of 'I Expect You to Die'
Future Realities Summit
Speaker: John Kolencheryl  (Schell Games)
Location: Room 2001, West Hall
Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass
Audience Level: Intermediate
Track: Game & Production Technology, Design
Format: Lecture
Mics in Spaces: The Importance of Field and Foley Recording
Speakers: Jeffrey Brice  (Independent), Joanna Fang  (Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Location: Room 2003, West Hall
Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass
Audience Level: All
Track: Audio
Format: Lecture
Play with the Designers
Tabletop SummitCommunity
Speakers: Cole Wehrle  (Leder Games/Wehrlegig Games), Tom Lehmann  (Independent), Jon Perry  (Quibble Media, LLC), Bryan Bornmueller  (Asmodee), Geoff Engelstein  (Mind Bullet Games)
Location: Room 3016, West Hall
Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass
Audience Level: All
Track: Special Event, Design
Format: Special Event