GamesBeat is bringing its Insider series to New York, with former Nintendo of America President and chief operating officer Reggie Fils-Aimé taking the stage as a headline speaker.
GamesBeat Insider: Brands & Gaming is sponsored by Overwolf and will take place Wednesday, September 16. The invitation-only event is focused on brands, marketing and gaming, and is scheduled for the week of the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) PlayFronts conference in New York.
GamesBeat is a media partner of IAB PlayFronts, creating a natural meeting point for two industries that are shaping the future of entertainment and advertising during a moment in which the relationship between brands and interactive entertainment has become a vital pathway to modern audiences — and a key funding source for studios and creators.
The scale of gaming presents a massive opportunity for brands
The market opportunity of gaming is becoming difficult to ignore. The global games industry generated $201.6 billion in 2025, crossing the $200 billion threshold for the first time, with mobile accounting for approximately $113.3 billion of that total.
As gaming grows, it is becoming a larger part of the advertising conversation. According to this year’s IAB/PwC Internet Advertising Revenue Report, advertising across video games and esports grew 22% in 2025, significantly faster than the overall internet advertising market. That growth is changing the conversation for brands.
The question is no longer whether gaming represents a meaningful audience opportunity, but how brands can authentically participate in the ecosystem, from mobile and creators to user-generated content, video, experiential marketing and new approaches to monetization, in ways that are measurable and built for where audiences are going.
Reggie Fils-Aimé brings a unique perspective to that discussion.
As one of the most influential executives in modern gaming, Fils-Aimé helped lead Nintendo of America through a period when the company expanded the reach of gaming far beyond its traditional audience. His experience provides a valuable bridge between the industry’s legacy and its next phase: understanding what has worked, what has changed, and what brands and marketers can learn as gaming becomes a defining part of the modern media landscape.
The conversation will be moderated by Alexander Lee, the lead news writer at GamesBeat, who has spent years helping shape the conversation around user-generated content and the creator economy.
Carol Reed, global chief innovation officer at Ogilvy, will also participate, bringing her expertise in innovation, advertising and the evolving relationship between brands and interactive entertainment. Additional speakers will be announced.
Building a More Connected Gaming Industry
GamesBeat’s New York event is part of the broader strategy GamesBeat has pursued since becoming an independent media company in 2025.
The move to independence was designed not simply to change the company’s ownership structure, but to create more opportunities for GamesBeat to connect the business of gaming with the broader industries shaping it, bringing together executives, brands, investors, creators, technology companies and marketers. Events are an important part of that strategy.
GamesBeat has long been a place where senior leaders come together around the industry’s most important issues. The next phase is about creating even more opportunities for those conversations to happen in person, and for relationships, partnerships, and business opportunities to emerge from them. As gaming attracts greater attention from the advertising and marketing community, this is particularly relevant.
The GamesBeat Insider format is designed around the premise that a smaller, curated room can empower senior executives to have substantive conversations with the people shaping the industry, rather than simply attending another large conference. With this in mind, the inaugural New York gathering will be limited to 100 executives and will be invitation-only.
As gaming continues to expand into one of the world’s most important media, entertainment and cultural ecosystems, GamesBeat Insider is designed to bring the right people into the room at the right moment.
New York is the first stop. The conversation is just beginning.
Request an invitation or learn more about GB MAX. Interested in partnering or speaking? Reach out at [email protected].