Our GamesBeat Next 2026 event is 17 days away and we’re ready with our preliminary agenda for the event on November 2-3 in San Francisco at the Convene event center.
The event will take place from 1 p.m. on November 2 and run through 5:30 p.m. on the fifth floor of the Convene event center, followed by a reception. It will resume at 8 a.m. on November 3 with our latest women in gaming breakfast and then continue on through 5 p.m. (It’s still not too late to sponsor). There’s a few sessions where moderators may change or times for sessions are up in the air, but this is as complete as we can set the schedule for now.
Our event will focus on gaming, technology and entertainment leaders to build what’s next for the $200 billion interactive economy. We’ve been doing this event for many years, but this year’s timing couldn’t be better.
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Grand Theft Auto VI is expected to command unprecedented global attention when it releases on November 19 — a moment that could reshape the business, culture and economics of interactive entertainment. (Our own Alex Lee quizzed Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick about the launch at our first New York event last month).
We’ll be asking: how do we move from this moment on to something historic and memorable? We tapped 29 new GamesBeat event advisers to help us curate the content for this edition of GamesBeat Next. We’ve got at least 41 sessions happening at GamesBeat Next to give you some of the answers for what is coming next in the game industry.
Here’s our near-final agenda with titles, descriptions and speakers ready to go. Most of the sessions take place on the second day of the event. But we’re spreading the great sessions around as much as we can. Our topics run across themes including AI, other tech, finance, business models, the attention economy and the creator revolution.
For your info, the event will take place on the 5th and 4th floors. The main reception area is the Pacific Gallery on the 5th floor, where we also have the large Pacific Hall and the small roundtable room Landmark Library. We will also be using stages Vista Studio West and Vista Studio East on the 4th floor.
Day one
10 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. — Doors open with networking time on fifth floor of Convene event center.
1 p.m.: Opening welcome from emcee (Pacific Hall)
1:10 p.m.: Opening remarks from GamesBeat cofounders Gina Joseph and Dean Takahashi (Pacific Hall)
1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.: Opening session (Pacific Hall)
Game Legends: Remembering the past and predicting our future
We’ve got a dream panel of veterans who ran big gaming platforms at Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, Sega, Unity and Electronic Arts. (OK, those last four are all Peter Moore). The session is based on something I witnessed 25 years ago at E3, when the leaders of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo bantered with each other on one panel. We’ll recall some good-natured memories about the competition, but we’ll emphasize their view of the current game industry and what their experience tells them about what will unfold in the future. Don’t miss this opener.
Shawn Layden, Former Chairman of PlayStation Worldwide Studios
Peter Moore, Executive, Formerly Unity, Microsoft, EA, Sega
Doug Bowser, Former President/COO of Nintendo of America, and current Independent Board member of the Hasbro Company
MODERATOR: Dean Takahashi, Editorial Director, GamesBeat
2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. panel (Pacific Hall)
Fandom Is Always On — Brands Need to Be Too
Games have become one of the places where modern fandom lives, a space where people don’t just consume entertainment, but participate in it, compete, create, connect, and build communities that persist far beyond any single moment. From the rituals and rivalries of sports fandom to the deeply engaged communities around franchises like Apex Legends and Battlefield, games give brands an opportunity to become part of the experiences and cultures audiences return to every day. In this session, Andrea Hopelain, SVP of Marketing, will explore how the shift from passive audiences to active communities is reshaping what it means to build relevance with fans. She’ll discuss how brands can create lasting value across gameplay, creator ecosystems, live services, and community-driven experiences.
Andrea Hopelain, SVP marketing, Electronic Arts
MODERATOR: Alex Lee, Lead News Writer, GamesBeat
2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Roundtable (Landmark Library)
World-building Beyond Gameplay: From Screen to Space (roundtable)
As blockbuster games become more elaborate, audiences no longer encounter an IP through a single screen or format; they experience the same world across gameplay, cinematics, VR, social platforms, live environments, and increasingly immersive public spaces.
Territory Studio would explore how a coherent visual and narrative language can carry a game world across those different experiences, drawing on work including 007 First Light, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Batman: Arkham Shadow, plus gaming-world activations such as Fortnite x Kai Cenat at the Las Vegas Sphere and Chromebook x Cyberpunk 2077 in Times Square.
The central question: when a game world can exist anywhere, how do you design an experience audiences never want to leave?
Marti Romances, Creative Director, Territory
3:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.: TBD Pacific Hall panel
3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. (Pacific Hall) panel
AI-native game development: Making games that can only be made with AI (onstage, followed by a roundtable)
What happens when game characters can interpret a player’s intent, improvise, and change course when plans fall apart? LLM-driven decision making opens up new possibilities for companions, rivals, and virtual teammates—but which will make games more compelling?
This panel brings together AI technologists, developers, and studio leaders to explore agentic gameplay’s creative potential and practical limits. Games demand ultra-low latency responses, players interrupt actions, and the world keeps changing while an AI decides what to do. How can characters keep up while developers retain creative control?
The conversation will connect new ways to play with the realities of production, inference costs, and scale, helping attendees assess which experiences are worth building and where agentic behavior can deliver lasting value for players and studios.
Brian Tanner, CEO, Artificial Agency
Piero Molino, CEO, Studio Atelico
Jon Snoddy, CEO, Operative Games
MODERATOR: Jamil Moledina, Venture Partner, Principal Venture Partners
4:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Pacific Hall) solo
Fun or Addictive? Addressing warranted concerns while avoiding moral panics around video games (Pacific Hall)
Video games are an art form and they are meant to entertain people. As such, they put psychological and physical pressure on players to elicit fun and engagement. But certain business models can also put pressure on players to encourage retention and conversion. When does this pressure cross ethical lines and need to be addressed? What can we do to encourage better practices in the game industry while keeping our business afloat? This talk proposes to identify the evidence-based warranted concerns regarding video games while debunking the moral panics, often supported by pseudoscience (and “neurobullshit”). It also discusses what an ethical framework could look like in the game industry, from the perspective of cognitive science and human factors psychology (UX), and why adopting such a framework would not only be beneficial for players, but also for the long-term viability of studios and publishers.
Celia Hodent, Game User Experience Strategist
Author The Gamer’s Brain
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Roundtable: Artificial Agency will continue the conversation around AI in games at a roundtable Q&A session in the Landmark Library
4:30 to 5:00 p.m. Session TBD (Pacific Hall) panel
5:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Pacific Hall) panel
Mobile Mogul Awards — Panel on the state of mobile gaming with speakers TBD
5:30 p.m. to 6:30 pm. Introduction by Kenny Rosenblatt, CEO of Arkadium; Reception in the Pacific Gallery
GamesBeat Next day one reception
Day 2
7:30 a.m. Atendee checkin at 5th floor of the Convene event center.
8 a.m. Main reception area (5th floor at Convene)
Boss Mode breakfast
9: a.m. to 9:50 a.m. (Pacific Hall) panel
Boss Mode panel: Leading with Impact — Women in Gaming and Tech: driving business in the interactive economy
The conversation will be part of our BOSS Mode Breakfast at GBN and will bring together women leaders who are shaping the future of the interactive economy, with a focus on AI, mobile, gaming, technology, and the broader digital economy.
The panel will explore the opportunities emerging across these industries, how women leaders are driving innovation and measurable business impact, and what it takes to turn new technologies, platforms, and ideas into growth and ROI. We’ll also look at how brands are showing up across the interactive economy — including gaming and other emerging platforms — and the role women leaders are playing in building what’s next.
Anne Shoemaker, CEO, Fullflower Studio
Kimberly Pointer Corbett, Founder, UltraLayer
Karin Johnson, Magic Potion Games
Hilary Mason, CEO of Hidden Door
MODERATOR: Rachel Kaser, News Writer, GamesBeat
9:50 a.m. to 9:55 a.m. (Pacific Hall) solo
emcee intro
10 a.m. to 9:55 a.m. (Pacific Hall) solo
Day 2 introduction from Alex Lee, lead news writer at GamesBeat
10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. (Pacific Hall) panel
Seeing the optimism and opportunities in games in spite of years of layoffs
Amir Satvat and Ed Fries have built their views of gaming on very different experiences and even different data sources. Yet they believes in the upward power of gaming and see real opportunities, even though the industry has seen years of layoffs and studio closures. Where are the opportunities and how will games win the attention war? Now that Satvat and Fries are together at 1Up Ventures, we’ll try to get at the nuances behind their views and point out trends for the industry.
Amir Satvat, General Partner, 1Up Ventures
Ed Fries, General Partner, 1Up Ventures
MODERATOR: Dean Takahashi, Editorial Director, GamesBeat
10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. (Pacific Hall) fireside chat
AI & The Next Era of Gaming
In this fireside chat, Dean Takahashi interviews Dr. Songyee Yoon, Founding Partner of Principal Venture Partners, on how AI is reshaping the way capital moves through gaming. Drawing on her rare end-to-end view of the industry — from her years as President and Chief Strategy Officer at NCSOFT to her current seat evaluating the early-stage AI-era startups vying for funding — Dean and Songyee dig into what’s changed in gaming and AI over the years, what she’s watching for as an investor, and where she thinks the opportunities are in a landscape where every startup now has an AI offering.
Songyee Yoon, Founding Partner, Principal Venture Partners
MODERATOR: Dean Takahashi, Editorial Director, GamesBeat
10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (Landmark Library) Roundtable
Africa: Gaming’s Final Frontier: A billion stories, zero sequels
Africa is home to the world’s youngest population and one of its fastest-growing mobile markets; by 2030, 42% of the world’s youth will be African. The infrastructure is already in place: affordable smartphones, expanding mobile internet, mobile money that leapfrogged traditional banking, and a fast-growing community of developers and creators. Yet its stories, myths and creative voices remain almost entirely absent from the games the world plays. This roundtable brings together builders, investors and studio founders working on the ground to explore what it will take to turn Africa’s talent and IP into globally successful titles. Come for a candid conversation on the opportunity, the obstacles, and why the next breakout hit may come from Africa.
Leo Olebe, venture partner at Griffin Gaming Partners
Joseph Wilson, CEO of Big Kitten
moderator: Lisa Hanson, president of Niko Partners
10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. (Vista Studio West) panel
Surviving an Extinction Level Event
The traditional way of publishing may not work anymore. You have to evovle your game development practices and adapt your marketing to match what the players want today. We can survive this change. The double A and the indie companies could take triple-A learnings, apply them to publishing today, and have a better chance at survival than the big dinosaurs.
Chris Stone, Studio General Manager, VOID Interactive
Oliver Bulloss, CEO, Playamp at MTG
TJ Consunji, Co-founder, Miniboss
MODERATOR: Christopher Anjos, Director, Product & Strategy, Publsh
10:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (Vista Studio East) panel
The New Launch Playbook: Building Attention, Community, and Momentum Without a Blockbuster Budget
The old (pre-2021!) game-launch model had been built around a relatively simple proposition: secure a publisher that had the capital, infrastructure and distribution power to bring a game to market… or take on the full burden on yourself. In 2026, that binary no longer reflects how many games are actually launched.
Studios now have access to a wider ecosystem of specialist partners, fractional expertise, creator and community programs, targeted communications, platform opportunities and modular marketing support. But more options also create more questions: What should a team own internally? When does outside help create genuine leverage? How do you build audience momentum before launch (and sustain it after) without confusing activity for impact?
In this informative, interactive session, Greg Off and Chris Kramer will lead a practical discussion about launch models available to teams working without blockbuster-scale budgets. Drawing on their work across strategic communications, creator partnerships, influencer programs and dozens of game launches from indie to AAA, they will explore the choices behind self-publishing, traditional publishing, and the increasingly important middle ground between them.
Greg Off, CEO, Off Base
Chris Kramer, VP of PR & Influencer Relations, Off Base
11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (Pacific Hall) fireside chat
Using games as evaluation tools for AI
Our speakers will outline how games are being used to benchmark the progress that AI is making towards super intelligence or AGI. The session will have benchmarks to share about each of the popular AI models (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Grok) and which ones perform better in different categories of intelligence. We’ll also see how these models do in a digital tournament.
Kenny Rosenblatt, CEO & Co-founder, Arkadium
MODERATOR: Dean Takahashi, Editorial Director, GamesBeat
11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (Vista Studio West) solo
Evidence of Us: Games, Culture, and Generative AI
Games are more than entertainment or even art – they are cultural artifacts, reflecting the values, assumptions, experiences, and creativity of the people who make them. But what happens when some of that creation is no longer human? As generative AI becomes embedded in game development, it challenges our ideas about authorship, creative intent, and cultural authenticity. If games are evidence of who we are, what happens when the worlds, stories, and characters within them are increasingly generated not by humans? This session explores what AI means for games as cultural artifacts, and asks: What do we want the games we leave behind to say about us?
Kate Edwards, CEO, Geogrify
11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (Vista Studio East) panel
Triple-A to Indie: Lessons Learned
Three leaders who once ran teams of hundreds/thousands inside the biggest studios in games now run teams under 30. The last three years pushed an unusual amount of senior triple-A talent into founding, as studios closed and projects were cancelled. This panel brings together three people at different points on that curve to talk about what actually changed: the budget math, the financing conversations, the small core plus external partner model defining 2026, and what happens when the thing you are selling is no longer a game but a company. Honest, specific, and told by people still in it.
Rob Davis, Co-Founder, Big Sky Creative
Katie Golden, Co-founder & CEO, New Pantheon Studios
Tim Morten, Co-founder & CEO, Frost Giant Studios
MODERATOR: Darion Lowenstein, CEO & Founder, Secret Code
11:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. (Pacific Hall) fireside chat
The Next Billion Gamers Are Families: Building a Global Gaming Platform Parents Can Trust
The next frontier of gaming isn’t another demographic of hardcore gamers. It’s the family—and winning that market requires rebuilding the gaming proposition around trust, movement, co-play and globally relevant content.
Trust is the prerequisite for growth. As gaming reaches younger kids and becomes more central to family life, safety/privacy/age-appropriate design can’t just be compliance functions. They become product and brand strategy. Sports are the bridge to the whole family. NFL Flag Heroes gives you a fresh, concrete example of expanding beyond younger children toward teens and parents…with more to come in sports Heroes franchise.
Global expansion is the proof point. What does it actually take to build a family gaming platform across the U.S., UK, Germany, Japan, Korea, etc.? It’s not merely translating games—you need local IP, local partners, culturally relevant content, local business models and locally appropriate trust/safety.
Tom Kang, President, Nex
MODERATOR: Dean Takahashi (or can be replaced)
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (Landmark Library) roundtable
Beyond Enforcement: Building Trust and Safeguarding the Future of Play
As games have evolved into always-on, large-scale entertainment experiences where millions of players live, compete, and build communities, so have the threats. What once was viewed as isolated players trying to get a leg up on the competition has transformed into a world of highly professional, underground cybercrime economies deploying sophisticated malware, credential theft, and “cheating-as- a-service” models. In this fireside chat, Electronic Arts CISO Mike Reavey and VP of Game and Player Security Elise Murphy will pull back the curtain on how EA is reframing anti-cheat from a reactive enforcement tool to a proactive, defense-in-depth cybersecurity discipline. They will discuss how EA’s security strategy is foundational to the player experience, serving as a critical driver of trust, fairness, and long-term engagement. Drawing on insights from protecting some of the world’s largest gaming communities with their proprietary EA Javelin Anticheat solution, Mike and Elise will explore how to balance the technical demands of implementing solutions like kernel-level security, with a deep commitment to player transparency and privacy. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of how a player-first approach to security not only disrupts global cybercrime rings but also builds lasting player trust and safeguards the future of interactive entertainment.
Mike Reavey, CISO and SVP, Security Engineering at EA;
Elise Murphy, VP, Game and Player Security at EA
11:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. (Vista Studio West) panel
Practical AI
This is the session that we are calling Practical AI, and it’s about companies/individuals who are applying AI to daily work without pausing to consider philosophical debates. They’re just getting work done. Our speakers include: Daniel Usedom of ThinkingAI, who will talk about AI that autonomously improves retention and revenue. Glenn Fiedler, CEO of Network Next, a veteran programmer/technical CEO who is urging game programmers to defend against cyber threats that are enabled by AI foundational models Andy Tsen, CEO of Ramen, maker of the agentic AI tools for game development.
Daniel Usedom, Founding GTM, US, ThinkingAI
Glenn Fiedler, CEO, Network Next
Andy Tsen, CEO, Ramen
MODERATOR: Yoshio Osaki, President, IDG Intelligence
11:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. (Vista Studio East) panel
Building the new playbook for advertising in games: Lessons from Xbox Media Solutions
As gaming continues to evolve, advertising has an increasingly important role to play in shaping the industry’s next chapter. But the rise of advertising in gaming is not inevitable. It must be done right.
In this fireside chat, Xbox Media Solutions vice president and general manager Jonathan Stringfield will sit down with GamesBeat’s Alexander Lee to explore how Microsoft is helping shape the next generation of advertising in games. Stringfield will share the lessons Xbox Media Solutions has carried forward from Activision Blizzard’s proven advertising business into the broader Xbox ecosystem, why player choice and non-disruptive experiences are key to Xbox’s approach, and how advertising in interactive media can create value for players, developers, and brands alike.
The conversation will also examine one of the largest unresolved challenges in the world of advertising in gaming: measurement and discoverability. As advertising expands across games, Stringfield will discuss what it might take to get more marketers to engage with the medium — and Xbox’s role in shepherding gaming towards this future.
Jonathan Stringfield, VP & GM, Microsoft, XBOX Media Solutions
MODERATOR: Alex Lee, Lead News Writer, GamesBeat
12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. (Pacific Hall)
The New Discovery Funnel: Building and Monetizing Fandom
Every entertainment company wants to build fandom, but relatively few understand what creates it — or how to measure and monetize it. In this session, Fandom CEO Jay Sullivan and Creativ Company CEO Wes Morton will create a working definition of fandom in 2026, breaking down the signals that can tell a company how and where its fans are congregating, as well as how to nurture and act on that fandom. The discussion will dig into the similarities and differences between gaming fandom and other forms of fandom, exploring how studios and publishers are leveraging fan platforms and communities to keep their games in front of consumers’ eyes in an increasingly challenging discovery and retention landscape.
Jay Sullivan, CEO, Fandom
Wes Morton, CEO of Creativ
MODERATOR: TBD
12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. (Vista Studio West) panel
The Legalities of the Creator Economy
This session will focus on entertainment law and its relation to creator economy talent. We’ll look at where it has been historically, weave that into a conversation of how entertainment law impacts the creator marketing industry now, and how it needs to be navigated in the future.
The session will draw on the historical landscape of Hollywood, how things like the Talent Agency Act were brought into being, and bridge that into a conversation of how it actually applies to creator marketing in games (and beyond), as well as where we collectively need to be as a result.
Moderator: Alex Lee, Lead News Writer at GamesBeat
Andy Lunique, triple A creator expert
Alex Owen, general counsel, Leviathan Core
George DePree, CEO, Leviathan Core,
Dan Rogers, senior partner, Premack Rogers Downs
12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. (Vista Studio East) panel
The Flexible Publishing Playbook – How Independent Experts Are Replacing the All-or-Nothing Publishing Deal
A panel on the emerging space of flexible publishing services, featuring three practitioners who built their careers inside AAA publishers and now bring that same caliber of expertise directly to developers and smaller publishers who need the resources more than ever to gain attention and stand out in an incredibly competitive marketplace.
Adam Krause, Founder & Managing Partner, Miniboss Solutions
Mart Gervacio, Tadhana Interactive – release management;
Shelby Cox, founder & principal, Platform Edge Advisory
MODERATOR: Sarah Anderson, Marketing Executive and Advisor
12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. (lunch hour in main reception area)
1:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. (Pacific Hall) debate during the lunch hour
AI in gaming intellectual debate
The debate around artificial intelligence for the games industry is evolving from breathless hype to grounded impact. In this session join long-time game design executive Rod Humble in conversation with game AI expert Dr. Luke Dicken as they discuss the state of play. Together, they will move beyond basic tools and efficiency gains to interrogate the deeper impact of AI on innovation across the industry and how it will alter creative authorship, game mechanics, and the shifting relationship between developer, player, and machine. Veteran gaming consultant Tadhg Kelly will moderate the debate.
Luke Dicken, formerly Head of AI at Take-Two Interactive
Rod Humble, CEO, Megastructure
MODERATOR: Tadhg Kelly, Game Consultant
1:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. (Pacific Hall) fireside chat
Players Don’t Need Another Gaming Platform
Join Jeff Gattis, Head of Gaming at Amazon, for a candid fireside chat on how games are becoming part of the platform’s cohesive entertainment ecosystem. Nearly one year after Amazon unified its games organization and reimagined its approach to gaming, the conversation will explore the company’s move to bring games to Prime Video and why the next era of growth may come from creating lower-friction access for entirely new audiences. Topics will include whether the next major games platform needs to be a console; how streaming can reduce friction and help solve gaming’s discovery challenge; how entertainment IP can deepen engagement across games, film, television, and fandom; how emerging technologies such as AI are enabling new ways to play; and how streaming platforms can complement the existing games ecosystem.
Jeff Gattis, Head of Gaming, Amazon
MODERATOR: Alexander Lee, Lead News Writer, GamesBeat
1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. (Landmark Library) roundtable
Roundtable: Fresh Voices in Games, Entertainment, and Tech
This roundtable will be about The NEXT era for community, authentic leadership, and emerging talent: how to foster meaningful real community, company culture, and leadership in this next era.
Arin Goldsmith, employer brand lead, Blizzard Entertainment;
Godavari Hughes, founder and community builder, Glitched: Women in Game Dev
Amir Satvat, general partner, 1Up Ventures
1:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. (Vista Studio West) panel
The Production Pivot: Rebuilding How We Build Games
The economics of game development have changed. Funding is tighter, budgets are shrinking, teams are getting leaner, and AI is changing what small teams can accomplish. But doing more with less isn’t a production strategy.
This panel explores how studios are rethinking how games are made, from team structure, scope, and funding to outsourcing, technology, and AI, and what a sustainable game development model looks like in this new era.
Rich Vogel, veteran game creator
Richard Browne, director at Blue Moon Productions
Jen Maclean, CEO of Dragon Snacks Studios
MODERATOR: Benjamin Carcich, principal and founder at Valarin
1:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. (Vista Studio East) panel
How Publishers Are Using Competitive Gaming to Build Lasting Communities
Live competitive gaming is no longer an add-on to a successful title. It has become an extension of the game itself. As publishers increasingly invest in live service games, competition is shaping everything from content roadmaps and player engagement to community building and long-term franchise strategy. Drawing on BLAST’s experience operating global competitive ecosystems for some of the industry’s biggest franchises, this discussion explores why live competition has become a core pillar of modern game development.
Leo Matlock, chief business officer, Blast
James Shilkret, associate director of NA esports, Ubisoft
MODERATOR: TBD
2:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m (Pacific Hall) panel
D2C: The next generation of mobile monetization
It’s an exciting time for the game industry as new regulations and court rulings are enabling direct-to-consumer pathways in mobile. How much of a game company’s revenues can come from this direct relationship with players?
Conor McLaughlin, CRO, Aghanim;
Oliver Bulloss, CEO of Playamp at MTG
MODERATOR: Dean Takahashi, Editorial Director, GamesBeat
2:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. (Vista Studio West) panel
Building the playbook for daily casual game development
In 2026, many gamers’ primary engagement with the medium comes through daily casual games, yet there still isn’t a standard playbook for daily casual game development. Instead, leaders in the space have staked out different facets of daily casual gaming, from the New York Times’ expertise in word games to LinkedIn’s focus on logic games and Yahoo’s work with third-party game studios. This panel will feature the executives defining the gaming strategy for these platforms, with the goal of comparing and contrasting their approaches to daily casual game development in order to better understand the best practices for the format — and how traditional game developers can learn from its rise.
Jonathan Knight, Chief Games Officer, The New York Times
Helen Smith, Head of Games, LinkedIn
Andrew Pedersen, Head of Games, Yahoo
MODERATOR: TBD
2:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. (Vista Studio East) fireside chat
Navigating independence
In 2026, Undead Labs went from a first-party Xbox studio to an independent, employee-owned company, all while keeping State of Decay 3 in active development and in front of players. Studio Head Philip Holt led the team through a divestiture, a management buyout, and difficult decisions about the size and shape of the studio, much of it in public view.
In this session, Holt shares what that period taught him about leading when the ground is moving underneath you. He’ll cover why he chose candor with his team over managed messaging, what it meant to name the studio’s new ownership vehicle Full Measure, and how shared ownership changes the conversation about commitment and accountability. He’ll also discuss keeping a player community engaged and a live campaign on track while the company behind it was being rebuilt.
Attendees will leave with a practical, unvarnished view of leading people, product, and players through structural change.
Philip Holt, Studio Head, Undead Labs
MODERATOR: Tim Morten, Co-founder & CEO, Frost Giant Studios
2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (Pacific Hall) fireside chat
Full Throttle: Corsair on Gaming, Content Creators and Sim Racing
Thi La, CEO of Corsair, and Michael Metzger, Managing Partner at Drake Star, will talk about the next wave of innovation in gaming peripherals, the solid growth of the creator community, sim racing’s rise into the mainstream, and how AI is reshaping PC gaming. They will also discuss the industry’s key growth segments and how Corsair approaches partnerships, investments, and acquisitions to grow its portfolio.
Thi La, CEO, Corsair
MODERATOR: Michael Metzger, Managing Partner, Drake Star Partners
2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (Landmark Library) roundtable
What Can the Game Industry Learn from UGC Developers
UGC platforms allow small teams to achieve massive scale with minimal funding, creating a new generation of developers designing from a different playbook. What does that mean for the future of the games and entertainment industry?
Evan Zirschky, Founder, Turning Tables Games
Saxs Persson, VP, Horizon, Meta
Maureen Fan, CEO & Co-founder, Baobab Studios
2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (Vista Studio West) fireside chat
Building for decades, not daily engagement
Much of the industry is focused on maximizing short-term engagement and retention. ArenaNet has long taken a different approach, dating back to the original Guild Wars and its decision to buck the prevailing MMO model by launching without a required monthly subscription. That philosophy continues today: ArenaNet is focused on building fans for life, not worrying about keeping players attached to a game 100% of the time. It gives players the confidence to step away, live their lives, play something else, and come back when they’re ready, with that long-term relationship shaping everything from game design and player experience to the business model.
And that approach is working. The franchise has built a passionate community over more than two decades. The original Guild Wars is still receiving major updates today, Guild Wars 2 remains highly active, and Guild Wars 3 is now in full development. Excitement for what comes next is also high, with Guild Wars 3 emerging from Summer Game Fest as one of the event’s most-wishlisted upcoming games, demonstrating the appetite ArenaNet has built for the franchise across generations of players.
Colin Johanson, Studio Head, ArenaNet
MODERATOR: Rachel Kaser, News Writer, GamesBeat
2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (Vista Studio East) solo
The Future of Co-Development: How We Build Games Next
As game development spans more studios, disciplines, and borders, how must the way we work evolve? Streamline CEO and co-founder Alexander Fernandez explores how distributed teams can operate as one accountable production system. Drawing on 25 years of experience, he examines the role of AI and global talent, why human judgment remains essential, and what studios and publishers must change to make collaboration work. A practical look at game-development orchestration, grounded in production realities and lessons from the Global South and beyond.
Alex Fernandez, CEO of Streamline Studios
3:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (Pacific Hall) panel
Beyond the screen: Hollywood and the next interactive economy
Spatial Computing transforms Hollywood from a place audiences watch into a world they can enter, interact with, and experience. Through Hollywood 3.0 & the Hollyverse physical locations and digital environments converge into new phygital experiences. This creates an interactive economy where entertainment, events, gaming, commerce, advertising and live experiences become interconnected. The result is a new Hollywood ecosystem where places, stories, audiences and technology become monetizable experiences.
Evo Heyning, Founder, Realitycraft
Jackie Cooper, Co-founder, CG Pro
Athena Demos, Co-founder & CEO, Big Rock Creative
MODERATOR: Shawn Barrett, VP Experiential Design & Partnership Activations, TCL Chinese Theatres
3:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (Vista Studio East) panel
AI in external game development: the good, bad and ugly
This panel will focus on the day-to-day reality of using AI tools while working with studio partners to make games through external development..
MODERATOR: Tammy McDonald, Games Industry Executive
Patrick Sweeney, Partner & Founder, IE Law Group
Mihai Pohontu, CEO, Amber
Alex Fernandez, CEO & Co-founder, Streamline Media Group
Ryan Wiancko, Founder & CEO, Ironbelly Studios
3:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (Vista Studio West) panel
How UGC is blurring the line between traditional creator and game developer
As borders blur between user-generated content platforms and social media, creators on both sides of the divide are leveraging the opportunity, with traditional creators using their platforms as a springboard for game development studios and UGC game makers embracing their roles as the creators and influencers in a new media landscape. In this panel, creators with experience across Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft will share their thoughts and insights on how UGC creators are increasingly straddling the line between traditional creators/influencers and game makers — and how they are taking advantage of this phenomenon
Lachlan “Lachyz” McCurdy, co-founder, YapMaps
Noah “ZyroMC” Woodfine, co-founder, Chartis
Anne “TheMyzta” Shoemaker, founder, Fullflower Studio
MODERATOR: Alex Lee, Lead News Writer, GamesBeat
3:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Pacific Hall) fireside chat
Your players are your greatest marketers. Are you giving them the right tools?
As game discovery increasingly relies on player-generated content, ordinary gamers play a larger role than ever in shaping the public identity and commercial success of the games they love, making it imperative for developers and publishers to take advantage of this enthusiasm. In this fireside chat, Medal VP of gaming and revenue Alexandra Takei will explore how game makers can more intentionally incorporate player-generated clips into their development and marketing strategies, from designing games with shareable moments in mind to building clipping tools, creator programs, and community-driven campaigns. Drawing on emerging examples of developers embracing player-generated content, the conversation will examine how game makers can turn everyday gameplay moments into powerful marketing opportunities.
Alexandra Takei, VP, Platform Revenue & Games, Medal
MODERATOR: Alex Lee, Lead News Writer, GamesBeat
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Landmark Library) private session
GB MAX Private Editorial Roundtable: What’s Next for the $200B Interactive Economy?
GB MAX roundtable AMA in an intimate boardroom style. GamesBeat’s writers talk with GB MAX members about their views of the gaming world and journalism. This is a session for VIP pass holders for the event, including GB MAX premium members.
At GamesBeat NEXT, these VIPs will get access to an exclusive GB MAX Editorial Roundtable — a boardroom-style, off-the-record AMA with our independent editorial journalists.
An intimate, interactive conversation with the journalists and key C-level executives closest to the business and the market—what they’re seeing, what’s changing, and where the industry is heading in 2027.
You’ll join fellow GB MAX premium members — a community made up of 90%+ C-level executives and senior leaders — for a private discussion on:
→ What’s next for the market in 2027
→ Business intelligence and emerging trends
→ What executives should be watching now
→ The forces shaping the next phase of the $200B interactive economy
→ Your questions, answered directly by editorial
Private. Invite-only. Off the record. Boardroom style.
GB MAX membership gives you 12 months of access to market intelligence, quarterly executive meetups, editorial roundtables, private events, and exclusive conversations like this one.
Alex Lee, Lead News Writer, GamesBeat
Rachel Kaser, News Writer, GamesBeat
Dean Takahashi, Editorial Director, GamesBeat
4:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Pacific Hall) panel
Alternative financing for games
Gaming is becoming a mature industry and there’s been a big drop in investment capital from the 2020-2022 peak. So alternative financing options are now on the rise. This panel, a follow-up on a session from GamesBeat Summit, will focus on financing methods that go beyond the previous norms. A panel of experts across different sectors of the new game financing landscape will describe key funding paths available to game startups plus practical insights on the right mix for your studio’s goals and stage.
Greg Richardson, Managing Partner, Juno Capital
Jerry Ye, Partner, Bitkraft Ventures
Boyoung Kim, partner at Tsugu Ventures
MODERATOR: Eric Goldberg, Co-founder, Playable Worlds
4:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Pacific Hall) pitch panel
GamesBeat lightning pitch
A rapid-fire live pitch session featuring emerging indie game developers and three active game investors. Selected developers will have just minutes to pitch their game before Rachel Chai of The Mini Fund, Jared Yeager of FRAME1GAMES at CAA, and Devin Maa of DENMU respond with candid, immediate feedback on what caught their attention, what questions the pitch raised, and whether they would want to take the meeting. Moderated by GamesBeat’s Rachel Heleva, the session gives founders and developers a behind-the-scenes look at how investors evaluate game pitches and what makes a project stand out in today’s funding market.
Rachel Chai, Investor & Advisor, The Mini Fund
Jared Yeager, Head of FRAME1GAMES, CAA
Devin Maa, Partner, Investment, DENMU
MODERATOR: Rachel Heleva, Events Programming Lead, GamesBeat
5:00 p.m. to 5:05 p.m.
Closing comments
Rachel Kaser, GamesBeat writer
Sponsors/partners
We’re grateful to have the support of our partners/sponsors including:
Overwolf/Tebex
Arkadium
ThinkingAI
Aghanim
Medal
Void Interactive
Miniboss
Artificial Agency
Creativ
GamesBeat event advisory board
Our GamesBeat event advisory board includes
Adam Boyes, founder of Vivrato
Lisa Cosmas Hanson, president of Niko Partners
Don Daglow, CEO of Sausalito Games
Peter Levin, managing partner, Griffin Gaming Partners
Sibel Sunar, CEO of Fortyseven
Tara Bruno, founder of Tara Bruno PR
David Hoppe, managing partner at Gamma Law
Tammy McDonald, chief business officer at Distinct Possibility Studios
Mike DeLaet, CEO of Ares Interactive
Noah Falstein, director of experience design at George Lucas Educational Foundation
Mike Vorhaus, founder of Vorhaus Advisors
Eric Goldberg, cofounder of Playable Worlds
Michael Metzger, managing partner at Drake Star Partners
Elizabeth Olson, owner of Strategic Marketing
Perrin Kaplan, cofounder of Zebra Partners
Sarah Anderson, former chief marketer at Amazon Games
Maureen Fan, CEO of Baobab
Gordon Bellamy, professor of the Practice of Cinematic Arts, Interactive Media & Games at the University of Southern California
Cooper Jackson, SVP of business development at EA
Susan Cummings, CEO of 10six Games
Jeane Wong, CEO One PR
Alexander Fernandez, CEO of Streamline Studios
Jonathan Knight, senior vice president and head of games at the New York Times
Kate Edwards, CEO of Geogrify
Susanna Pollack, president of Games for Change
Jeff Karp, independent adviser and board member; former exec at Zynga, EA and more
Jay-Ann Lopez, founder and CEO of Black Girl Gamers
Moonlit Beshimov, Head of Gaming & Apps, Strategic Partnerships and Industry Solutions
Joost van Dreunen, assistant adjust professor at NYU Stern School of Business
Mobile Mogul Awards judges
Our judges for the Mobile Mogul Awards include:
Careen Yapp, chief strategic partnerships director at Embracer Group
Jeff Karp, independent director and adviser, former mobile gaming exec at Zynga, EA etc.
Dean Takahashi, editorial director at GamesBeat
Gina Joseph, CEO at GamesBeat
Alex Lee, lead news writer at GamesBeat
Rachel Kaser, GamesBeat writer
Moonlit Beshimov, Head of Gaming & Apps, Strategic Partnerships and Industry Solutions
Erika Winterholler, head of business development for digital gaming at Mattel
Scott Koenigsberg, CPO at Zynga
Jules Shumaker, chief business officer at Discord
Steven Chiang, president at Fortis Games
Nick Earl, former CEO of Glu Mobile, current board member at SciPlay and Powerlaw
Community partners
Our community partners include:
AGSC.gg
The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (GEMA)
Black in Gaming Foundation
Games for Change
Games for Love
IGDA Foundation
Video Game Bar Association
Moms in Gaming
WIGI
Women X AI
Women-led Games
ThinkLA
BAFTA
Firstboard.io
Zebra Partners
Latinx in Gaming
Midwest Games
Pocket Gamer Connects
Women in Technology: Hollywood (WiTH)
Black Girl Gamers
Collegiate Games Challenge
DICE/AIAS
Finally, thanks to the GamesBeat team that has done a lot of work to make this possible.