I’m pleased to announce our judges for GamesBeat’s annual Visionary Awards, which will be presented at the GamesBeat Summit 2026.
For the ninth time since 2018, our judges will vote on the candidates for the Visionary Awards. We’ll also select the winner of our Up-and-Comer Award. I’m pleased to note our judging panel includes a number of former winners.
Our criteria for the Visionary Award goes to someone who has shown vision in their career in gaming. And the Up-and-Comer Award is for someone whose accomplishments are ahead of them. The judges will nominate the winners and we’ll reveal the winners on May 19, the second day of GamesBeat Summit 2026. (You can register here; 25% off regular tickets with this code: GBS26-VISIONARY-25). The Visionary Awards are separate from the Boss Mode awards that also debut at the GamesBeat Summit to honor of women in the games industry.
And an fyi: Our speaker application deadline is nearing. You can apply to speak here.
Our judges include:
Sarah Bond, special adviser to CEO at Xbox, former president of Xbox
Rich Vogel, former studio head at T-Minus Zero Entertainment
Don Daglow, CEO of Sausalito Games, adviser, GDC lifetime achievement winner
Patricia Vance, president of Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB)
Kahlief Adams, founder of SpawnOnMe
Meggan Scavio, president of Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
Michael Pachter, managing director at Wedbush Securities
Dean Takahashi, editorial director at GamesBeatElizabeth Olson, sole proprietor at Strategic Marketing
Sibel Sunar, CEO of Fortyseven Communications
Our past winners include:
2025: Visionary Award: Patricia Vance — president of the Entertainment Software Ratings Board
Up‑and‑Comer Award: Xalavier Nelson Jr. — studio head, Strange Scaffold
2024: Visionary Award: Sam Lake — creative director at Remedy Entertainment (Alan Wake 2)
Up‑and‑Comer Award: Kahlief Adams — CEO, Spawn On Me
2023: Visionary Award: Meggan Scavio, president of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
Up and comer: Rich Vogel, former studio head at T-Minus Zero Entertainment
2022: Visionary Award: Sarah Bond — special adviser to CEO at Xbox; former president of Xbox
Up‑and‑Comer Award: Dinga Bakaba — studio director, Arkane Lyon (Bethesda)
2021: Visionary Award: Laura Miele, president of EA Entertainment and Central Development at Electronic Arts
Up‑and‑Comer Award: Natasha “ZombaeKillz” Zinda
2020: Visionary Award: John Smedley, CEO of Distinct Possibility Studios
Up-and-comer Award: Eve Crevoshay, former executive director at Take This
2019: Visionary Award: Ted Price, former CEO of Insomniac Games
2018: Visionary Award: Rand Miller, co-creator of Myst and cofounder of Cyan