GamesBeat Next returns to San Francisco in November 2026, bringing together CEOs, founders, CMOs, investors, and business leaders from across gaming, AI, entertainment, media, sports, and technology to examine the trends shaping the $200 billion interactive economy and the strategies that will define 2027 and beyond.
Leaders from some of the world’s largest media and platform companies will join the conversation, including Jonathan Knight, head of games at The New York Times Games, Andrew Pedersen, head of games at Yahoo, Helen Smith, head of games at LinkedIn, Jeff Gattis, general manager of games at Amazon, and Chris Stone, VOID Interactive studio general manager. More major announcements are coming soon, so stay tuned as we continue to reveal the leaders joining the conversation.
The event arrives at a pivotal moment for the industry. The launch of Grand Theft Auto VI is expected to draw unprecedented global attention to interactive entertainment, underscoring the influence of an industry that now reaches more than 3 billion players worldwide and continues to expand across every major platform. Mobile gaming now accounts for roughly half of global game revenue, while gaming increasingly intersects with AI, creator platforms, commerce, media, and emerging technologies as companies compete for consumer attention.
At the same time, the industry is facing some of its most difficult questions in years. Game companies are navigating layoffs, rising development costs, changing player expectations, and uncertainty around how AI will reshape the creative process. As new tools change how games are made, leaders are also debating how to preserve the creativity, craftsmanship, and human perspective that make interactive experiences resonate with audiences.
Those questions are central to the conversations shaping the future of games, technology, and the businesses built around interactive experiences.
“Every entertainment company, technology platform, and consumer brand is competing for the same finite resource: people’s attention,” said Dean Takahashi, editorial director of GamesBeat. “Gaming sits at the center of that competition, influencing how people play, watch, shop, socialize, and how they interact with AI. GamesBeat Next brings together leaders from across those industries to explore what’s changing, where they’re converging, and what opportunities that creates for the future of the interactive economy.”
GamesBeat Next is intentionally designed as an executive-level gathering where meaningful conversations lead to real business. By keeping attendance limited, GamesBeat creates an environment where networking is more personal, partnerships happen naturally, and many of the industry’s biggest opportunities for 2027 begin.
GamesBeat Next sold out in 2025 and is expected to sell out again. Attendance at Convene in San Francisco is strictly limited to 500 executive attendees, curated on a first-come, first-served basis to foster a high-density senior leadership environment focused on meaningful conversations and deal-making.
A limited number of Early Bird VIP passes are currently available while supplies last. GB MAX members receive first access to VIP tickets, which include full conference access, entry to the VIP Lounge, AMA roundtables with CEOs, founders, and GamesBeat editorial leadership, priority access to executive programming and curated industry discussions, on-demand session recordings, and a one-year GB MAX Premium Membership with year-round access to exclusive content, private events, and the GamesBeat executive community.
GamesBeat has opened up registration and you can now secure your VIP Pass today before Early Bird pricing ends and passes sell out.
Exploring the future of the interactive economy
GamesBeat Next is focused on the decisions, technologies, and business strategies shaping the next phase of the interactive economy. Through keynotes, interviews, and panel discussions, the event will bring together leaders from across industries to examine emerging opportunities, share perspectives, and explore how companies are building the future of digital experiences.
Sessions will explore topics including:
- The role of AI in transforming how games and interactive experiences are created, distributed, and experienced.
- How gaming technologies are expanding into industries including media, sports, healthcare, education, and retail.
- The growth of creator ecosystems, digital communities, and new forms of consumer engagement.
- How brands are approaching marketing, advertising, and commerce in interactive environments.
- The platforms, business models, and technologies shaping the next generation of entertainment.
Bringing together leaders across industries
GamesBeat Next brings together CEOs, founders, investors, and senior executives across gaming, AI, mobile, entertainment, and Fortune 500 consumer brands to set the strategy for 2027 and beyond. Leaders from major game companies, AI labs, and global media and technology platforms convene to examine how mobile-first behavior, AI-driven experiences, and platform ecosystems are reshaping how billions of people play, watch, and engage. The program focuses on the convergence of gaming, streaming, and interactive entertainment—and how these forces are redefining consumer attention, engagement, and business models across every major industry
Across our events, editorial coverage, and executive conversations, GamesBeat continues to bring together leaders from organizations including Netflix, Electronic Arts, Sony, Microsoft, OpenAI, NVIDIA, Anthropic, Paramount Global, Mattel, Warner Bros. Discovery, Amazon, Google, Meta, TikTok, YouTube, Nike, Chipotle, e.l.f. Beauty, and many others to examine the technologies, business models, and partnerships shaping the future of the interactive economy.
Special Programming
Beyond the main stage, GamesBeat NEXT features a series of curated experiences designed to foster meaningful conversations, strategic partnerships, and executive networking.
- BOSS Mode: Leading with Impact – Women in Gaming & Tech Executive Breakfast – An executive breakfast celebrating women shaping the future of gaming, AI, and the interactive economy through leadership, innovation, and meaningful industry connections.
- Private Executive Dinners – Invitation-only dinners connecting CEOs, founders, investors, and senior executives for candid conversations and relationship building.
- The BIG Show – Live recordings featuring conversations with industry leaders, innovators, and visionaries exploring the trends shaping the future of interactive entertainment.
- Executive Roundtables – Small-group, invitation-only discussions focused on the industry’s biggest opportunities and challenges, encouraging peer-to-peer dialogue and actionable insights.
- Opening Cocktail Reception – Kick off GamesBeat NEXT by connecting with fellow executives, speakers, partners, and attendees in an informal networking environment.
- Fresh Voices in Gaming Lunch – An ongoing initiative that brings together emerging voices, underrepresented leaders, and visionary thinkers to share fresh perspectives, challenge the status quo, and help shape a more inclusive and forward-thinking future for the gaming, entertainment, and tech industries.
GamesBeat Next sponsors include Overwolf, Tebex, Arkadium, ThinkingAI, VOID and Medal with more announcing soon. Community partners for GamesBeat Next include ASGC, Black Girl Gamers, Black in Gaming, Collegiate Games Challenge, Firstboard.io, Games for Change, Games for Love, IAB, Latinx in Gaming, Moms in Gaming, Midwest Games, Pocket Gamer Connects, ThinkLA, the Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (GEMA), the Video Game Bar Association, WIGI, Women in Technology: Hollywood (WiTH), Women X AI, Women-led Games, Zebra Partners, with more announcing soon.
GamesBeat would like to thank its advisors for their continued guidance in helping shape our events. Our advisor community includes Adam Boyes, founder & CEO of Vivrato; Lisa Cosmas Hanson, president of Niko Partners; Don Daglow, president & CEO of Sausalito Games; Peter Levin, GamesBeat strategic adviser and managing partner, Griffin Gaming Partners; Sibel Sunar, founder & CEO of fortyseven communications; Tara Bruno, president of Tara Bruno PR; David Hoppe, managing partner of Gamma Law; Tammy McDonald, chief business officer of Distinct Possibility Studios; Mike DeLaet, CEO of Ares Interactive; Noah Falstein, director of experience design at the George Lucas Educational Foundation; Mike Vorhaus, founder at Vorhaus Advisors; Eric Goldberg, co-founder of Playable Worlds; Michael Metzger, managing partner of Drake Star Partners; Elizabeth Olson, owner of Strategic Marketing; Perrin Kaplan, co-founder of Zebra Partners; Sarah Anderson, former chief marketer at Amazon Games; Cooper Jackson, SVP business development at Electronic Arts; and Maureen Fan, CEO and co-Founder of Baobab Studios. More advisors will be announced soon.
Additional speakers and programming details will be announced in the coming weeks. We look forward to welcoming leaders from across the interactive economy to San Francisco in November 2026.
Interested in speaking? Speaker applications are open through September 1. Apply today.
Interested in sponsoring GamesBeat Next? Connect with our Partnerships team to explore sponsorship opportunities: https://gamesbeat.com/contact/event-partnerships/