Events
Introducing GDC Festival of Gaming.
A transformation of the GDC you know and love, reimagined to include the entire games ecosystem, from design and code to publishing, investment, and marketing. If you make games, welcome home.
And now, one pass gives you the FULL GDC experience—at a better value than ever before. New pass structure, more access, no trade-offs.
IGDA Community saves 10% on tickets with the code IGDA10
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Same World-Class Content, But MORE
Expanding the tent doesn’t mean lowering the bar. Held to the same high technical standards, you’ll now find:
New formats
Broader topics
Content for every discipline & every role
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2026 Session Highlights
* ‘Balatro’ Community Playbook: From Launch to Letting Go *
Emma Smith-Bodie (Community Manager, Playstack)
Learn how to foster loyalty, spark genuine conversation, and recognize when your players are ready to lead. You will leave with actionable strategies and a new perspective on community building, one where stepping back is the ultimate sign of success.
* Constructive Destruction: Fusing Voxel Tech and 3D Action Platforming in ‘Donkey Kong Bananza’ *
Kenta Motokura (Producer, Nintendo Co., Ltd.)
Tatsuya Kurihara (Programmer, Nintendo Co., Ltd.)
Oh, Banana! Developers Kenta Motokura and Tatsuya Kurihara discuss how they brought Donkey Kong gameplay into 3D with the Donkey Kong Bananza game on the Nintendo Switch 2 system. Stemming from their experience developing Super Mario Odyssey, the developers will peel back the layers of their game design approach for Donkey Kong Bananza and dig into how DK’s action-platforming world incorporates voxel technology and destruction-based gameplay where virtually everything in sight can be destroyed.
* Designing POIs (Points of Interest) for ‘The Outer Worlds 2’: Visual, Psychology, and Intuition *
Dan Qiao (Staff Area Designer, Obsidian Entertainment)
Learn how to design visually guided, player-centric levels and Points of Interest by combining player psychology, design affordance, and shape language. Using examples from The Outer Worlds 2, this talk offers actionable strategies for crafting POIs that support narrative, reinforce mechanics, and guide players through environments using cues and visual motifs.
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Cost:
Free
Venue: