GamesBeat Summit 2024 agenda: Lotsa talks on resilience and adaptation | The DeanBeat

I’m very excited to current our full agenda for our GamesBeat Summit 2024 occasion on Might 20-21 on the Marina del Rey Marriott in Los Angeles. You should use this code gbs24dean25 for a 25% low cost on tickets.

It’s my pleasure to notice that is our sixteenth annual occasion, and our theme is Resilience and Adaptation. The sport {industry} had a fairly unhealthy yr and a half in the case of 20,000 layoffs. We now have felt that ache with you at GamesBeat. However we’re so glad to have your help and an opportunity to debate what issues with you. We now have 99 audio system throughout 48 classes. About 57% come from various backgrounds.

Deciphering what’s occurring in video games

We’re all on the lookout for the concepts that may ship the following stage of development for gaming. We imagine the agora of the sport {industry} must deliver collectively the considering of our greatest minds — and maybe AIs — to determine get to the opposite aspect.

Why is that this occurring? Is that this a part of a cycle, or is there one thing structurally altering within the sport {industry}? And the way can corporations and other people be extra resilient and adapt to the change, whether or not you’re simply beginning out your profession like my daughter or guiding the destiny of tons of or 1000’s as an {industry} chief?

These are among the questions will deal with at our flagship occasion, which can as soon as once more have on the Marina del Rey Marriott. We’ll rejoice how sport skilled face this problem with innovation, creativity, resilience, group and collaboration.

Our convention will handle adapt to a quickly altering world, and can handle massive matters like GenAI, cross-media variations (video games and Hollywood), and the problem of layoffs in an {industry} that’s turning into a part of mainstream tradition. We’ll must maintain our eyes on the prize of billions extra clients on the planet whereas being cautious to not slip as we discover our footing on this downturn.

As Matthew Ball famous in a lengthy piece on the sport {industry}, gaming has robust secular tailwinds that sign good years forward. The brand new technology of children performs quite a lot of video games they usually’re changing generations that not often performed video games. Gamers are gaining access to extra platforms with entry to high quality video games.

Gaming tradition is being elevated to the mainstream, and gaming is evolving as an artwork and tech platform. Entry to high-quality gaming units continues to enhance. Gaming tradition continues to proliferate, and the artwork type of gaming continues to evolve. However these tailwinds don’t assure that yearly will see uninterrupted development, important development, or worthwhile development.

In different phrases, development isn’t assured. We now have to work at it. We’ll deliver the highest minds within the {industry} to debate these matters in an interactive format.

It takes a village

Every GamesBeat occasion begins with small steps. On February 5, I introduced our first speaker Purnendu Mukherjee, CEO of Convai, which is making AI-based non-player characters for video games and digital worlds. And 88 days later, we at the moment are almost full with our most various set of audio system ever.

Our matters embrace AI and video games, video games and Hollywood, openness, the way forward for sport engines, various internet shops, profession resilience amid layoffs, funding/acquisitions, ladies in gaming/range, digital actuality/metaverse, Web3 video games, video games for good, return to work, work equity and unionization, esports/creators, psychological well being and video games, user-generated content material, and the construction of the sport {industry}.

We respect the help of our sponsors together with Xsolla, Degree Infinite, TikTok, the Leisure Software program Affiliation, Coda, Scopely, ESL FaceIt Group, FastSpring, MetalCore, Unchained Leisure, Lightspeed, Modulate, Heroic Labs, Jam Metropolis, Earn Alliance, Restricted Run and Ludeo.

Our group companions embrace Midwest Video games, IGDA, Video games for Love, Girls-led Video games and extra. Our emcees embrace Lizzie Mintus, Zsuzsa James, Tadgh Kelly, Marie Ablaza, Elizabeth Olson and Jon Wolheim.

I’d wish to put out a name to your continued assist now as a result of we understand how robust will probably be to get folks to again our occasions and are available to them in such a troublesome atmosphere for gaming. The gaming media has struggled as properly. We aren’t proof against that, however I imagine our occasions have an actual group following and one thing particular to supply.

We may additionally use sponsor help and audio system for our different occasions, together with GamesBeat Subsequent on October 28 to October 29 in San Francisco and GamesBeat on the Sport Awards on December 12. We’ll be launching signups for these occasions as properly. Our sponsorship workforce is at gross sales@venturebeat.com.

Girls in Gaming and Range in Gaming occasions

We take the notion of group significantly. I commonly introduce sport startups to an inventory of over 50 enterprise capitalists who deal with video games. We additionally attempt to create an actual group. Our most profitable enterprise on this entrance is the Girls in Gaming Breakfast, which has been a mainstay for years. This breakfast would be the largest one we’ve ever had.

We’ll even have our second annual Range in Gaming Breakfast at this yr’s occasion. We try to deliver stability and completely different views to our classes. We hope you come to our in-person days and have interaction within the meals, networking and thought-leadership classes.

We’ll shut the occasion with our annual GamesBeat Visionary Awards, hosted by Leah Hardy, previously of TikTok and Meta — a pal of GamesBeat for years. We’ll give awards for our Visionary and our Up and Comer.

With out additional ado, right here’s who we’ll have at our GamesBeat Summit 2024 occasion.

Right here’s our full agenda for our GamesBeat Summit 2024 occasion on Might 20-21 on the Marina del Rey Marriott in Los Angeles.

Day 1 (Might 20, 2024)

12:40 pm – 12:45 pm

Emcee introduction

Lizzie Mintus, founder and CEO of Right here’s Waldo Recruiting

12:45 pm – 1:00 pm 

Intro panel

Dean Takahashi, lead author for GamesBeat
Jordan Fragen, GamesBeat author
Rachel Kaser, GamesBeat author
Mike Minotti, GamesBeat managing editor

1:00 pm to 1:10 pm

Constructing skilled resilience and flexibility

Resilient leaders, groups and organizations don’t simply occur. Caroline Stokes has labored within the sport {industry} since 1992 and is aware of anticipate and adapt to seismic market shifts. Combining neuroscience, management finest practices and an experimentation mindset, discover ways to create resilient environments to help organizational success in even probably the most difficult occasions.

Caroline Stokes, founder and govt coach at Ahead

1:10 pm to 1:20 pm

In a ‘New Regular’ period for M&A and fundraising, what are your choices?

Alina Soltys, founder and companion at Quantum Tech Companions

1:20 pm to 1:50 pm

Fireplace chat with Songyee Yoon of NCSoft

TBD description

Songyee Yoon, president and CSO of NCSoft
Moderator: Dean Takahashi

1:50 pm to 2:10 pm

VTubers: A Japanese phenomenon for constructing viewers and income

Uncover the ability of VTubers (digital YouTubers), a Japanese phenomenon that has captivated the web since 2020. This on-line presence has translated into many revenue-generating streams. You possibly can allow your characters and IPs for social media advertising, driving sport and merchandise gross sales whereas enhancing model storytelling and viewers engagement.

Jia Shen, CEO of AKA Digital

2:10 pm to 2:40 pm

Fireplace Chat with Brian Ward of Savvy Gaming Group

TBD description

Brian Ward, CEO of Savvy Gaming Group
Moderator: Lisa Cosmas Hanson, president of Niko Companions

2:40 pm to three:10 pm

New Playbooks in Gaming: From engagement to income in a D2C period

Able to shake up the gaming {industry}? It’s time to deal with the ache factors of builders who need assistance getting via robust occasions. Be part of this session to discover cutting-edge monetization methods; find out how Discord’s savvy engagement and loyalty packages are remodeling gamers into loyal followers and income streams. Step past conventional marketplaces with a dive into direct-to-consumer engagement fashions and internet shops. Get insights on navigating app retailer complexities and crafting efficient go-to-market methods in our fast-evolving panorama.

Peter Sellis, SVP of product at Discord
Rick Phillips, chief working officer at Coda
Moderator: Dean Takahashi

3:00 pm – 3:15 pm

BREAK

3:15 pm – 3:45 pm

Answering the Name: Decoding Name of Obligation’s lasting advertising success

Be part of Tyler Bahl, SVP and head of worldwide advertising at Activision, and Vanessa Chang, lead of worldwide gaming advertising, cross-platform at TikTok, for an enlightening hearth chat at GamesBeat Summit.

Embark on a journey via the ever-changing gaming panorama as we discover how Name of Obligation has maintained its place as an {industry} powerhouse. Acquire helpful insights into how the model’s tradition of creativity and experimentation has fueled its capability to retain an enormous playerbase and appeal to new audiences.

We’ll spotlight actionable takeaways that may be utilized to your personal advertising technique, impressed by Name of Obligation’s personal revolutionary strategy.

Tyler Bahl, senior vp and head of selling at Activision 
Moderator: Vanessa Chang, head of worldwide gaming enterprise advertising, cross-platform video games at TikTok

3:45 pm – 4:15 pm

Is now the time to launch D2C funds for cell video games?

As lawsuits and rules stress Apple and Google to additional open their cell ecosystems to direct-to-consumer (D2C) distribution and funds for sport builders, publishers world wide are questioning: Is now the proper time to increase into D2C?

On this panel, moderator David Vogelpohl, CMO at FastSpring, a D2C fee platform for video video games, interviews three industry-leading panelists about their ideas on cell D2C lawsuits & rules, what’s allowed & wanted to achieve D2C at this time, and the way forward for open computing & gaming.

Stephen McArthur, founding legal professional at The MacArthur Regulation Agency
Adam Lieb, CEO and founding father of Gamesight
Liam Broza, metaverse know-how influencer, open computing advocate, and CTO of Infinite Actuality
Moderator: David Vogelpohl, CMO at FastSpring

4:15 pm – 4:45 pm

Lightspeed Sport Changers

TBD description

Moritz Baier-Lentz, companion at Lightspeed Enterprise Companions
Chris Bell, cofounder and CEO of Gardens Interactive
Sophia Xing, product administration and information science lead at Inworld AI

4:45 pm – 5:30 pm

Roundtable 1 – Embracing neurodiversity: Cultivating inclusive work environments

Be part of Mark Chandler and Jason Docton for an insightful dialogue on embracing neurodiversity within the office, the place he’ll share private experiences and actionable methods for creating inclusive insurance policies that help people, whether or not they’re managers navigating groups or staff navigating their careers.

Mark Chandler, founding father of TIGS
Jason Docton, founding father of Rise Above the Dysfunction

Roundtable 2 – Constructing organizational resilience

On this collaborative session, leaders are invited to share their experiences of making resilient groups and organizations for a optimistic impression on the underside line throughout robust financial occasions. This roundtable is a win-win: Overlaying areas together with expertise retention, innovation, and development, you’ll study from different leaders and collect key, actionable ideas to take again to your workforce. On the identical time, you’ll assist encourage others to construct a extra sustainable firm and {industry} for everybody to prosper.

Caroline Stokes, founder and govt coach at Ahead

Roundtable 3 – A dialog about choices in at this time’s ‘New Regular’ period for M&A and fundraising

TBD description

Alina Soltys, founder and companion at Quantum Tech Companions

Roundtable 4 – Leveraging exterior growth to construct video games that meet the wants of at this time’s gamers

The video games {industry} is quickly evolving, pushed by the altering wants of youthful generations, the evolution of video games as a platform, and the expansion of latest gaming locations. This usually equates to increased budgets and extra scalability in resourcing. Builders are increasing their work with service suppliers and freelance expertise to ship video games that meet the wants of at this time’s gamers. This Roundtable will drive dialog across the altering exterior growth panorama, how corporations are unlocking the freelance expertise goldmine, the ups and downs of working with exterior companions, and finest practices in constructing wonderful video games with exterior studios.

Jason Harris, chief business officer at Devoted Studios
Cindy Airey, vp of enterprise growth at Devoted Studios

Roundtable 5 – Title TBD

TBD description

Alena Alambeigi, vp of selling and digital publishing at Restricted Run Video games

5:30 pm – 6:30 pm

Reception

8:00pm

Dinner

Day 2 (Might 21, 2024)

8:30 am – 9:50 am

Girls in Gaming breakfast: How gaming is driving optimistic world change (Sponsored by Xsolla)

Throughout occasions like these, it’s straightforward to deal with the unfavorable. But, many organizations and builders are specializing in how their initiatives and video games could make the most important social impression world wide. What are organizations doing to make sure continued momentum on the social impression entrance? How can core techniques (i.e. sport engines, others) assist speed up and amplify the impression that sport builders can have with their video games? As a sport developer, what decisions or sacrifices have to be made to stability survival with social good?

Jen Premisler, MasterCard
Bryna Dabby Smith, CEO of Brass Lion Leisure
Susanna Pollack, president of Video games for Change
Moderator: Rachel Kaser, GamesBeat author

9:50 am – 9:55 am

Emcee welcome

Zsuzsa James, senior commerce commissioner on the Consulate Basic of Finland in LA

9:55 am – 10:00 am

Opening intro

Mike Minotti, GamesBeat managing editor

10:00 am – 10:30 am

TBD panel description

Ron Scott, Xsolla
Moderator: David Stelzer, president at Xsolla

10:00 am – 10:30 am in ROOM 2

Esports: The facility of rising the group

With 3.3 billion avid gamers worldwide, the video video games {industry} is price an estimated $184 billion. In a market more and more pushed by engagement and retention, it’s extra essential than ever to ship distinctive experiences and construct sustainable communities. 

Esports not solely provides core gamers extra alternatives to compete, watch, and win of their favourite titles but additionally serves as a confirmed technique for publishers to develop their viewers round a title.

Be part of ESL FACEIT Group’s Chief Technique Officer, Mike Sepso and Digital Arts’ Senior Director of Esports Model & Advertising, Monica Dismore, for an insightful dialog on the worth proposition of esports as an engagement and retention instrument, the significance of constructing generational fandom, and deliver communities collectively via a related expertise.

Mike Sepso, chief technique officer, ESL FACEIT Group
Monica Dinsmore, senior director of esports model and advertising, Digital Arts
Moderator: Jordan Fragen, GamesBeat author

10:30 am – 11:00 am

Fostering group in video games throughout difficult occasions

Alex Gombos, Christina-Marie Drake, and Amir Satvat talk about efficient methods and key insights for uniting avid gamers throughout, arguably, probably the most troublesome interval the {industry} has confronted. Uncover actionable takeaways you can apply to your personal profession and group to construct a resilient video games group.

Amir Satvat, enterprise growth director at Tencent
Alex Gombos, former recruiting supervisor at PlayStation
Christina-Marie Drake, former recruiter at Naughty Canine
Moderator: Sarah Parvini, former employees author on the Los Angeles Occasions

10:30 am – 11:00 am in ROOM 2 

Gaming’s Rising Stars: Builders constructing companies on Roblox

Discovering the proper viewers, tight growth timelines, challenges constructing for a number of platforms, layoffs and excessive prices are plaguing the gaming {industry}. Amid this sea of unhealthy information, there are some vivid spots, and making video games on the Roblox platform is certainly one of them. Among the builders on the platform are the entrepreneurs of a brand new technology. On this session, three main studio heads will delve into constructing a profitable enterprise on the UGC platform. They’ll share frequent challenges and confirmed options, discover their creation playbooks on constructing the following massive hit, and talk about monetization alternatives to increase your small business into the world of Roblox.

Clarence Maximillian, founder at Maximillian Studios
Anne Shoemaker, founder and sport designer at Fullflower Studio
RynityRift, Roblox UGC creator
Moderator: Dean Takahashi

11:00 am – 11:30 am

Constructing higher video games and a video games enterprise

TBD panel description

Ed Fries, founding father of 1UP Ventures
Mike Morhaime, CEO of Dreamhaven
Moderator: Eric Goldberg, cofounder of Playable Worlds

11:00 am – 11:30 am in ROOM 2 

Fireplace Chat with Kim Kunes of Microsoft

TBD description

Kim Kunes, GM of Xbox belief and security at Microsoft
Moderator: Rachel Kaser, GamesBeat author

11:30 am – 12:00 pm

TBD hearth chat

Carter Huffman, CTO at Modulate

11:30 am – 12:00 pm in ROOM 2

AI and video games

TBD panel description

Purnendu Mukherjee, founder and CEO at Convai
Marguerite deCourcelle, CEO at Blockade Labs
Moderator: Ghaith Mahmood, companion and co-chair of Video Sport and Esports and lead of AI Process Drive Follow, Latham & Watkins

12:00 pm – 12:30 pm

Small Screens, Large Enterprise: Scopely leaders talk about the highway to cell sport success

Be part of Scopely executives Walter Driver (co-CEO), Javier Ferreira (co-CEO), and Tim O’Brien (Chief Income Officer) for a vigorous dialog on the journey of constructing a number one world video games enterprise. Now the highest cell video games firm within the U.S., Scopely is recent off an unimaginable development yr – which included launching the No. 1 sport of 2023 with Monopoly Go! debuting cross-platform variations of hit get together royale title Stumble Guys, persevering with to innovate long-time beloved franchises corresponding to Star Trek Fleet Command and Marvel Strike Drive, and getting acquired for a record-breaking $4.9B. However Scopely’s path to success has been something however linear. Hear from the corporate’s high executives on the teachings discovered over the previous decade, pivotal choices that unlocked new alternatives, and the way they’ve created a tradition that embraces failure to drive the way forward for play ahead.

Walter Driver, co-CEO of Scopely
Javier Ferreira, co-CEO of Scopely
Tim O’Brien, CRO at Scopely
Moderator: Dean Takahashi

12:00 pm -12:30 pm in ROOM 2

The courageous new frontier of gaming: UEFN and different rising platforms

Alex Seropian was the cofounder of Bungie and waded into the deep finish of triple-A video games with Halo. He has had a protracted profession in gaming and every time has been deliberate about his subsequent transfer. He moved into cell shooter video games with Industrial Toys. And now his Look North World sport startup is concentrated on UEFN video games, Epic’s Fortnite platform for creators/UGC. Yon Raz-Fridman, CEO of Supersocial, will quiz Seropian about this journey and speak about his personal contrasting deal with making completely different sorts of video games on Roblox.

Alex Seropian, CEO of Look North World
Moderator: Yon Raz-Fridman, CEO of Supersocial

12:30 pm – 1:30 pm

Range & Inclusion in Video games: Actions converse louder than phrases (Sponsored by the Leisure Software program Affiliation)

ESA senior vp of communications and public affairs Aubrey Quinn will lead a panel dialogue with representatives from ESA member corporations the place they’ll share examples of how they’re creating extra inclusive video games for a various participant group, and exhibiting up for an more and more various workforce.

Farah Sutton, director of range and inclusion (D&I) at Riot Video games
Amy Lazarus, director of participant inclusion and product fairness at Digital Arts
Moderator: Aubrey Quinn, senior vp, communications and public affairs on the Leisure Software program Affiliation

12:30pm – 1:30pm

Roundtable – AI and UGC in video games

Many executives within the sport {industry} hope that AI would be the silver bullet that helps scale back prices. Is AI the silver bullet? This roundtable might be a vigorous dialogue that explores the present state of AI in sport growth, what the long run holds, the IP authorized battles that may emerge, and what efficiencies could be gained through the use of AI in sport growth at this time and sooner or later. Will we see the workforce sizes in growth go down over time? What impression will it have on UGC?

Wealthy Vogel, founder and studio head at T-Minus Zero

1:30 pm – 2:00 pm

Fireplace Chat with Warren Spector of OtherSide Leisure

TBD description

Warren Spector, chief artistic officer at OtherSide Leisure
Moderator: Dan “Shoe” Hsu, former editor-in-chief at GamesBeat

1:30 pm – 2:00 pm in ROOM 2

TBD panel identify

TBD description

Perkins Miller, CEO of Fandom
Larry Hryb, a.okay.a Main Nelson, former director of programming for the Microsoft gaming community Xbox Reside
Moderator: Mike Minotti, GamesBeat managing editor

2:00 pm – 2:30 pm

The way forward for Web3 video games: Retention, discovery and bridging to the mainstream

TBD panel description

Joseph Cooper, CEO at Earn Alliance
Dan Nikolaides, CTO at Studio369 
Canaan Linder, CEO of Stardust
Moderator: Jason Nelson, know-how reporter for Decrypt Media

2:00 pm – 2:30 pm in ROOM 2

TBD hearth chat

2:30 pm – 3:00 pm

Redefining “massively” in MMOs: What number of gamers can you slot in a web based multiplayer sport

TBD description

Mark Jacobs, CEO of Unchained Leisure
Rashid Mansoor, CEO of Meta Gravity

2:30 pm – 3:00 pm in ROOM 2

The way forward for sport discovery

14,532 Steam video games, 834 Sony PS5 video games, 631 Microsoft XboxOne video games, and 1,185 Nintendo Swap video games. That’s the by platform breakdown of the variety of PC and console video games launched into {the marketplace} in 2023. Was your studio’s sport amongst them? Did gamers discover your sport? How did they discover it? A panel of gaming specialists and innovators talk about the evolution of sport discovery – what’s working, what isn’t and the way finest to achieve your gamers in 2024.

Craig Mitchell, vp of selling at Warner Bros. Discovery
Asaf Gazit, CEO of Ludeo
Moderator: Yoshio Osaki, president of IDG Consulting

3:00 pm to three:30 pm

BREAK

3:30 pm – 4:00 pm

The evolving construction of the video games {industry}

TBD panel description

Steve Chiang, president at Fortis Video games
Tim Morten, CEO of Frost Large Studios
Sibel Sunar, Fortyseven Communications
Lucy Hoffman, COO of Carry1st

3:30 pm – 4:00 pm in ROOM 2

TBD panel description

4:00 pm – 4:30 pm

Hollywood and Video games

TBD description

Derek Douglas, head of video video games at CAA and investor at Join Ventures
Maureen Fan, CEO of Baobab Studios
Josh Yguado, CEO of Jam Metropolis

4:00 pm – 4:30 pm in ROOM 2

Fireplace Chat with Marc Whitten of Unity

TBD description

Marc Whitten, chief product and know-how officer at Unity
Moderator: Mike Vorhaus, CEO of Vorhaus Advisors

4:30 pm to five:00 pm

GamesBeat Visionary Awards

TBD description

Host: Leah Hardy, world advertising chief

Dialog room agenda

Emcee: Elizabeth Olson

10:00 am – 10:30 am

TBD description

Dom Cole, co-founder of Left Fielder Media
Sheloman Byrd, chief operations officer at Streamline Media Group

10:30 am – 11:00 am

TBD description

Alexey Menshikov, CEO of Beatshapers

11:00 am – 11:30 am

TBD Lucy Hoffman

11:30 am – 12:00 pm

From Developer to Distributor: How one can break away from the platforms

Everybody’s speaking about internet outlets and various funds. However the fact is, direct-to-consumer isn’t a brand new development in gaming – Riot, Epic and others have been main the way in which for years. On this discuss, you’ll get insider info on how Riot constructed and grew League of Legends’ first-party distribution technique – which supplies them full entry and possession to their most engaged customers (with out having to pay Steam, Apple, or Google a cent). That features their customized launcher, Arcane, and main world esports franchises. Regardless of when you’re a PC or cell sport developer, Riot’s D2C technique is one you’ll wish to hear and apply to your personal sport.

Archie Stonehill, head of product at Stash

12:00 pm – 12:30 pm

TBD description

Susan Cummings, CEO of Tiny Insurgent Video games
Tipatat Chennavasin, normal companion of Enterprise Actuality Fund

12:30 pm

LUNCH BREAK

1:30 pm – 2:00 pm

Unions in gaming

TBD description

Jakin Vela, govt director of the IGDA
Zeke Alton, voice and on-camera actor, activist, SAG-AFTRA Interactive Media Settlement Negotiating Committee Member

2:00 pm – 2:30 pm

Rethinking the Engine: Godot – A robust various for contemporary studios

This session explores Godot, the quickly rising open-source engine that’s attracting main studios. Uncover its advantages: flexibility, possession, and cost-efficiency in comparison with conventional choices. We’ll delve into Godot’s thriving group and its evolution into an expert powerhouse.

Pablo Selener, managing director of W4 Video games

2:30 pm – 3:00 pm

Distant work

TBD description

Jing Wang, VP of product at Fortis
Kevin Hovestad, founder at Blue Sky

3:00 pm

BREAK

3:30 pm – 4:00 pm

Paving the way in which for the following technology of sport builders

TBD description

Jim Huntley, affiliate professor and head of selling for USC Video games
Moderator: Rachel Kaser, GamesBeat author