GDC Festival of Gaming to Unite Today’s Games Industry and Shape What’s Next

A Reimagined GDC, Designed for the Entire Ecosystem to Connect and Learn, Brings a Weeklong Festival of Gaming to San Francisco Filled with Discovery and Celebration

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–It’s time to change the game. GDC Festival of Gaming will welcome the global B2B games ecosystem to San Francisco in March 2026, marking a bold reimagining and expansion of the world’s premier games industry event.

GDC Festival of Gaming is a transformed event to meet today’s broader, interconnected games industry, bringing together game-makers, publishers, distributors, investors, founders, technologists, toolmakers, marketers, educators, and media in a single week of game-changing connection, discovery, and learning. Built on the storied legacy of the original Game Developers Conference, the debut of GDC Festival of Gaming coincides with the event’s 40th edition. The Festival offers the same market-defining rigor and depth that has long made GDC essential, now amplified with exciting new perspectives and powerful pathways for collaboration across every stage of a game’s lifecycle.

“In a time of great change, we can build walls or build bridges — and the game industry has always thrived by coming together,” said Mark DeLoura, GDC’s Executive Director of Innovation and Growth. “The GDC Festival of Gaming strengthens those connections, celebrating creativity and supporting everyone who brings games to life, from napkin sketch to global launch.”

Informed and inspired by feedback from the community and across the ecosystem, GDC Festival of Gaming is an industry celebration across five days, with nightly activities, and offerings for everyone from all corners of the industry, with redesigned formats that move creativity, businesses and careers forward.

“We are excited to reveal the blueprint for GDC Festival of Gaming, celebrating the vital interconnection between creators, leaders, and partners that drive the industry forward.” said Nina Brown, President of GDC. “This new era is rooted in dialogue with our community. And it’s only the beginning.”

Here’s a peek at what’s new and why it matters:

• Designed for Networking
  
  The need to connect across the industry is now more critical than ever. Match in the app before you land. Set up time in the lounges. Jump into Speed Networking. Tap the citywide GDC Affiliate Program. Senior leaders can use GamePlan for facilitated, high-intent 1:1s that spark partnerships and deals. GDC Festival of Gaming becomes a can’t-miss hub for meeting the right people and building lasting opportunities.
  
  

• Festival Hall, Reimagined for Discovery
  
  Open Wednesday–Friday, the Hall is organized into five neighborhoods: Game Development, Future Tech, Indie & Education, International, Monetization & Player Engagement. Each features demos, micro-sessions, and places to sit down and talk. Faster paths to your people and your next partner.
  
  

• Unified Content Program Across Five Days
  
  GDC Festival of Gaming offers attendees a full week content journey. Contemporary content design emphasizes cross-disciplinary learning and collaboration, while maintaining GDC’s world-class standard. The new program goes beyond discipline-specific learning for game makers, with content for executives, marketers, independent studios, investors, founders, product managers, performers, external development agencies, and all others who play a role in fueling the interconnected ecosystem. Alongside legendary postmortems, technical sessions and pioneering advocacy, expect interactive content all week that connects disciplines and opens commercial doors through the reimagined summits, specialty series, mixers, workshops, fireside chats, forums, roundtables and demos.
  
  

• GamePlan (invite-only; Game Changer Pass required)
  
  The Festival’s deal engine. Brings qualified executives, decision-makers, and innovators together for pre-scheduled, facilitated 1:1 meetings that move business forward, building new customer and partner relationships, reconnecting with key contacts, generating leads, pitching ideas, exploring funding, evaluating emerging tech, and engaging with media.
  
  

• Luminaries Speaker Series (requires Game Changer Pass)
  
  A three-day, executive-level program at the Blue Shield of California Theater at YBCA, delivered by influential voices across games and adjacent industries. Strategy over tactics for leaders setting portfolios, roadmaps, and budgets.
  
  

• GDC Nights
  
  Every night, Monday-Thursday, the Festival delivers a true celebration of our industry, including an Opening Night Social Mixer, Austin Wintory’s Developer’s Concert, the Independent Games Festival (IGF) Awards, and the Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA). Music, mixers, and shared moments that keep the conversation – and the community – going all week.
  

• New Pass Structure, More Value:
  • Festival Pass — Full week access to world-class sessions, Festival Hall, networking programs, and nightly celebrations – at a price 45% lower than 2025’s All-Access.

  • Game Changer Pass — Everything in our Festival Pass, plus premium seating and lounges, fast-track entry to keynotes/concerts/awards, access to the Luminaries Speaker Series, eligibility for GamePlan, and GDC Vault access.

  • Digital Pass — Online-only networking during the event and on-demand GDC Vault access after.

  • Application-based options – Support for early stage indies, start-ups, and academia so more of the ecosystem can be part of the week.

GDC Festival of Gaming takes place March 9-13, 2026 in and around San Francisco’s Moscone Center. Registration is open now at the newly relaunched gdconf.com.

For a deeper dive into what attendees can expect at the GDC Festival of Gaming, please visit the newly relaunched GDC Festival of Gaming website, or subscribe to regular updates via LinkedIn, Facebook, X or BlueSky. Official photos are available via the Official GDC Flickr account: www.flickr.com/photos/officialgdc/.

About GDC Festival of Gaming

GDC Festival of Gaming is the world’s largest professional game industry event with market-defining content for programmers, artists, producers, game designers, audio professionals, business decision makers and others involved in the development of interactive games and immersive experiences. GDC brings together the global game industry community year-round through events and digital media, including GDC Vault, GameDeveloper.com, Independent Games Festival, and the Game Developers Choice Awards.

GDC is organized by Informa PLC, a leading B2B information services group and one of the leading B2B Events organizers in the world. To learn more and for the latest news and information visit www.informa.com.

Contacts

fortyseven communications

Hiro Ito

gdcpress@fortyseven.com