Join Transform 2021 this July 12-16. Register for the AI occasion of the year.
GamesBeat Summit 2021 is a digital on line-only occasion taking location on April 28 and April 29 as our third virtual conference in a year.
We’re hunting forward to having with each other in the physical globe or in the metaverse one day, but in the meantime, we’ve discovered how to provide a superior expertise with an on line occasion.
I’ve integrated the complete agenda under and will update it as we fill in the final names. We’ve got 87 speakers at the moment and 45 of them — about 52% — come from diverse backgrounds. We’ve got best speakers like Bobby Kotick of Activision Blizzard, Phil Spencer of Microsoft, and Laura Miele of Electronic Arts. And we have other individuals you haven’t heard about who are creating a distinction in the ranks.
This is our most diverse occasion ever, and it will be the initial one with a member of the U.S. Congress — Yvette Clarke, Democrat from New York’s 9th District. She will join Stanley Pierre-Louis of the Entertainment Software Association and Laila Shabir, CEO of Girls Make Games for a speak on the significance of STEAM (science, technologies, engineering, art, and math) education for gaming.
We’ve also confirmed our great emcees Kahlief Adams of Spawn on Me and Andrea Rene of What’s Good Games. Rene will moderate our second annual Women in Gaming Breakfast with speakers that contain Samantha Ryan of Electronic Arts and Brenda Romero of Romero Games.
Since our final post, we’ve added a lot of speakers such as Karthik Bala of Velan Studios, Samir Agili of Tilting Point, tech futurist Cathy Hackl, Ken Martin of GreenPark Sports, Kimberly Voll of the Fair Play Alliance, James Zhang of Fifth Era and Concept Art House, Tim O’Brien of Scopely, Amir Rahimi of Scopely, Eric Seufert of Mobile Game Dev Memo, former NBCUniversal Games head Chris Heatherly, Jon Radoff of Beamable, Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities, Tammy McDonald, and Gabby Dizon of Yield Guild Games.
Diversity, inclusion, and mental wellness challenges are going to be massive subjects for discussion. And we’ll discover how games can retain their historic development going and at the identical time discover new components of the small business such as blockchain and nonfungible tokens, the post-IDFA globe, augmented and virtual reality, and the metaverse. Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities will open with a speak on the explosion of possibilities that come from obtaining an unprecedented quantity of dollars coming into the business by means of investments, public offerings, and acquisitions.
We want to continue our reputation as the most intimate gaming occasion exactly where small business meets passion. Our occasion will contain fireside chats, panels, and modest-group roundtables. We’ll provide Q&A sessions for VIP attendees, and a way for attendees to network with every other and make new connections. We have a wide variety of partners such as the International Game Developers Association and Women in Gaming International. And our sponsors contain Lego Ventures, Anzu, Xsolla, Jam City, Adjust, Accenture, Rogue Games, Epic Games, Scopely, Singtel, the Entertainment Software Association, Wildlife, Perforce, Outfit7, and more.
For attendees, you will be having invitations to join applying the e mail you used to register. If you upgrade to VIP, you will be capable to join factors like our GamesBeat Slack (which we’ve currently began), one-on-one meetings in Grip, roundtables, and our Zoom Q&A sessions with our speakers.
Day one (April 28, 2021)
8 a.m.
Tutorial for watching and participating in the occasion
8:10 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.
Introduction
Emcee Kahlief Adams, Spawn on Me
Dean Takahashi of GamesBeat
8:30 a.m. – 8:40 a.m.
Gaming’s time to shine
Michael Pachter, managing director at Wedbush Securities and an analyst for the games business for 20 years, will speak about
what it implies to have so a lot dollars coming into the game small business at all levels.
Michael Pachter, Wedbush Securities
8:40 a.m – 9:00 a.m.
Scaling creativity by means of the Scopely Operating System
Join Scopely Chief Business Officer Aaron Loeb and moderator Dean Takahashi for a conversation on how game firms can maximize creativity amongst quickly expanding worldwide teams.
Aaron Loeb, Scopely
Moderator: Dean Takahashi, GamesBeat
9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Enabling the next generation of leaders
Game director Brenda Romero of Romero Games and technical director Sushama Chakraverty of Prodigy Education examine the function of leadership in the game business by means of the lens of their personal intertwining careers.
Brenda Romero, Romero Games
Moderator: Sushama Chakraverty, Prodigy Education
9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Diving into digital humans with Epic Games
Join Vladimir Mastilovic and Paul Doyle of Epic Games and Wanda Meloni of M2 Insights for a discussion on the evolution of digital humans and how MetaHuman Creator simplifies the creation of distinctive, convincing digital humans.
Paul Doyle, Epic Games
Vladimir Mastilović, Epic Games
Moderator: Wanda Meloni, M2 Insights
10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
How finding out by means of play intersects with gaming
Rob Lowe, Lego Ventures
Karsten Lund, Director, Light Brick Studio
Moderator: Keza MacDonald, Guardian
10:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Magic Meets the Measured: striking the correct balance to make wonderful games
Chris DeWolfe, CEO of Jam City, talks about striking the correct balance in taking care of staff, taking benefit of development possibilities throughout the pandemic, and undertaking the correct factors for gamers.
Chris DeWolfe, Jam City
Moderator: Dean Takahashi, GamesBeat
11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Game VCs who bring the worth of operating expertise to investing
Game VCs who are former operators at firms speak about the worth — and the challenges — that they can bring to the table in assisting startups develop.
Andrew Sheppard, Transcend Fund
Jens Hilgers, Bitkraft Ventures
Ed Fries, 1Up Ventures
Moderator: Eric Goldberg, Playable Worlds
11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
What IDFA alterations imply for the game business
Apple is requiring customers to opt-in for sharing their private information on iOS, and that is going to impact the potential for mobile game makers to target advertisements at gamers. What comes next?
Eric Seufert, Mobile Game Dev Memo
Moderator: Dean Takahashi, GamesBeat
12:00 pm -12:30 pm
The next generation of mobile game improvement
With more and more folks turning to games amidst a worldwide pandemic, the significance of mobile gaming is at an unprecedented height. But how does mobile gaming retain up with other platforms? Publishers speak about empowering the next generation of developers.
Victor Lazarte, Wildlife Studios
Ken Martin, GreenPark Sports
Samir Agili, Tilting Point
Moderator: TBD
12:30 p.m. -1:10 p.m.
The post-pandemic globe of gaming
Bobby Kotick, chairman and CEO of Activision Blizzard, will speak at one of our events for the initial time in a fireside chat about the acceleration of games into the best tier of all entertainment. But what comes next? And how will we navigate 2021 and beyond?
Bobby Kotick, Activision Blizzard
Moderator: Dean Takahashi, GamesBeat
12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m.
Roundtable (invite for VIP attendees)
12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m.
Your Culture is not what you feel it is
Caroline Stokes, Forward
Roundtables 2 and 3: TBD
1:10 p.m.-1:40 p.m.
Team Xbox on gaming for every person
Microsoft’s Phil Spencer will lead a discussion about the company’s journey to bring the joy and neighborhood of gaming to every person on the planet. The panelists will discover the challenges of guaranteeing that gaming is inclusive for all players and that the game business welcomes all creators.
Agnes Kim, Microsoft
Esteban Lora, Microsoft
Cierra McDonald, Microsoft
Moderator: Phil Spencer, head of Xbox at Microsoft
1:40 p.m. -2 p.m.
The future of accessibility in the game business
Daniel Melville was born devoid of an arm. But he has managed to turn out to be a gamer as effectively as an ambassador for Open Bionics, which lately developed a Metal Gear-themed bionic arm for him. He’ll go over this and other themes about accessibility and inclusion in the game business with Keisha Howard of Sugar Gamers.
Daniel Melville, Open Bionics
Moderator: Keisha Howard, Sugar Gamers
2 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Changing the game
Robert Antokol, CEO of Playtika, and Michael Metzger, companion at Drake Star Partners, will speak about Playtika’s journey from launch, to expansion into casual games and current public providing. Robert will go over Playtika’s Boost Platform and acquisition of independent gaming studios as effectively as share his vision for Playtika in the years to come.
Robert Antokol, Playtika
Moderator: Michael Metzger, Drake Star Partners
2:30 p.m. – 3 p.m.
STEAM, why it matters to video games, diversity, the future workforce, and the economy
STEAM (science, technologies, engineering, art, and math) education is not only important to the good results of video game business, but also to making meaningful possibilities for individuals from various backgrounds and to American competitiveness. This panel will go over the increasingly crucial function of STEAM in the general American financial landscape, its effect on the video game business, and youth leadership.
Laila Shabir, Girls Make Games
Yvette Clarke, U.S. Congresswoman from New York’s 9th District
Moderator: Stanley Pierre-Louis, Entertainment Software Association
3 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
What to anticipate in a post-pandemic gaming globe
Join Frank Azor, AMD’s Chief Architect of Gaming Solutions and Marketing, as he shares thoughts on how the COVID-19 pandemic has and will continue to effect the gaming business, and how firms and developers are adapting to that adjust.
Frank Azor, AMD
Moderator: N’Gai Croal, Hit Detection
3:30 p.m. – 3:50 p.m.
Burnout: What it is and what we can do
A lot of individuals are suffering from burnout as the pandemic and quarantine continue into year two. What is burnout (beyond exhaustion and overwork)? This game-focused speak will detangle and clarify the elements of burnout, and provide actionable, sensible measures for addressing it inside your studio and workplace.
Raffael Boccamazzo, Take This
3:50 p.m. – 4:20 p.m.
A tactic for a worldwide gaming small business
Mike Vorhaus of Vorhaus Advisers will interview Simon Zhu, basic manager at NetEase, about the company’s strategy to the gaming business. They will speak about NetEase’s concentrate on top quality as effectively as its investments in Bungie, Theorycraft, Behaviour Interactive, and Quantic Dream.
Simon Zhu, NetEase
Moderator: Mike Vorhaus
4:20 p.m. – 4:50 p.m.
Designing blockbuster games infused with diversity
What takes place when you get started designing a significant video game and attempt to infuse diversity all through the characters and atmosphere? Halley Gross — a seasoned Hollywood writer on shows such as Westworld participated in such as project as the co-writer for The Last of Us Part II. The game won more than 215 awards for Game of the Year. She shares some of the lessons she discovered about writing blockbuster narratives with an inclusive lens.
Halley Gross
Moderator: Dean Takahashi
4:50 p.m. to 5:20 p.m.
Why gaming M&A and investments have exploded and show no indicators of slowing
M&A, public offerings, and investments have exploded for games throughout the pandemic. We’ll have a fireside chat with Lars Wingefors, CEO of Embracer Group, which has been the most active of all game organization acquirers.
Lars Wingefors, Embracer Group
Moderator: Nick Tuosto, Liontree
5:20 p.m.-6:20 p.m.
Reception and networking on Clubhouse
Hosts Jon Radoff and Dean Takahashi
Day two (April 29)
8:00 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Women in gaming breakfast
Samantha Ryan, EA
Brenda Romero, Romero Games
Moderator: Andrea Rene
9:30 am – 9:40 am
Introduction
Andrea Rene, What’s Good Games
9:40 am – 9:45 am
Opening comments
Mike Minotti
9:45 a.m. – 10:05 a.m.
It requires a village
The game business hasn’t usually been sort to its personal. And as a outcome, it has lost members to suicide. Mark Chandler of the International Games Summit on Mental Health Awareness and Jason Docton of Rise Above the Disorder will speak about what could be carried out so the game business and gamers take care of their personal greater.
Mark Chandler, The International Games Summit on Mental Health Awareness
Jason Docton, Rise Above the Disorder
10:05 a.m. – 10:25 a.m.
How to do remote game improvement
When the globe went remote, game improvement firms knew how to make it work. Many have been coordinating remote contributors for years. But with every person at residence, demands for media and games have drastically improved. Our panel will go over how to overcome challenges and develop greater games.
Glen Schofield, Striking Distance Studios
Karthik Bala, Velan Studios
Moderator: Brad Hart, CTO of Perforce
10:25 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.
Pulling the future from the cloud
Tim Guhl of Singtel and Lisa Cosmas Hanson of Niko Partners speak about the possibilities in gaming that will rely on 5G networks, such as augmented reality, low-latency multiplayer games, and esports.
Tim Guhl, Singtel
Moderator: Lisa Cosmas Hanson, Niko Partners
10:45 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
Making wonderful games is only going to get more difficult
Laura Miele began her profession in a game studio 25 years ago and today she is major one of the biggest collectives of game creators in the globe at Electronic Arts. EA’s 20+ worldwide studios. Geoff Keighley, creator of The Game Awards, will speak with Miele about the ever-altering globe of game improvement and how she navigates by means of the internal and external challenges to provide the very best probable games to players.
Laura Miele, Electronic Arts
Moderator: Geoff Keighley
11:15 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
Advertising in games: Tapping into the next wave
Brands are ultimately realizing the prospective of gaming and are prepared to treat it as an marketing medium. This panel will clarify the evolution of marketing in games and why brands are now ultimately hunting at games as an marketing category and what is on the horizon.
Ronnie Nelis, Lion Castle
Itamar Benedy, Anzu
Gabrielle Heyman, Zynga
Moderator: Steve Peterson, StoryPhorce
11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Representation in-game matters, and it begins with developers
Nearly half of all gamers now determine as female. But in the improvement neighborhood, female representation is nevertheless sorely lacking. With such a skewed balance amongst the individuals who make our games, how can we make positive we’re meeting the requires of all our players, who are increasingly expressing their requires to see themselves represented in the games they play? Hear from best female improvement leads across Activision Blizzard about addressing the gender gap in the games, and on the teams who make them.
Jennifer Oneal, Blizzard Entertainment
Lydia Bottegoni, Blizzard Entertainment
Nour Polloni, Studio Head, Beenox
Moderator: Eunice Lee, Activision
12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.
Roundtable (for VIP attendees)
NFTs and games 101
Nonfungible tokens have taken the art and music collectible worlds by storm, and now they’re prepared to disrupt games. Are NFTs the next massive issue to monetize games, or are they a flash in the pan?
Chris Heatherly
Jon Radoff, Beamable
James Zhang, Fifth Era
Gabby Dizon, Yield Guild Games
12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.
Roundtable (for VIP attendees)
Understanding the future of consolidation, expanding capital pools, and hyperactivity in gaming M&A
Hemal Thakur, Goldman Sachs
Alina Soltys, Quantum Tech Partners
12:15 p.m. – 12:35 p.m.
How to do M&A correct
Scopely acquired FoxNext Games in January 2020. The firms set a purpose of a seamless merging of the two teams. It turns out that, throughout the pandemic, M&A has exploded in the game business. Two Scopely leaders will speak about the lessons discovered.
Tim O’Brien, Scopely
Amir Rahimi, Scopely
Moderator: Nick Tuosto, Liontree
12:35 p.m. – 12:55 p.m.
Scaling the correct way: When a startup is no longer a startup
Katie Jansen, chief promoting officer at AppLovin, and Katie Madding, chief solution officer at Adjust, share comparable stories in their respective careers, with each obtaining joined their existing firms early on, and then obtaining witnessed the trajectories of these firms skyrocket in a fairly brief quantity of time. Learn about their distinctive journeys in navigating these thrilling, however uncharted periods of hyper-development.
Katie Jansen, AppLovin
Moderator: Katie Madding, Adjust
1:15 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.
The previous, present, and future of XR and mental wellness
Since the onset of COVID-19, 53% of adults in the United States reported that their mental wellness has been negatively impacted. This is specifically evident for front line workers, exactly where one-third have reported elevated levels of mental distress. This panel will bring with each other specialists in several sectors—Kelli Dunlap (Kentlands Psychotherapy, Take This), Noah Falstein (The Inspiracy), and Brennan Spiegel (Cedars-Sinai Medical Center)—to delve deeper into how this quickly evolving technologies is getting used to straight support mental wellness.
Kelli Dunlap, American University
Noah Falstein, The Inspiracy
Brennan Spiegel, Cedars-Sinai
Moderator: Susanna Pollack, Games for Change
1:45 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
How Iron Galaxy Studios avoids crunch
One of Iron Galaxy’s Studios’ numerous core values is individuals – the strength of their group is the foundation of their good results. They concentrate initial and foremost on the well-being of their staff, creating positive employees really feel cared for and valued. Co-CEO’s Adam Boyes and Chelsea Blasko can share their leadership philosophies and how they continue to offer you a healthier work/life balance.
Chelsea Blasko, Iron Galaxy
Adam Boyes, Iron Galaxy
Moderator: Eve Crevoshay, Take This
2:15 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
A game altering expertise for every person
This panel will go over troubles of digital civility and the challenges to having by means of to the next level as games turn out to be even more mainstream. What challenges have to have to be addressed in order for the gaming business to seize the exponential chance at hand?
Christian Kelly, Accenture
Laura Higgins, Roblox
Kimberly Voll, Fair Play Alliance
Moderator: Seth Schuler, Accenture
2:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
How worldwide publishers can differentiate themselves?
What are the challenges of worldwide publishing? How do you use IP? How can you adapt to new platforms, app shops, small business models, and regional markets?
Chris Hewish, Xsolla
Matt Casamassina, Rogue Games
Anthony Crouts, Tencent
Moderator: Lisa Cosmas Hanson, Niko Partners
3:15 p.m. – 3:35 p.m.
When is it time to launch a new IP?
Outfit7 has one of the greatest intellectual properties for games and entertainment with Talking Tom. It has made lots of apps and games based on it. It has endless runner games, virtual life simulations, videos, and other individuals that tap into Tom’s character. But the organization also requires to build new IPs for the future. What’s the correct time to do that and how?
Ante Odić, Senior VP of Product, at Outfit7
Moderator: TBD
3:35 p.m. – 3:55 p.m.
Brands x Creators: Collaborating to scale financial chance for every person
Celebrity influencers have come out of the woodworks in the previous decade, but not everyone can be the next Ninja. What can the business do to build the next generation of streamers who can make a living at their trade? We’ll discover this in a panel on having paid as a streamer.
Stu Grubbs, Lightstream
Natasha Zinda, ZombaeKillz
Moderator: Andrea Rene, What’s Good Game
3:55 p.m. – 4:25 p.m.
Brands and the metaverse
We’ve been stuck in the Zoomverse throughout the pandemic, and we cannot wait for an actual metaverse to arrive. Gaming will most likely be the massive draw for buyers. And if the buyers come, the brands will stick to. We’ll ask some brands if they think in the metaverse.
Ryan Mullins, Aglet
Ian Fitzpatrick, New Balance
Perry Nightingale, WPP
Moderator: Cathay Hackl
4:25 p.m. – 4:40 p.m.
Visionary Awards
Tammy McDonald
4:40 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Closing session
Dean Takahashi
4:45 p.m. – 5:45 p.m.
Networking on Clubhouse
Hosts Jon Radoff and Dean Takahashi