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[LectureMaster]

GDC says companies that don’t attend ‘send a message they don’t care about developers’ | VGC

GDC will undergo a revamp in 2026 as a ‘Festival of Gaming’…

www.videogameschronicle.com

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The Game Developers Conference has said that leading industry companies who choose to skip the event are sending a message to developers that they "don't care".

Last year's GDC, which is held annually in San Francisco, saw engine makers Unity and Epic cut back their presence, while Sony did not appear at the event's expo area.

Speaking to The Game Business, GDC's executive director of innovation and growth, Mark DeLoura, said the companies' absence was "noticeable" and claimed they risked alienating developers.

"As an attendee, I was disappointed not to see Unity and Unreal on the show floor," he said. "I worked for Sony and I started the Sony booth 25 years ago… not to see Sony on the show floor is just disappointing. I really feel like you've got so many developers there, you've got to have a front door.

"Of course, these companies are going to have their own events, they have their own communities they need to foster, and they can talk about things that are more NDAd at their own events that they may not want to do at a public show. But you're not going to find the independent developer who doesn't already know somebody at your shop, unless you're there with your door open."

He added: "Isn't that the purpose of conferences? Meeting new people. You've decided you don't want to meet new people, I guess. I can't understand that. There's more to it than that, of course. There are costs, etcetera. But developers get the vibe. If you're not there, or appear not to be there, are they sure that you care about them? That's what I don't understand.

"I would say this, because that's why I got Sony involved in GDC in 2001. We needed to be there. We needed to be there for the developers. It's important."

GDC is undergoing a revamp in 2026, calling itself a "Festival of Gaming" and offering cheaper tickets. DeLoura told TGB the GDC board had discussed the possibility of moving the event away from San Francisco, which is often criticised as overly expensive, but ultimately decided to remain in the city.

"Everybody brings it up," DeLoura says. "It's absolutely something we talk about. For [doing the event in] the US… it is the center of the game industry. Wouldn't you want to be there? And don't more game developers have the opportunity to come because we're there?

"Yes, and… San Francisco is expensive. It's a pricey place to be. People are concerned about the city's safety, which has definitely improved in recent years."

 

[mdkirby]

"any companies that don't pay us lots of money to come to our party are evil incarnate"

 

[LectureMaster]

Gotta let my man adam catch some breathes.

 

[nial]

 

[Aressa]

"any companies that don't pay us lots of money to come to our party are evil incarnate"

For Sony or Epic the cost is literal pocket change. If they skip GDC it's a strategic decision not a money issue.

 

[Radical_3d]

I don't need an industry expert to know that Unreal Stutter-fest doesn't care for developers. Or hardware. Or costumers. Or basic functioning software...

 

[MayauMiao]

GDC is nothing but promoting degenerate ideas.

 

[ShaiKhulud1989]

Sony sent the fat F-bird to the whole American conference system when they've dropped out of E3, effectively killing free money for ESA. I see Sony care even less about these Bay-area fraudsters.

 

[ScHlAuChi]

If GDC really cared about developers then:
- attendence pricing wouldnt be 1200$-2500$
- it wouldnt take place in fucking San Fransisco with its insane hotel prices
- it wouldnt lock GDC Vault behind a paywall
So fuck off Mark DeLoura!

Gamescom Dev (formerly devcom) is much more affordable and you have the added bonus of 3 days of networking in the Gamescom Business area, all for a fraction of the price GDC costs.

 

[Griffon]

In about 10 years GDC has gone to the gutter. Developers shouldn't have welcomed weirdo fucks in their community.

And yeah the ticket prices are a fucking joke.

 

[DenchDeckard]

What events do Sony have now?

 

[pudel]

GDC is nothing but promoting degenerate ideas.

Oof...understandable that no one wants to attend.

 

[SJRB]

Emotional blackmail is how toddlers try to get their way.

 

[Hudo]

It's no secret that Epic Games and Unity don't give a flying fuck about devs, otherwise their engines would be less bloated with experimental bullshit and their documentation would actually be solid. I am surprised about Sony, though.

 

[Elios83]

Cry more that companies are not giving them a lot of money to attend a completely outdated format?
Also developer support is a continuous process to assist developers in their projects, do they seriously think that they can attend some seminars a couple of days and that's it?

 

[MayauMiao]

It's no secret that Epic Games and Unity don't give a flying fuck about devs, otherwise their engines would be less bloated with experimental bullshit and their documentation would actually be solid. I am surprised about Sony, though.

Well..

Sony hates union.

 

[nial]

What events do Sony have now?

TGS, ChinaJoy.

It's no secret that Epic Games and Unity don't give a flying fuck about devs, otherwise their engines would be less bloated with experimental bullshit and their documentation would actually be solid. I am surprised about Sony, though.

It's not only Sony, Epic or Unity. Nintendo, for example, didn't attend to the exposition area, either.
There is literally no reason to waste money on these highly expensive booths for a largely outdated format.

 

[Bernardougf]

What events do Sony have now?

SoP!

 

[Bernardougf]

Sony sent the fat F-bird to the whole American conference system when they've dropped out of E3, effectively killing free money for ESA. I see Sony care even less about these Bay-area fraudsters.

Somehow things went downhill in western gaming imho from the time E3 was "over" ... maybe just a coincidence but things for me at least have never been the same since .

 

[winjer]

Corporations don't care about gamers. They care about money.

 

[StueyDuck]

Isn't this the one where they all go scream in the garden...

would you blame billion dollar companies not sending their employees to waste their time like that.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Emotional blackmail is how toddlers try to get their way.

Or people that grew up with social media and mommy and daddy never taught them not to speak their fucking mind in a professional setting.

He added: "Isn't that the purpose of conferences? Meeting new people. You've decided you don't want to meet new people, I guess. I can't understand that.

How dare you just wanting to get shit done and not mingle with people all the time? You degenerate!

 

[kruis]

Epic holds its own Unreal Fest events. Unity is doing the same thing with Unite events all over the world. There's no need for them to go to GDC, especially if the costs are too high.

 

[PlayStaytion]

I don't know, cause there're thousands Randy and thousands John Carmack and thousands Cerny out there maybe? playing quantity game is disgusting cause everyone is different.

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

What events do Sony have now?

Read the room, dude.

GDC, like many of these NA-based gaming events, has gone to shit. It's no wonder Sony doesn't attend.

If ubiquitous game engine middleware devs like Epic and Unity also don't show up to a dev-focused event, it should clue you in that something is very wrong with GDC.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

Mom, look, another blackmail by a posturing pseudo communist group!

They need to fuck off and die.

 

[kruis]

BTW I went to the GDC site to see what kind of panels thy organize. There was a video playing and only after a couple of seconds this popped up. Notice anything?

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

What events do Sony have now?

Except for their own (multiple a year), they show up at TGS, The Game Awards, etc...

 

[alabtrosMyster]

I don't know who is going or not, and I like watching some of the conferences from time to time.

But, seriously, I think that they are over playing their hand here, there are many other ways to commit with the developers these days and if I was one of them I wouldn't react well to the pressure and attempt at blackmail.

Just issue a statement saying that your company will never attend again, state in there a few reasons, add the blackmail at the end of the list.

 

[Jinzo Prime]

The American gaming industry will never be taken seriously again until it pulls out of California by and large. Same for the American movie industry. The grift is over.

 

[begotten]

From the stories I've heard from reputable people. GDC was a joke even in the late 90s / early 2000s.

 

[MayauMiao]

BTW I went to the GDC site to see what kind of panels thy organize. There was a video playing and only after a couple of seconds this popped up. Notice anything?

Yes

 

[Shubh_C63]

Bungie got in so much trouble for their GDC "beware of over-delivery, it creates a pattern and why they won't over-deliver ever", I am not surprised any big shot developer would want to speak their mind in any conference.

 

[LordOcidax]

Is GDC an union o something similar?

 

[pudel]

BTW I went to the GDC site to see what kind of panels thy organize. There was a video playing and only after a couple of seconds this popped up. Notice anything?

If you want to know....how to NOT sell yr game and fail spectacularly....this might be interesting!

 

[RoboFu]

no it says no one wants to go to California and spend money to talk about DEI with a group of weirdos.

 

[diffusionx]

Obviously the GDC wants devs to be there.

And considering the fact that Unreal 5 is a piece of shit has broke containment, Epic should be there, sponsoring talks on UE5 sloptimization.

 

[SlimySnake]

This is true. My whore accuses me of not caring about her whenever i choose to spend the night with my wife.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

what are you going to do now, scream like a lunatic?

 

[Killer8]

Why would anyone want to attend GDC? What is there to gain from listening to overeducated nerds breaking down in autistic detail how they designed their game for retards?

All the best devs operate on an instinctual level. They don't need diagrams and an hour of your time to explain how they do it.

6:59 mark:



We need to return to this primal game development where all a developer needs to say is "I did it because it was cool".

 

[AmuroChan]

Yes, because GDC is the ONLY conference that's for devs. Sony has created initiates like China Hero Project and India Hero Project that put shine on devs that would never get any attention at a conference like GDC. Those GDC organizers can cry me a river.

 

[adamsapple]

 

[Jinzo Prime]

Is GDC an union o something similar?

No, it seems to be a conference organized by a company called Informa, specifically the former Gamasutra part of the company. It is also supported by the International Game Developers Association, a non-profit.

 

[Zacfoldor]

Purple Hair Conference

Sony sent you a message. Accept it. Stop whining. Move on.

 

[PixelatedBeast]

I could have sworn I've seen videos of devs from Sony studios over the years sharing how they managed to use different techniques to develop their games. What they really want to say is " hey Mark Cerny, come talk about your tech at our shows instead."

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

GDC is a giant grift. Companies don't attend because the value isn't present at the event.

I attended for years until 2018. 60% of the presentations at the time were content aimed at driving politics into games and the "expo hall" was filled with companies taking advantage of an expo made up of mostly aspiring developers/game makers, another contributor to the overall decline of western games development.

2015 was the last "great" GDC year imo.

Not to mention alI the dodging of piles of human shit on every sidewalk and running from homeless folks chasing people down with needles pushing shopping carts full all manner of detritus…but that's "just" San Francisco now.

 

[pudel]

what are you going to do now, scream like a lunatic?

 

[begotten]

Why would anyone want to attend GDC?

It exists to make developers (mostly smaller ones - and the aspiring ones in college, in and around the area) pay an absolute premium for networking - which mostly results in a lot of business card and personal email swapping that leads nowhere.

You might get lucky to experience one or two presentations by someone of some minor note from a studio you like - who got paid a bag to talk surface level shit that you already know too. Maybe there is some interesting game related talk - but no one is having "aha" moments from these talks and its more entertainment.

They try to say in response to the GDC Vault being filled with fluff that "you have to attend yourself!", but that's a load of rubbish too.

I know a lot of big developers used to send large crews of staff out - since it was like mini-E3 with all the hotel suite meetings. Doubt that even happens anymore in todays landscape - and GDC considered, it's a big waste of money.

Hilarious they're taking a shot at Epic Games too.

Unreal Fest is a lot cheaper. It's more accessible, valuable and directly catered to the solo or indie developer(s) - and is an actual travelling event.

 

[ReBurn]

I don't blame them for not wanting to go to San Francisco.

 

[nowhat]

The American gaming industry will never be taken seriously again until it pulls out of California

Surely you are aware, pulling out doesn't guarantee anything. Accidents happen.