It’s time to learn from the best. What better way to turbo-charge your career than with lessons from the best companies in the world?

Pocket Gamer Connects conferences always feature the games industry’s top experts from around the world, and Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #6 continues to prove that statement true. With over 250 experts on hand, are you ready to explore the best ways to drive narrative in your games, what the future of games marketing looks like, the hottest trends from across the international markets and more?

The sixth edition of our digital series of B2B events for the mobile games industry goes online on April 19th to 23rd, and we’re delighted to announce the next set of confirmed speakers and panellists.

Taking place completely online over the course of five days, more than 1,500 virtual attendees from all around the world will hear from over 250 experts across 16 themed conference tracks. Each talk, panel, keynote and seminar is streamed live, recorded and made available on demand, so you can interact with our speakers during their talks through Q&As or catch up later if you’re unavailable for the stream.

Over the past couple of weeks we’ve already announced some of our speaker lineup, which you can find here and here, but for now, find out who you will be learning from at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #6.

Getting games to the gamers

Taking your game to market is one of the most important factors you need for your business, and there are multiple ways to go about it. Lab Cave’s head of business Jami Wardman discusses the differences of getting a publisher or self-publishing and what is the best approach with a panel.

Are you currently developing your debut game? Sketchbook Games’ founder/creative director Mark Backler walks through the journey of developing Lost Words: Beyond the Page, his studio’s debut title, as well as discussing the process of prototyping, raising finance, running a studio and marketing your game.

XD’s business manager - premium games Bing Li discusses launching premium games in the Chinese market, by looking at the history of the premium games market in China, the market size, the current market landscape and the barriers to entry while drawing upon case studies.

Square Enix’s producer Shanzay Usama shares the dos and don’ts of working with publishers, how to get the best out of working on a campaign together, how to convince a publisher that you're the right influencer or agency to choose, what puts off a publisher from working with you.

Perfect player engagement

"A crash course in the most important pillars of stories in games. How do you develop a fictional world that feels authentic? How do you create characters that players actually relate to? How is a story built and structured, from the ground up?”, asks Leverage Partnership’s head of IP development Christian Fonnesbech, as he explores the compact masterclass of worlds, characters and story.

Doppio Games’ co-founder and CEO Jeferson Valadares, Masquerade Media’s president Dayan Paul and Riot Games’ head of Riot Forge Leanne Loombe discuss driving engagement of players through narrative on a panel.

Snap Finger Click’s design director Joanna Haslam, Mainframe Industries’ senior UX designer Jasmin Dahncke and A Thinking Ape’s live ops art lead Chloe Chan discuss how to deliver games with an inclusive audience in mind at all times. (Chloe Chan also hosts her own seminar as she shares top tips on smart ways to improve the performance of artists in game development.)

Mokuni Games’ founder and CEO Kurt Young explores the ideation process in hypercasual games.

Are influencers the future of games marketing? CAPSL’s head of business development and partnerships Alwin Wong and ENCE Esports co-founder and CEO Mika Kuusisto discuss with a panel. Meanwhile Kukouri Mobile Entertainment’s marketing manager Sophie Riordan dedicates her session to influencer marketing and how to choose the right influencers for your brand.

Building a blockbusting business

MildMania’s managing partner Aras Senyuz identifies and shares the lessons in monetisation all developers should learn from the eastern markets. ArenaNet’s senior manager of live operations Daniel McLaren discusses what the best method of monetisation is best for your game with a panel.

Explore the experience of Imperia Online going through M&A with their CBDO Mariela Tzvetanova, as she reveals the business and strategy side of choosing the right partner, the whole negotiation process, the internal announcement and what comes after.

Are M&As the new markers of success? Hiro Capital’s founding managing partner Luke Alvarez, Strive Capital’s founder and managing partner Nuno Goncalves Pedro and VGames’ founder and managing partner Eitan Reisel discuss on a panel. Meanwhile, PROfounders Capital’s co-founder and partner Sean Seton-Rogers discusses how to prepare your company for M&A.

Coherence’s board member Nick Button Brown hosts a solo seminar which aims to share how to raise money for your game. Execution Labs’ co-founder Jason Della Rocca and Misc Games’ CEO Gøran Myrland discuss with a panel how to build a company with investment in mind.

Thinking of starting up a company? Springloaded’s founder James Barnard explores the important factors you need to know before starting your first game company with a panel.

Konvoy Ventures’ managing partner Jason Chapman and Animoca Brands’ CEO Robby Yung look at how to tailor the best deal for investment with a panel.

We’re also thrilled to be joined by Lab Cave’s ASO strategist Jose Garcia, as he shares his expertise on how companies can grow their business and games.

Gamma Law’s managing partner David Hoppe hosts a session on the legal ownership of in-game assets.

When it comes to a studio’s visions and values, we have a dedicated track. Jagex’s head of HR Emma Russell discusses some of the traps and advantages when creating a diverse and international company culture with a panel. And we’re excited to hear from WFH League’s co-founder Sam Cooke as he hosts a superstar session which looks at esports as a team building and morale boosting initiative.

What will the games business look like post-vaccine? The International Game Developers Association (IGDA)’s executive director Renee Gittins discusses with a panel.

Game Jolt’s co-founder and CEO Yaprak DeCarmine and Intellivision Entertainment’s president of European operations Hans Ippisch look at whether multiplatform development is the key for indie developers with a panel.

Work With Indies’ founder Nathan Bosia and FarBridge’s producer Donald Harris dive into the ways you can ‘sell’ your skills during the hiring process on an expert roundtable. Sumo Digital’s group talent acquisition manager Kieran Holland looks at the advantages of recruiting yourself or working with recruitment agencies.

Beyond games

At Pocket Gamer Connects, we’ve begun to explore the world beyond the gaming world and how other creative industries overlap with gaming. We’re also hosting a conference dedicated to this exploration in May - Beyond Games.

But before then, at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #6, you’ll get a taster of the transmedia metaverse in our special panel, rapidly becoming a highlight of any PGC week. We’re delighted to hear from Roblox’s VP, global head of music Jonathan Vlassopulos as he joins Steel Media’s Dave Bradley for a fireside chat on music and games.

Also, the Isle of Man Government’s head of esports Chris Kissack explores the drive of comics, films and music in games.

Explore the games industry in-depth by booking now

Fantastic content and amazing speakers await at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #6! Book your tickets now and save $440 with our Early Bird offer.

We’re also allocating a limited amount of free passes solely for small indie developers, enabling them to meet with investors and publishers, and learn from the industry’s biggest names. If you think you qualify, sign up here.