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Explore thought-provoking games industry topics with speakers from EA, Fingersoft, Crunchyroll, BoomBit and more at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #6

Make money, build better studios and find inspiration, with the latest set of big-name industry speakers

Explore thought-provoking games industry topics with speakers from EA, Fingersoft, Crunchyroll, BoomBit and more at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #6

The Pocket Gamer Connects Digital series have the biggest conference speaker line-ups in the world, regularly securing over 250 experts to share their secrets. The same will be true in April, when you’ll discover the ultimate resource guide for revenue builders, explore how games have the ability equip children with important life skills and find out the best methods to build more inclusive teams all at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #6.

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 speakers looking to share their expertise with you.

Taking place completely online, more than 1,500 virtual attendees from all around the world will hear from over 250 expert speakers of the games industry across 16 conference tracks. Each talk, panel, keynote and seminars 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.

We’ve already announced our first set of speakers which you can find here, but for now, find out who you will be learning from at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #6.

L-R: Markus Vahtola, Peggy Anne Salz, David Chang, Anna Bystrova

New for Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #6

Pocket Gamer Connects covers all aspects of the mobile games industry, with space to explore other areas of the wider industry. We’re always adding new content to our lineup, whether it's a new track or a new event. One new track for our next event coming up is CFO 101, providing insights into revenue building. Featuring on the track, Fingersoft’s CFO Markus Vahtola shares what it means to be the chief financial officer of a games studio.

Games are a business, and there’s plenty of content at the conference for those looking at how to make money and grow. We’re thrilled to have Enad Global 7’s CEO Robin Flodin and Drake Star Partners’ partner Michael Metzger join us at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #6 for a superstar fireside chat, as they discuss building a $1B gaming company, including going public and scaling via M&A. Junior Level Designer RHKS founder Rob Simister discusses how to best prepare your company for M&A with a panel.

Markus Vahtola shares what it means to be the chief financial officer of a games studio.

Tyr Advisors’ founder and managing director David Chang provides attendees with an understanding of how M&A and funding works, an understanding of partnerships and how they are formed within the games industry, motivations of companies who want to fund or acquire you, how those companies find you, and what investors and buyers want to know about you. He will also explain how to research the market and to understand what your opportunities are, and how to position yourself for them.

Transcend Fund’s principal Graham Gockley discusses tailoring the best deals in raising investment with a panel.

MobileGroove’s lead analyst and founder Peggy Anne Salz moderates a panel and explores some of the best practices in user acquisition and retention with other expert speakers.

What are some of the key factors you should know before starting your first game company? Crescent Code’s director Shahid Ahmad discusses with a panel. Rovio’s games brand director David Zemke joins a roundtable discussion to help attendees choose the best path for your brand.

In an age of multiple monetisation tactics - whether its hybrid monetisation, subscriptions, battle passes or anything else - what is the best tactic for you? StatementGames’ co-founder, head of product and strategy Jonathan Lin discusses with a panel.

Gameloft’s monetisation lead Toni Sala Echaurren discusses the best ways of getting the most of your users, and whether it is still all about the whales, with a panel.

L-R: TQ Jefferson, Heba Guirguis, Diogo Vasconcelos, Sabaa Rehmani

Play as you go

Survios’ chief product officer TQ Jefferson hosts a session on the new mobility of gaming, which goes through the ways that systems like the Oculus Quest have transformed the medium from an expensive gaming niche to a more accessible platform for immersive play.

Chappell & Associates president Alan Chapell dedicates his seminar to looking at the new reality of privacy in creative media.

TQ Jefferson hosts a session on the new mobility of gaming, which goes through the ways that systems like the Oculus Quest have transformed the medium

SuperGaming’s lead product manager Peter Pawan explores the challenges and advantages of adopting a data driven approach in game development. Meanwhile, Nerd Monkeys’ co-founder Diogo Vasconcelos highlights the importance and value we should give to short game experiences.

Lucid Sight’s CEO Randy Saaf walks through the processes of adding multiplayer to casual and hypercasual games. ZPLAY’s publishing manager Anna Bystrova and BoomBit’s product and partnerships manager Heba Guirguis dive into what hypercasual games can teach the world with a panel of other hypercasual experts. mixi’s director, corporate planning and strategy Langer Lee joins a panel which looks at what it takes to create real social games.

Lahza Games’ CEO and co-founder Mo Fadl places the emphasis on the importance of Game Hubs and national programs to promote growth in the games industry. Meanwhile, Playcrafting’s founder and CEO Dan Butchko explores how game jams can be leveraged for brands. And Crunchyroll’s head of 360 and general manager of games Terry Li and senior director Sabaa Rehmani unite for a joint seminar session on mobile game promotion outside of user acquisition.

Overwolf’s CEO and co-founder Uri Marchand discusses the importance of tapping into the talents of those who create in-game apps and mods to increase the shelf life of a game and raise engagement.

L-R: Terry Li, Carina Kom, Mo Fadl, Natalie Bell

Visions and values

Scott McGregor shares his top methods that enable companies to build more inclusive teams

"Playing games has been important to humans and animals for thousands of years to help with key survival and social skills and it remains a fundamental part of our development. However, a key difference today is that Covid-19 has shifted these games and social interactions online”, says Kuato Studios’ head of new product development Gordon Ross. In his session, Ross discusses how online games have the power to equip children with life skills, why children’s education needs to move away from test-based learning and focus on “failing successfully”, and what is needed to successfully reimagine education online which looks beyond the short-term effects of the pandemic.

Cisco’s senior manager, inclusive partnerships Scott McGregor shares his top methods that enable companies to build more inclusive teams, create more diverse pipelines, and celebrate the value of difference in ways that help to drive business outcomes, specifically around sales and talent acquisitions.

Another session we’re thrilled to see at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #6 is a superstar session by EA’s development manager Carina Kom, exploring the best ways to support upcoming talents to become their best.

Mission Control GG’s customer success manager Natalie Bell explores how the recreational and social tier of esports parallels the traditional recreational sports world. Version1 + Minnesota Røkkr’s COO Brett Diamond and Heaven Media’s director Mark Reed identify and share some of the healthy growth tactics for esports with a panel.

L-R: Scott McGregor, Ines Lagarto, James Dodkins, Riley Andersen

Games creation tactics

Did you know that over 70% of attendees at a Pocket Gamer Connects Digital conference work in game creation? That’s indies, developers and publishers. There’s plenty of content especially for them across the 14 tracks on offer.

Ines Lagarto explains the role of the producer, as they navigate pitfalls and look to bring the best out of their teams

For instance, ever wondered what it's like working on a game from a producer’s perspective? Lab42 Games’ producer Ines Lagarto explains the role of the producer, as they navigate pitfalls and look to bring the best out of their teams.

Rockstar CX’s founder and customer experience rockstar James Dodkins shares the ways you can turn your customers into superfans.

Paladin Studios’ CEO Kay Grünwoldt joins a panel of other experts which takes a look at the games business post-vaccine, and what the new path to normality looks like.

Ataverti’s owner Petri Fridell shares his game developer history and key findings as he progressed in his career. PlayerUnknown Productions’ senior designer Phil O’Connor looks at the craft and science behind game design.

Umami Games’ CEO Riley Andersen joins Pollen VC’s Martin MacMillan for a superstar fireside chat to discuss what being successful in self-publishing looks like.

We’re also looking forward to BATTLESTATE GAMES’ head of global PR Dmitri Ogorodnikov and Unknown Worlds Entertainment’s narrative designer Zaire Lanier sharing their insights during our digital conference in April.

And there’s more! Ahead of May’s Beyond Games conference we’re pleased to continue our recent tradition of looking outside the gaming world for inspiration: Goldfinch’s COO Phil McKenzie discusses the drive of comics, films and music in games with a panel.

L-R: Phil O'Connor, Dmitri Ogorodnikov, Zaire Lanier, Phil McKenzie

Hear from our fantastic speakers by booking your tickets now

There’s so many amazing speakers at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #6 with more yet to be announced! Explore all aspects of the games industry with them by booking your tickets now. If you book now, you could 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.

Events Writer

Charlie is the Events Writer at PocketGamer.biz

You can catch him on Twitter @CharlieScowen_ talking about anything gaming, TV or football related whilst also sharing too many memes.