Barcelona, here we come!

In just a few days, Pocket Gamer Connects will be heading to Barcelona for the first time.

It’s shaping up to be a great event. We’ve got speakers from the likes of Scopely, King, FunPlus, Rovio, Sandsoft, Homa, Metacore, Tilting Point, ID@Xbox, and many more.

We’ve already been speaking to developers that have set up shop locally to find out more about the local development scene, as well as industry experts set to speak at the conference. Check out our interviews with King, Scopely, Rovio, Sandsoft, Appcharge, and Claire Rozain.

We’ve also just published a new report on Barcelona’s games industry, available right here. It delves into how the sector has grown over the years to become a popular destination for some of the world's largest publishers, the challenges it faces, and key data (thanks to AppMagic and Newzoo) on the makeup of the industry.

Industry insights

At the show, we’ll have key talks around Spain and Barcelona’s development scene, the latest trends in user acquisition and monetisation, tips for launching new games and studios, funding advice from key investors, the latest hot topics in the rapidly evolving AI space, a morning dedicated to PC and console gaming, and more.

One topic I’m personally most interested in discussing and learning more about is of course the Epic Games vs. Apple ruling that has opened up the US App Store to alternative payment systems and has removed anti-steering measures. I wrote about that last week here. The European Commission is heaping on the pressure too by threatening further fines.

We’ll have a Powering Payments track dedicated to the world of direct-to-consumer practices. It’s a pivotal time for the industry (pending an Apple appeal that could yet be successful), so I expect it’ll be the big topic of conversation in town.

I hope to see you at the show in sunny Barcelona! I’ll try not to bring the British weather with me, but no promises.