Full three-event Pocket Gamer Connects London 2026 schedule revealed
- On January 19th to 20th, Pocket Gamer Connects London delivers two days of sharp sessions and specialist tracks, featuring senior experts from across the global games industry.
- With 170+ sessions across 32 tracks, structured matchmaking, and first-hand, focused insight, the event is designed to support strategic partnerships and decision-making for the year ahead.
In less than two weeks, Pocket Gamer Connects London returns as a focused meeting point for the global games industry, bringing together current expertise and practical strategies for the year ahead.
Pocket Gamer Connects London 2026 takes place on January 19th to 20th, alongside two partner events - the Apps Business Summit and Beyond Games: Transmedia Summit - unlocking new avenues across games and adjacent sectors.
Your ticket grants entry to all three events, our pre-conference party on January 18th, Global Connects Party on January 19th, as well as access to MeetToMatch - the integrated platform allowing you to schedule meetings with fellow attendees ahead of the conference.
More than 3,000 international attendees from across development, publishing, platforms, investment, and services will attend - including companies like Epic Games, EA, Tencent, The Pokémon Company, Duolingo, Supercell, CD Projekt Red, Google, Konvoy, NetEase and more - for partnership development and first-hand industry insight.
PG Connects London 2026 - schedule
NB: schedule subject to change – check the official event site for the latest updates.
Day 0 – Sunday January 18th
16:00-19:00
Early badge collection at The Brewery
19:00-23:00 Kick-Off Party
Our Pre-Conference Party starts things off with a warm invitation for you to join our sponsors and us for a drink on the evening of Day 0 (that’s zero). Take the time to say hello, break the ice with people you just haven’t met yet, and enjoy the chance to absorb the pre-show buzz.
Where: The Anthologist, 58 Gresham Street, London, EC2V 7BB
Note: You will need your conference badge or Eventbrite confirmation to gain entry
Day 1 – Monday – Morning
09:00 – 17:00 – Apps Business Summit
Taking place at the Barbican Centre, the summit brings together developers, publishers, and growth experts from both games and non-games sectors to explore shared challenges and opportunities in the global app economy.
Features speakers from Duolingo, Booking.com, TikTok, Sofascore and more
This summit is fully accessible to PGC London ticket holders.
09:20 – 10:20 Track: Creative Kingdom
Creative insight into the latest & hottest industry trends from top British games companies.
Featured speakers: Nick Poole (Ukie), Donna Orlowski (Chucklefish), Akin Babayigit (Arcadia Gaming Partners), Saad Choudri (Miniclip)
09:15 – 11:00 Track: The Growth Track
Sponsored by Almedia
Essential insight into user acquisition, retention techniques and how to grow your game.
Featured speakers: Omer Torok-Arlosoroff (Appcharge), Yan Reizin (Almedia), Jessica Banunaek (Adjoe), Caglar Eger (exmox), Ido Raz (VYBS), Cevdet Ustan (KashKick), Nicholas Lovell (Spilt Milk Studios), Jan Sommerfeld (Almedia)
09:15 – 11:30 Track: AI Advances
Sponsored by Layer AI
From art to scriptwriting and programming: machine learning and artificial intelligence will change the way we create and communicate.
Featured speakers: Ken Noland (AI Guys), Hannah Wright (Just Wright), Bethany Browne (Stellar Entertainment Software), Darren Butler (The Gaming Recruiter), Alex Engel (Layer AI), Rakesh Mistry (Keywords Studios), Rana Rahman (Raptor PR), Oriane Piedevache (X&Immersion), Charlotte Cook (CALM Consultancy), Oz Silahtar (AI & Gaming Advisor), Aru Sri (ReBlink)
09:30 – 17:30 Journalist Bar
Getting your games in front of the media can be tricky, so we've taken the hassle out of it. Come to our dedicated online booth and meet Pocket Gamer journalists.
09:30 – 17:30 Careers Zone
Careers Zone is a dedicated space at Pocket Gamer Connects where studios and talent can discover each other, connect, and move careers forward.
10:00 – 12:00 Investor Connector
Investor Connector selects applicants for one-on-one meetings with investors and VCs looking to spend the right kind of money in the right sector.
10:00 – 11:40 Track: App Excellence (Apps Business Summit)
Uncovering best practice approaches for refining your app prior to market.
Featured speakers: Nadia Khafaja (TikTok), Igor Lautar (Aurion11), Toni Jermaniš (Sofascore), Peggy Anne Salz (MobileGroove), Matthew Conlin (Fluent)
10:20 – 13:00 Track: Global Trends
From East to West: facts, figures and insight into the latest industry trends from all over the globe.
Featured speakers: Simon Hade (Duolingo), Chirag Ambwani (Sensor Tower), Chris James (Steel Media), Wang Wei (Unity), Stuart Dinsey (Curve Games), Jim Ying (Mihada Capital), Mihai Pohontu (Amber Studio), María Sayans (ustwo games), Chip Thurston (FastSpring), Rhoda Campbell (British Columbia), Wolfgang Hamann (Koolhaus Games), Tayber Voyer (A Thinking Ape), Solon Bucholtz (LBC Studios), Emma Bullen (Hyper Hippo), Carina Kom (Simply Sweet Games), Omri Farber (Meta)
10:30 – 11:30 Roundtable
Strategic opportunities and challenges for ad monetisation in 2026.
Featured speakers: Jaivir Nagi (Crackle), Shashank Dudeja (Crackle), Dilpesh Parmar (Crackle)
11:00 – 13:00 Track: Audience Accelerator
Tips and guides for growing your game using the best UA and marketing techniques.
Featured speakers: Nicholas Bloom (exmox), Chip Thurston (FastSpring), Adam Smart (AppsFlyer), Edik Mitelman (AppsFlyer), Tadhg Kelly (Tadhg Kelly Games), Brice Laville Saint-Martin (Antihero Studios), Saikala Sultanova, Lea Nam (Tilting Point), Warren Woodward (Upptic)
11:30 – 13:10 Track: Practical AI
Explore AI's role in game development, to enhance player experiences, optimise performance, and efficiently create dynamic, immersive virtual worlds.
Featured speakers: Susan Cummings (10six Games), Volkan Gurel (Layer AI), Robert Huynh (Reforged Labs), Orly Shoavi (ClarityQ), Charlotte Cook (CALM Consultancy), Japhet Asher (Polarity Reversal), James Wu (GameBot ), David Jimenez (2Awesome Studio), Hege Tokerud (Aiba)
11:40 – 12:40 Roundtable
Transmedia cooperation in challenging times: Strengthening games, music, and film/TV through collaboration.
Featured speakers: Charly Harbord (Brass Knuckle Development), James Hursthouse (Greenstone Initiatives)
11:40 – 13:00 Track: Engagement Engines (Apps Business Summit)
Best strategies to maximise engagement opportunities.
Featured speakers: Marc Bearman (Mistplay)
Monday – Afternoon
14:00 – 17:00 Track: Monetiser
Sponsored by AudioMob
Make the most of new advertising formats, IAPs and other monetisation developments in this focused track.
Featured speakers: Sofia Gilyazova (Zynga), Faisal Al Bitar (Tamatem), Kristan Rivers (AdInMo), Luke Michas (Goplay), Jacki Vause (Dimoso), Bozo Jankovic (GameBiz Consulting), Oleksandr Kyselov (Usercentrics), Olga Zharuk (TeqBlaze), Monika Raszowska (Kashkick), Craig England (Prodege), David Perez-Iturralde (Merso.io), Jaivir Nagi (Crackle), Suma Amreiz (AudioMob), Nick Murray (Gamesconsulting.net)
14:00 – 16:40 Track: Webstore Wizardry
Sponsored by Stash
Discover the significance of webstores and how to use them in the monetisation of your games.
Featured speakers: Liam Wiltshire (Tebex), Archie Stonehill (Stash), Liu Xu (Neon), Ioannis Lefkaditis (Yodo1 Games), Chloe Cave (Neon), Matt Tubergen (Digital Turbine), Daria Berdnikova (Coda), Gustav Pastucha (Pixel Federation)
14:00 – 15:20 Track: Deal Dynamics (Apps Business Summit)
Dive into the day-to-day essentials of running a successful apps business.
Featured speakers: Herdjie Zhou (Bitjust), Jyoti Pannu (Booking.com), Peggy Anne Salz (MobileGroove), Felix Braberg (two & half gamers), Hannah Parvaz (Aperture)
14:00 – 17:00 Very Big Indie Pitch: Mobile
Celebrating new indie games! The ever-popular pitching competition returns, with a chance for media coverage, instant feedback and maybe a prize.
14:10 – 16:10 Track: Game Maker Insights
Case studies from the front line, covering the likes of game design, audio, character design, UX, and narrative.
Featured speakers: Emil Kjaehr (Funday Games), Jon Jordan (Soccerverse), Teppo Soininen (Metacore), Kate Edwards (Geogrify), Alexander Bergendahl (LootLocker), Jamin Smith (Pantaloon), Jan Kuhlmann (Astragon Entertainment), Susie McBeth (Raw Fury)
15:00 – 16:00 Roundtable
AI and creative industries implications.
15:20 – 17:00 Track: Revenue Unlocked (Apps Business Summit)
Learning from apps, and from games, for mutual benefit.
Featured speakers: Ezgi Dogan (Product Monetisation Consultant), Pascal Kowalski (Kowalski & Company), Igor Lyubimov (web2wave), Peggy Anne Salz (MobileGroove)
16:40 – 17:40 Track: Ad Insights
Sponsored by LoopMe
In-game ads remain central to many studios' monetisation strategy – join us to discover the latest trends and advice.
Featured speakers: Matej Lančarič (two & half gamers), Slava Taraskin (LoopMe), Vincent Fevrier (TapNation), Tina Riznar (Outfit7)
16:10 – 17:50 Track: UGC Update
Explore user-generated content, and discover strategies and inspiration to stay at the forefront of UGC trends.
Featured speakers: Tomas Rawlings (Sumo Digital), Stephen Dypiangco (Max Power Gaming), Mike Messinger (Cameo)
17:20 – 17:40 Top 50 Blockchain Game Makers
The editorial team at BlockchainGamer.biz reveals its annual Top 50 list of the world's leading companies impacting the blockchain game sector.
Featured speaker: Jon Jordan (BlockchainGamer.biz)
19:00 – 23:00 Global Connects Party
The Pocket Gamer 20th Anniversary Party is the perfect way to wind down after a hard day’s Connecting. Come and share a few fun drinks with us and all the other attendees for some out-of-hours networking.
Note: You will need your conference badge to gain entry.
Day 2 – Tuesday – Morning
09:55 - 16:30 Beyond Games: Transmedia Summit
Pocket Gamer Connects is bringing its acclaimed Beyond Games: Transmedia Summit to London for the first time in 2026.
Hosted at the Barbican Centre, one of the UK’s leading arts and performance venues, the one-day event will explore the creative and commercial intersections between games, film, TV, music, and other media.
This summit is fully accessible by PGC London ticket holders.
09:15 – 10:40 Track: Live Ops Landscape
A track dedicated to explaining and improving your approach to live ops, the core of the modern games world.
Featured speakers: Maya Hofree (Supercell), Zorbey Cantürk (King), Teemu Haila (Metaplay), Felicity Gracie-Herst (Trailmix), John Wright (Turborilla), Tom Storr (The Experimentation Group), Chris Hong (CosmoUniverse), Thomas Huxter (Raptor PR)
09:10 – 11:20 Track: Marketing Marvels
Discover the latest tips and techniques from the personalities and agencies that are changing the media world.
Featured speakers: Kalie Moore (High Vibe PR), Katie Holt (Ampere Analysis), Julia Gorbunova (Almedia), Daniel Helmhold (EA), Shelley Drogt (King), Naveh Ben Dror (Spikerz), Volkan Satirtav (Meta), Stephen Hey (HeyStephenHey), Mike Gallagher (Untitled Advertising Lab), Markus Wilding (Beyond the Wall Consulting)
09:25 – 10:50 Track: Digital Policy Decoded
Navigate the media landscape following the release of new regulations like the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act.
Featured speakers: Celia Pontin (Flux Digital Policy), Donna Del-Greco (SciPlay), George Osborn (Video Games Industry Memo), Jari-Pekka Kaleva (European Games Developer Federation), Nick Allan (Mishcon de Reya), Tom Nutt (The International Social Games Association), Rohan Paramesh (Aristocrat), Ronit Bernstein (Playtika)
09:30 – 13:00 Very Big Indie Pitch: PC + Console
This hotly contested quick-fire competition gives each developer five minutes with each panel of experts, meaning entrants get genuine constructive feedback from the event.
09:30 – 17:30 Journalist Bar
Getting your games in front of the media can be tricky, so we've taken the hassle out of it. Come to our dedicated online booth and meet Pocket Gamer journalists.
09:30 – 17:30 Careers Zone
Careers Zone is a dedicated space at Pocket Gamer Connects where studios and talent can discover each other, connect, and move careers forward.
09:55 – 11:40 Track: The Big Picture (Beyond Games: Transmedia Summit)
Exploring the opportunities that lie ahead for the transmedia space.
Featured speakers: Josh Chapman (Konvoy), Kyu Lee (Com2uS)
10:40 – 12:40 Track: Developer Toolkit
Everything a growing developer needs: essential, practical advice about all aspects of making games.
Featured speakers: Carina Kom (Simply Sweet Games), Evgeniy Tolstykh (ex-Wargaming.net), Alexis Bonte (Stillfront), Craig Chapple (PocketGamer.biz), Brian Chadwick (Devolver Digital), Richard Smith (DataTheorem), Hege Tokerud (Aiba)
10:50 – 12:00 Track: Browser Breakthroughs
Sponsored by Crazy Games
Discover how browser gaming is reshaping player accessibility and engagement.
Featured speakers: Edgar Neto (Reddit), Yusuf Çalıkoğlu (Crazy Games), Chris Kempt (Addicting Games), Rafael Morgan (Crazy Games), Roshan Desai (Google)
11:00 – 12:40 Track: Unlocking Webshops with Xsolla
Get the keys to unleash the massive potential of webstores and boost your games’ revenue.
11:40 – 13:00 Track: Crossmedia Collaboration (Beyond Games: Transmedia Summit)
Extracting the very best from transmedia partnerships.
Featured speakers: Vickie Nauman (CrossBorderWorks Consulting & Advising), Mat Ombler (Laced), Karen Troop (Passion Pictures), Alisha Hasan (Helsinki Film Lab), Adam Lumb (Royal Armouries Museum), George Mann (Strange Matter), Luis de la Camara (Rovio), Lisa Opie (ScreenSkills)
12:00 – 13:10 Track: Power Up
Curated by a panel of women, this track celebrates games' hidden figures sharing untold journeys of resilience and leadership to inspire a more inclusive future.
Featured speakers: Emily Yim (Superbloom), Katleen Evers (4EversGames), Jennifer Lufau (RFI / AfroGameuses), Daisy Lyons (Steel Media)
12:50 – 13:10 Aurora: UK Games Award Presentation
Spotlighting women whose work inspires, challenges, and pushes the talent, creativity, and innovation at the heart of the UK games industry.
Tuesday – Afternoon
13:40 – 16:10 Track: Game Dev Stories
Hear from game developers and find out what they are working on, how they have innovated and what lessons they have learned along the way.
Featured speakers: Tara Mustapha (Code Coven), Jennifer Estaris (Estaris Works), Claire Rozain (Rzain & Sistersoundfr), Josh Nilson (Maskwa Investments), Bryan Mashinter (Mashlab), Karla Reyes (Anima Interactive), Gabriel Stürmer (Clap Clap Games), Pascal Clarysse (The Slingshot Formula/Big Karma), Matthew WiIson (Wild Sloths), Philip Hickey (SYBO), Kai Torstila (KTC Creative Agency)
13:40 – 15:40 Track: Publisher Power
Get the most out of your publishing deal and take your game's launch to the next level.
Featured speakers: Elena Lobova (Burny Games), Bobby Wertheim (Kando Factory), Christina Barleben (Thoughtfish), Phil Elliott (1 Foot in Reality), Jamin Smith (Pantaloon), Pim Hofve (Raw Fury), Nathalia Garcia (Maze Theory), Ben Kvalo (Midwest Games), Alexander Bergendahl (LootLocker), Lea Nam (Tilting Point), John Clark (Odeon Interactive), Steve Stewart (Dreamloop Games)
14:00 – 15:10 Track: IP Integration (Beyond Games: Transmedia Summit)
The fundamentals of integrating IP without alienating your audience.
Featured speakers: Jari Pauna (SuperDrama), Kelly Vero (NAK3D), Chris Bain (Player One Consulting), Simay Dinc (Recontact Digital Arts), Toma Komitski (Chase a Cloud), Jim S. Hansen (Playful Rebels), Eloise Singer (Singer Studios)
14:00 – 15:00 Publisher SpeedMatch
Our Publisher SpeedMatch session pairs developers, speed-dating style, with publishers looking for talent. Perfect for first contact meetings with new prospects.
14:10 – 15:10 Track: IP Unlocked
Discover the potential (and pitfalls!) of licensing and working with intellectual property to unlock the global power of big franchises.
Featured speakers: Owen Rees (Games Workshop), Alexander Ekvall (Snowprint Studios), Emma Bullen (Hyper Hippo), Phil Williams (Scopely)
15:10 – 16:30 Track: Digital Dealmaking (Beyond Games: Transmedia Summit)
Raising funds, sorting paperwork and running the business.
Featured speakers: Russell Harding (Maze Theory), Peter Lewin (Wiggin), Cliff Fluet (Eleven Advisory), Christian Fonnesbech, Emmet O'Neill (StoryToys), Simon Usiskin (JWR Ventures)
15:40 – 17:40 Track: Show Me The Money
Get practical insight on securing the funding that will make a difference.
Featured speakers: Doron Kagan (Gameplay Galaxy), Shum Singh (Agnitio Capital), Phil Mansell (The Games Angels), Bibbi Wikman (PlayCap), Alina Soltys (Quantum Tech Partners), Sikander Chahal (Transcend Fund), Robert Hewson (Huey Games), Ali Farha (Behold Ventures), Susan Cummings (10six Games), Emily Bailey (JECO), Cassia Curran (Curran Games Agency), Hisham Saleh (Fateless)
15:10 – 17:30 Track: Big Screen Gaming
Beyond mobile: developing and publishing for PC, console, XR, cloud gaming and more.
Featured speakers: Aleksandra Stryjek (CD Projekt Red), Beth Wain (The Path), Nicola Clarke (Twitch), Dan Laughlin (Gamesight), Rob Syvarth (Gamesight), Claire Blackshaw (Flammable Penguins Games), Mike Murphy O'Reilly (Dexerto), Aaron Ludlow (Playstack), Tracey McGarrigan (Ansible Marketing & Tech Advisors)
16:10 – 17:40 Track: Incredible Indies
How to survive and thrive as a smaller studio in today's competitive games development landscape.
Featured speakers: Charles Cecil (Revolution Software), Ferran Punti (The Breach Studios), Sophie Atkin (Secret Sauce), Nicoll Hunt (Duolingo), Dave Bradley (Steel Media), Jakub Remiar (two & half gamers), Susie McBeth (Raw Fury)
17:00 – 17:05 Audience Choice Award
Attendees vote for their favourite game being showcased in the Big Indie Zone across both days of the conference. Don't miss the live reveal for who was picked as best in show.
17:05 – 17:20 The Very Big Indie Pitch – Results
Hotly contested with pitches for mobile, PC, and console games – which game was declared the best in the two pitching competition? Discover the teams that knocked it out of the park with this traditional closing of ceremonies live on stage.
Tickets to PG Connects London are available from the official event website.
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