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Facebook Gaming, Resistance Games, Rovio and Niantic confirmed to speak at Pocket Gamer Connects London 2020

Speaker lineup is heating up

Facebook Gaming, Resistance Games, Rovio and Niantic confirmed to speak at Pocket Gamer Connects London 2020

Europe’s biggest mobile games B2B event, Pocket Gamer Connects, returns to London on January 20th and 21st 2020 - and the speaker lineup continues to grow!

We’re kicking off the new decade in fine style, bringing you the very best speakers covering all aspects of gaming, and two new additions to our conference series - Big Screen Gaming and Blockchain Gamer LIVE!

We’re excited to reveal more details about the event over the next few weeks - including the full schedule.

But for now, here are our new additions to the speaker lineup for Pocket Gamer Connects London 2020.

L-R: Joy Marianowicz, Bonnie Wong, Jon Hook, Michael Cheung

We pride ourselves in providing talks and content from some of the biggest companies in the games industry - and they don’t come much bigger than Facebook Gaming. We’re thrilled to reveal that Strategic Partner Manager Joy Marianowicz will provide an insightful session on the current hot sector - instant games.

9GAG’s Bonnie Wong shares the secrets of how to speak to your gamers globally

Social media platforms are powerful ways to interact with the gaming community. 9GAG’s Global Brand Partnership Manager Bonnie Wong shares the secrets of how to speak with your gamers globally - and how to form your gamers’ community on social media platforms. Wong will showcase examples including PUBG Mobile and PUBG esports, EA Sports and more.

Jon Hook, CRO of Homa Games, notes that until now the hyper-casual games charts have been missing a key ingredient that you see in all other games categories. At our conference, he will show you that hyper-casual games are entering a new era with IP holders and brands.

L-R: Michael Metzger, Debbie Bestwick, Spike Laurie, David Yarnton

The movement of small green pieces of paper

As well as covering the latest trends in gaming, Pocket Gamer Connects also presents an array of business advice, from how to secure funding to expanding overseas.

How to bring your best game to the table when seeking funding from investors

Makers Fund’s Partner Michael Cheung and Drake Star Partners Media & Tech Investor Banker Michael Metzger show you how to bring your best game to the table when seeking funding from investors. Metzger also appears alongside Team17’s CEO Debbie Bestwick, sharing success stories.

Prize Payments’ Head of Sales, Marketing and Business Development, and Hiro Capital’s Venture Director Spike Laurie discusses investments in games and esports, while also featuring on a panel with Edge’s Chairman David Yarnton to talk about whether esports is ready to mature.

Managing General Partner of Hiro Capital Luke Alvarez walks through funding and scaling game studios, while Adverty’s CEO & Co-founder Niklas Bakos brings the spotlight to a new ad format surfacing in the games industry.

As a truly global conference, our seminars explore emerging markets to help you identify your hot prospects. Latin America is one of the fastest growing markets in the industry, mainly for mobile. Find out how you can take this opportunity to increase your revenue, reach a wider audience in the region, and level up your marketing activities and customer care services with LatinDV’s Founding Partner Julian Migura.

You’ll also get an in-depth look at the state of the gaming market in the Middle East, including forward projections for growth and opportunities for the UK games industry with Emergence PR’s Founder Lewis Rogers.

L-R: Niklas Bakos, Julian Migura, Lewis Rogers, Marion Feldhofer

Deep thought

Our society tends to put the onus of diversity on businesses, and while as much as it is true that they share this responsibility, our society sometimes forgets that it is a shared one. Join Splash Damage’s PR & Events Manager Leanne Cox and Green Man Gaming’s SVP Corporate Partnerships Marion Feldhofer for a talk on sustainable diversity and how we can teach and live it to the next generation.

Our society tends to put the onus of diversity on businesses, and while as much as it is true that they share this responsibility, our society sometimes forgets that it is a shared one.

And thinking of that next generation, My Town Games’ Founder Daniel Sonnenfeld shows you what it is like to be a developer for the kids category, while MAG Interactive’s Head of Ideation Matthew Buxton leads a session on creative innovation.

The games industry is a lot older than we think. Walk through the history of games with Resistance Games’ Creative Director Jussi Autio as he shows the magnitude of the industry and how it has shaped the world throughout the millennia. He will cover key elements to build understanding that the industry is older both as creative art and as a business than motion pictures or even literature.

And while Autio looks at the history of the games industry, IHS Markit Director Piers Harding-Rolls looks ahead with his session on finding the next wave, leveraging the agility of an indie.

Ben Greestone, Director of Taso Advisory leads a session on politics, policy and video games. He notes that politicians and policymakers are increasingly interested in the impact of video games and esports on society, and that their proposals will have a huge impact on games and esports businesses. And in other news of politics, the BFI’s Head of Certification Anna Mansi features on a panel which discusses what comes after Brexit.

L-R: Daniel Sonnenfeld, Matthew Buxton, Jussi Autio, Piers Harding-Rolls

Mind-bogglingly useful

Niantic’s Alex Fleetwood presents the ways they are solving challenges to achieve the full potential of AR

AR and VR gaming is a fast-growing genre within the games industry with a lot of potential. Niantic’s Head of Studio Alex Fleetwood presents the ways Niantic is solving challenges to achieve that full potential of AR and the business developments that can be realised.

Fleetwood will also be joined by Thoughtfish’s CEO & Creative Director Christina Barleben and Blue Donut Studios’ Managing Director Marcus Pullen on a panel focused on the nuts and bolts of real world AR gaming, looking at the overview of the current market, defining AR and real world, obstacles to overcome, technical aspects, game design and art.

And picking up on those business developments we mentioned before… Nearly every employee has a smart phone in their pocket. Sam Watts, Director of Immersive Technologies at Make Real, explores how businesses can utilise access to these devices or headset AR to give their staff superpowers.

L-R: Ben Greenstone, Anna Mansi, Alex Fleetwood, Christina Barleben

The answers to the great questions

At Pocket Gamer Connects, we host a huge variety of panels offering incredible insight and exchange of views from every angle. Topics under consideration range from monetisation, authenticity, how to scale your UA without breaking the bank, and the latest trends in investments, to opportunities in diverse Asian territories, what needs to be done to guarantee a harassment-free company, and keeping your community happy.

Below is a list of some amazing speakers taking part in these panels - and we’re adding more names daily:

  • Asmodee, David Chang, Executive Vice President, Corporate Development
  • Azerion, Patrik Wilkens, VP of Mobile
  • Black Snowflake, Filipp Karmanov, CEO & Founder
  • Casumo, Jan Ambrožič, Game Developer
  • Chartboost, Pepe Agell, Chief Strategy Officer
  • Dirtybit, Anette Staloy, VP of Business & Marketing
  • GameFounders, Kadri Ugand, Co-founder
  • Kirstin Bosc, BD & Strategy Consultant
  • Kukouri Mobile Entertainment, Kim Soares, CEO
  • MAG Interactive, Chris Peters, QA Coordinator & Customer Support Manager
  • Maple Media, Michael Ritter, CEO & Founder
  • Megacool, Aurora Berg, Co-founder
  • Mixi, Langer Lee, Director, Corporate Planning & Strategy, Digital Entertainment
  • Neon Play, Oli Christie, CEO
  • Next Games, Yiannis Alexopoulos, Performance Marketing Director
  • Nitro Games, Maria Maunula, Community Manager
  • Northzone, Paul Murphy, CEO
  • Peakpoint Consulting, Daniel Persson, CEO & Founder
  • Phoenix Games, Aurelien Merville, VP Corporate Development
  • Playable Platform, Johan Lofstrom, CEO & Co-founder
  • Playdigious, Xavier Liard, CEO
  • PubNative, Ionut Ciobotaru, CEO & Co-founder
  • Rovio, Michail Katkoff, Head of Studio
  • Smilegate, Jiwon Kim, Product Manager
  • Square Enix, Albert Custodio Martinez, Product Lead Mobile
  • Starberry Games, Antti Hattara, CEO & Co-founder
  • ustwo games, Daniel Gray, Chief Creative Officer and Project Lead
  • Well Played Games, Adam Wells, Co-founder
  • Women in Games, David Smith, Founder

We also have representatives from these brilliant companies joining the lineup for January:

  • AdTiming
  • AppAnnie
  • AppLovin
  • Bunker VFX
  • Creadits
  • Eilers & Krejcik Gaming
  • Exit Games
  • Fyber
  • GameAnalytics
  • GoGoChart
  • Google Firebase
  • Jagex
  • JoyPac
  • LeanPlum
  • Libring
  • Microsoft Game Stack
  • MoPub
  • Pearl Abyss
  • Pollen VC
  • Scopely
  • Tenjin
  • Wappier

Pocket Gamer Connects London is big. Really big

Right now, our Black Friday offer gives you an extra 20% off AND stacks with our Mid-Term prices, meaning you could save up to $675!

London is the birthplace of the Connects international series of events for the games industry, and it has been our home for many years. This January, the UK’s biggest B2B games event will draw over 2,500 attendees from all around the world joining us for two days of conference talks, seminars, panels, pitches, networking, showcases and more.

And you can connect with any of them, including our speakers, by taking advantage of our free online meeting scheduler, without paying any extra fees!

Alongside the 25 tracks covering all aspects of mobile, PC, console, XR and blockchain gaming, we run a host of fringe events that are great networking opportunities:

Book now and receive an extra 20% off!

One ticket grants access to three events - Pocket Gamer Connects, Big Screen Gaming and Blockchain Gamer LIVE! Right now, our Black Friday offer gives you an extra 20% off AND stacks with our Mid-Term prices, meaning you could save up to $675! Use code BlackFriday2019 and book now!

Call for speakers

We’re inviting anyone interested in speaking at Pocket Gamer Connects London to get in touch. We’re also seeking speakers for our upcoming shows in 2020 at Seattle, Hong Kong and Helsinki. If you’d like to share your expert insight with our industry audience at any of these events, be it a seminar or a panel debate, submit your proposal here. If you have any problems with the form, please email patty.toledo@steelmedianetwork.com.

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.