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Hear from the likes of Super Evil Megacorp, Zynga, Gamevil and more at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #8

First speakers announced for our next online conference - find out who you’ll be learning from next month

Hear from the likes of Super Evil Megacorp, Zynga, Gamevil and more at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #8

Pocket Gamer Connects Digital returns for an eighth edition from September 27th to October 1st with more insightful talks, panels and keynotes to sink your teeth into. The team is in the process of carefully crafting a superstar line-up of speakers who are primed to share their expertise with you next month.

Each talk, panel, keynote and seminar is streamed live, recorded and made available on demand, so you can catch up on anything you may have missed at a more convenient time.

Today we’re delighted to reveal just some of the first confirmed names who will join us for our eighth digital rodeo, as well as some of the topics they will discuss.

With more speakers added to the roster daily, who will you learn from this September?

L-R: Emil Kjaehr, Antanina Livingston, Sami Mahmood, Erinrose Sullivan

Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #8 takes place around the same time we would usually travel to Helsinki for a live event prior to the pandemic. Unfortunately, we are unable to hold our conference in Finland this year, but we are very excited to feature dedicated content that explores the Nordic markets.

One such panel includes Funday Factory product manager Emil Kjaehr, Dodreams head of products Minwoo Lee and Supremacy Games CEO Jari Pauna who will explore how Nordic cultures impact and influence game development in a wider context.

Emil Kjaehr is also set to appear on a panel alongside Ascended Studio head of growth Sami Mahmood to help attendees decide how to pick the ideal tactic for their demographics, whilst Activision senior live ops specialist Antanina Livingston discusses the challenges of a player-centric approach in long-term engagement.

So Real Digital Twins head of museum and cultural heritage Erinrose Sullivan looks at trends in art and culture and how things are leaning much more towards gaming and how these two can work more closely to enrich experiences for players.

L-R: James Dean, Karolina Kisly, Mo Fadl, Marta Waydel

Esports and Influencers

With the global esports industry continuing to grow and the role of influencer marketing an ever more important promotional strategy for games studios, you can expect unbeatable insight into the opportunities and future of the competitive gaming market.

Mo Fadl and Markus Schiill unite for a seminar on mobile games esports and influencer development and the hope of mobile player acquisition and retention for a whole industry.

Wicked Sick founder and CEO Craig Fletcher dedicates his seminar to the topics of raising capital, working with investors and the esports and events industry as a whole.

ESL UK CEO James Dean, University of York research and development director Florian Block and Promod Esports CEO Rob Black talk candidly about their partnership in creating an innovative research and development esports studio which will be a platform for students to learn, generate new talent, experiment in new ideas, formats and technology in a very sustainable fashion.

Lahza Games CEO Mo Fadl and COO Markus Schill unite for a seminar on mobile games esports and influencer development and the hope of mobile player acquisition and retention for a whole industry.

Esports Insider managing director Sam Cooke, ENCE Esports CEO Mika Kuusisto, Capsl head of business development and partnerships Alwin Wong and Gameset CSO Piotr Bombol analyse whether the changes in demographics and viewership will affect esports content.

Alwin Wong is featured on another panel with Wormhole Labs COO Phil Ranta, Gameset head of strategy Karolina Kisly, InfluencerStuff CEO Richard Little and Portobello co-founder Marta Waydel to debate whether influencers should be considered part of your team, or whether they should be at arm’s length.

L-R: Daniel McLaren, Poornima Seetharaman, Gabriel Fidalgo, Emma-Jane MacKinnon-Lee

The ins and outs of game design

Throughout the week, the fundamentals of game design will be a prominent topic of conversation with invaluable game maker insights, practical tips and advice for developers and discussions on the best approach to live ops, the core of the modern games world.

Daniel McLaren hosts a seminar on designing early for a live game

Speaking of live ops, Stoic senior product manager Daniel McLaren hosts a seminar on designing early for a live game, while So Real Digital Twins senior 3D artist Gabriel Fidalgo dives into art direction and production.

We’re also extremely excited to have Zynga director of design Poornima Seetharaman, together with an esteemed panel of experts, share some of the best practices to get your team engaged in ideation without losing focus.

Shinko Games CEO Abdellah Alaoui Mdarhi features on two panels, exploring the challenges of being innovative and unique in the hypercasual market, as well as providing some practical tips for first-time game developers. We’re also excited to hear from Gamma Law managing partner David B. Hoppe share his expert insights.

Moving on to the financial side of things - is bootstrapping and self-financing still a thing in game development? Unbound Game Studio CEO Moeen Rezaei and Execution Labs co-founder Jason Della Rocca discuss on a panel.

L-R: Taewon Yun, Anna Norrevik, Kyu Lee, Stefan Kreutzer

Raising investment, acquisitions and beyond mobile

Looking to raise investment and want to hear from the people who have first-hand experience? Gamegroove Capital partner and board member Marvin Liao, Chamaeleon managing partner Nuno Goncalves Pedro and Execution Labs co-founder Keith Katz discuss what developers should consider when choosing the right investor on an investment-focused panel session. Dead Five founder Chris Kempt hosts a session on when to hold, when to fold and when to run.

Oren Bennett walks through the process of creating NFTs that trade in the millions per month

If you’re considering an acquisition, Wiggin corporate partner Ciaran Hickey and Gamevil Com2us USA president Kyu Lee are here to ask should you go big or go home - is acquisition the way to go?

From practical business advice to the latest trends, Exedra Games CEO and head of community Oren Bennett walks through the process of creating NFTs that trade in the millions per month. BITKRAFT Esports Ventures founding partner Malte Barth discusses with a panel how a successful blockchain game is different to a standard game. Digitalax CEO Emma-Jane MacKinnon-Lee leads a session on blockchain-based fashion technology.

What does the future of games look like beyond mobile? Super Evil Megacorp chief business officer Taewon Yun, Sci-fi London festival director Louis Savy and Behaviour Interactive head of business development, Europe Stefan Kreutzer take a look at whether comics, films and music are just inspiration or the true future of intellectual property in games.

Hiber chief strategy and marketing officer Sean Kauppinen and Antler Interactive CEO Anna Norrevik explore whether indie developer kits, cloud gaming, UGC and metaverse platforms are the way of the future.

Book now, save $250

Join us for Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #8 and learn from the games industry’s finest. Book your tickets now and save up to $250 with our Early Bird discounted offer.

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.