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Mobile masters turn out in force for Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki

Get the inside scoop on the mobile focused talks and tracks taking place at PGC Helsinki next week

Mobile masters turn out in force for Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki

With Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2023 just days away, we can't wait to welome you to a wealth of talks, tracks and insights from our guest speakers and panelists.

And while Web3, blockchain and crypto are always hot topics, you can bet that, given that this is a Pocket Gamer event, finding out what's new for mobile will always be a star attraction.

Here's how a PGC event works: At each event we group together our talks together into 'tracks'. Want to find out more about publishing games? Easy. There's a track for that with a line-up of talks and star speakers covering every aspect of what's working in the world of publishing in 2023.

Take a seat and get the very latest on your pet topic with back to back speakers sharing their knowledge.

Want to branch out and find out more about the wider world of games? No problem. Feel free to skip around the tracks and attend the talks that light up your pixels.

We guarantee that at any moment during September 12 and 13 there's a talk that's tailor made for you taking place at PGC Helsinki 2023.

And with mobile something of a specialist subject of ours we couldn't resist highlight just some of the mobile focused tracks and talks coming up.

Got your ticket yet? It's not too late - but be sure to act fast!

Finest Finland

The Finest Finland track pulls together every talks with a Finnish twist. Finland is the home of mobile gaming and the opportunity to learn from its best and brightest minds will prove invaluable. 

Keep an eye open for the Finnish Gaming 3.0 - The Next Big Thing panel, setting the scene for the years ahead and featuring representatives from Supercell and Neogames Finland.

Or if you prefer one-on-one, don't miss game lead at Metacore, Teppo Soininen, who'll be delivering an overview of the Merge Mansion maker’s approach to audience research and implementation in his talk, You Need to Know Who is Going to Play Your Game.

And in Steps Towards Sustainability, Veli-Pekka Puolakanaho from Remedy Entertainment, Tommi Lappalainen from Rovio and Elina Tyynela from Neogames Finland will each be delivering case studies of how they've reduced their footprint and gaming's role in a greener future.

East Meets West

In the East Meets West track we spread the net wider to find out more about the Asian games market. This includes numerous massive mobile-first markets such as China and India, and there's plenty of talks covering the MENA region and Latin America too.

The track starts strong with CTO of Sandsoft, Ahmed Sharif, delivering his talk on The Awakening of MENA Gaming: Empowering Talent, Harnessing Tech, & Making Markets. For such a vital and growing market, this one you shouldn’t miss.

Meanwhile, in Africa: The Next Frontier in Mobile Gaming, Mahmoud El-Azzeh, VP of product at Carry1st shares statistics and local insights as to why Africa represents a huge opportunity for game developers and publishers,

Incredible Indies

While we often concentrate on the big winners and unicorns of the mobile games industry, we never forget that the ubiquity of mobile presents an incredible opportunity for indie developers. This track shines the spotlight on the smaller game developers who are forging their own path and have stories to tell.

Want a good old fashioned success story from start to finish? Kevin Toms the original designer behind the first Football Manager game will be delivering his talk on The 40 Year Indie, Creating the First & the Latest Football Manager Game, packed with tips and dos and don'ts!

While in our panel discussion Can Indies Make it in Mobile Anymore, Eliza Jappinen from Visible Realms, Christian Lövstedt of Midjiwan AB, Mo Picnic of Picnic Game Labs and PocketGamer.biz's own Iwan Morris will be discussing modern mobile's state of play and what indie game makers have to do to find success.

Publishing Power

Getting your game out there is the first step, while growing your game and monetising it effectively will follow soon after. The world of game publishing is an ever-shifting landscape and our Publishing Power track is here to help you navigate its terrain successfully.

Managing director (and boss cookie) of Devsisters (creators of CookieRun) Europe, Chris O’Kelly is the man behind their move into the EU and his talk entitled The Power of IP: Running With Cookies is certainly not one to miss.

While Maja From Andersen of Funday Games' talk entitled Work with Your Player Audience Assumptions describes how Funday Games work with their players during concept developmen and will open your eyes to what you really know about your players.

The Growth Track

So you’ve developed your game, you’ve found a publisher and you’ve got it on your app store of choice. This is where our Growth Track comes in with talks to help you keep your title developing and moving with your audience for sustained success.

In today's saturated gaming market, standing out is more challenging than ever. In his talk entitled Viral Loops in Games Marketing, Konstantin Elgazin, CEO of Stupidella discusses how viral elements can drive organic growth and user acquisition and why tapping into viral potential is not just beneficial, but essential for future-proofing your game's success.

While strategic partnerships manager of Robot Teddy, Lakhvir Takhar and his talk on Porting Successful PC Indie Titles to Mobile explains the art of switching platforms for success, having previously worked with Vampire Survivors developer Poncle to bring the hugely popular roguelike bullet-hell game to mobile.

And there's more…

Want to know more of what's on show? Get the lowdown on all the tracks at PGC Helsinki 2023 here and browse the full list of speakers here (use the toggle at the top to switch between the two days of the show).

From mobile to big screen gaming, blockchain, virtual reality and more, with PGC Helsinki 2023, there’s always something new to learn so don't miss out.

Find out all about the show and get your tickets here!


Staff Writer

Iwan is a Cardiff-based freelance writer, who joined the Pocket Gamer Biz site fresh-faced from University before moving to the Pocketgamer.com editorial team in November of 2023.