Why your boss will want you to attend Pocket Gamer Connects London 2027

• Address a business problem or opportunity
• Suggest who you could meet
• Make the case for learning and sharing
• Demonstrate forward planning to cover time out-of-office
• Book now and save up to £260

You know that attending Pocket Gamer Connects London 2027 is a good idea. But what can you do if your boss isn't so sure?

Getting permission to attend an industry event can be harder than deciding which sessions to attend. There’s the ticket price, travel and accommodation to consider, plus the work that still needs doing while you’re out of the office.

So how do you convince your boss that sending you to PGC London is an investment rather than an expense? The trick is to make the case around what your company stands to gain - and show that you’ve thought about how to make the most of the opportunity.

The event takes place on January 18th and 19th, 2027 and brings together games industry professionals from across mobile, PC, console, AI, transmedia and the wider app economy. Here’s how to build a compelling case for attending.

Start with a business problem, not a conference ticket

Before approaching your manager, think about what your company needs right now. Are you looking for new publishing partners, exploring a new market, trying to find solutions to a technical challenge, or hoping to get a better understanding of where the industry is heading? Perhaps you need to meet potential clients, attract investment, recruit talent or simply reconnect with contacts who could help move a project forward.

Be specific. “It’ll be great for networking” is a difficult argument to quantify. “I’ve identified five publishers we could approach about our next game and PGC gives me an opportunity to arrange meetings with relevant decision-makers,” is more persuasive.

PG Connects London is designed to bring different parts of the games ecosystem together, making it possible to pursue several business objectives during one trip.

Show them who you need to meet

A conference is only as useful as the conversations you have there. Fortunately, you don’t have to leave those conversations entirely to chance.

PGC London offers the MeetToMatch platform to help attendees organise business meetings, alongside dedicated opportunities such as Publisher SpeedMatch and Investor Connector. Developers can also explore the Big Indie Pitch - with both Mobile, and PC+ Console editions - and the Big Indie Zone showcase area, while the Journalist Bar provides opportunities to connect with games media.

Not all opportunities will be relevant to every attendee - and some activities require a separate application or have limited places - but researching the options in advance gives you a stronger case to present.

Nearer to the 2027 event dates, we'll publish a list of confirmed attendees, but you can see who attended this year to get a good idea of the kinds of companies that you could meet at the forthcoming PGC London.

Put together a shortlist of companies and people you’d like to meet, explain why those contacts matter to your business and identify the opportunities most relevant to your role. You’ll be demonstrating that you’re planning to use the event purposefully, rather than hoping something useful happens.

Make the case for learning, too

Not every return on investment comes from signing a deal on the conference floor. PGC London’s programme brings together industry experts for talks, panels and other sessions covering a broad range of topics. Its wider scope also means the event can be relevant to professionals working beyond mobile games, including those focused on PC, console, AI and transmedia.

Choose a few subjects that connect directly to your current work or your company’s future plans. Perhaps there’s a market you need to understand better, a business model you’re considering, or a challenge another studio has already tackled.

Explain what you hope to learn and how you could apply it when you return. You might even offer to share the most useful takeaways with colleagues, giving the wider team a benefit from your attendance.

Put the numbers on the table

Your manager will probably want to know what the trip costs. Get ahead of that question by working out the likely total, including the ticket, travel, accommodation and any other expenses. 

Then set that cost against the potential value. A relevant new partnership, a useful industry contact or an insight that helps your team avoid an expensive mistake could make the investment worthwhile. None is guaranteed, of course – but a clear set of objectives makes the potential return easier to understand.

It’s also worth considering the cost of not attending. If your competitors are building relationships, learning about emerging opportunities and meeting potential partners face to face, missing out may have further consequences.

Deal with the time-out-of-office objection

Even if the budget is available, your manager may worry about losing you for two days. Make that concern easier to address, identify any deadlines that fall around mid-January, arrange cover where necessary and explain how you’ll keep essential work moving. If there are colleagues who could benefit from your findings, suggest a short briefing after the event.

The more you can show that you’ve considered the practicalities, the less your request looks like an interruption to business as usual.

Give your boss a reason to say yes

Ultimately, the strongest argument isn’t that Pocket Gamer Connects London is a big event, or that you’d enjoy attending. It’s that you’ve identified specific ways it could benefit your company and have a credible plan for pursuing them.

Go into the conversation with clear objectives, a realistic budget and an explanation of how you’ll put what you gain to work. You’re not asking for two days away from the office simply to attend a conference; you’re proposing an opportunity to develop relationships, gather knowledge and explore new business possibilities.

Book now and save

The next Pocket Gamer Connects London takes place on January 18th and 19th, 2027. Tickets are on sale now, with Early Bird prices starting at just £198. Book before the offer ends on November 13th and you could reduce your business expenditure by up to £260.