San Francisco’s annual Game Developer’s Conference (GDC) is returning this summer after becoming one of the many coronavirus-related tech show cancellations this year. Dubbed “GDC Summer,” the new August-bound event seems to be taking a less formal direction than prior GDC shows, pitching itself as a three-day “celebration of the art, craft and business of game development.”
From August 4-6, the event promises to continue GDC’s tradition of “multi-disciplinary educational and inspirational talks,” but will replace the usual Moscone expo hall with a more freestyle showfloor set for the final two days of the event. GDC has yet to define what exactly this difference entails.
In addition to the event’s standard “high-quality technical content” and “valuable round-table discussions,” GDC Summer will also “host a new series of microtalks and fireside chats, as well as a dedicated space for comprehensive ‘career development’ sessions.”
Even with this new focus, however, tickets are as pricey as ever, starting at $99 for entrance to the showfloor and $299 for an early reservation conference pass.
GDC usually takes place annually from March 16 - 20, but the coronavirus-induced absence of key players, like Oculus, Microsoft, and Sony encouraged the show’s organizers to postpone the event. In its stead, GDC has spent this past week hosting a comprehensive suite of free virtual talks on its Twitch channel. Additionally, Sony recently announced PS5 specs on its own blog, a talk initially meant for this year’s GDC.
“GDC Summer will give the game development community a chance to come together in a way that hasn’t currently been possible due to COVID-19,” the event’s organizers said in an announcement last night, along with asserting that the new conference will “retain the same high level of expert-led talks.”
They also promised to “continue to monitor the latest information from health officials to ensure a safe and compelling event.”
