The organizers of GDC Festival of Gaming have released the second annual GDC Trends Report. The report provides key insights on emerging trends and themes in the game development community drawn from GDC sessions, panels and activations, with personal accounts and perspectives of a diverse mix of thought leaders, experts and innovators. The emerging trends that were actively discussed at GDC Festival of Gaming include the rise and ethical use of generative AI, the expanding embrace of co-development as a solution to the need for more staff and resources and the challenge of securing funding and publisher partnerships. The complimentary 2026 Trends Report can be downloaded here.
Among the themes within the Trends Report are the following topics shaping the games industry and fueling the larger conversation at GDC Festival of Gaming:
- Co-Development: Studios are embracing co-development to help make games that require more staff and resources, with solutions to help newer studios establish a foothold amidst a well-established market.
- Dual monetization: As the Vietnamese hyper-casual market surges, and casual and hybrid-casual games turn their focus to retention over new user acquisition, the trend towards dual monetization is becoming more commonplace in mobile game development.
- Generative AI: AI-driven assistive tools have reached a place where many game industry professionals can use them without difficulty, so the focus is now on how (or if) they should be implemented in the development process.
- Shifting advocacy policies: As companies reevaluate their diversity efforts, many marginalized game industry professionals are feeling the impact in the workplace and in the job market.
- Game publishing & financing: While larger studios face challenges seeking funding through proof-of-concept prototypes (and more), indie game funds are helping to fill the gaps.
The full report expands upon each of the key topics as well as related fields, and is informed by the perspective of noted GDC speakers who continue to push the creativity, resilience, and connection in the industry forward, including Tencent Games’ Head of Technology, Nathan Chen; PlayStation Studios’ Head of Production, John Doyle; Playstack’s Head of Discovery, Patrick Johnson and others.
Much like the GDC Festival of Gaming itself, the report sheds a light on the incredible achievements of the artists in the industry, with interviews featuring IGF Award-winners Jenny Jiao Hsia (creator of Consume Me and developer of Titanium Court), AP Thomson (creator of Titanium Court) and Game Developers Choice Awards winner Jennifer Svedberg-Yen (Lead writer, voice and localization producer for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33), and an interview looking back at Austin Wintory’s inspiring “A Developer’s Concert” performance. The Trends Report features further insights into the emergent trends in game development with a slate of interviews with the following industry innovators who took part in GDC Festival of Gaming as speakers, award winners, artists and panel participants:
- Jennifer Hale – BAFTA-nominated voice actor for Metal Gear Solid, Mass Effect, Overwatch and more
- Jenny Jiao Hsia – Creator of Consume Me, IGF Awards 2026 winner for Seumas McNally Grand Prize, Nouvo Award
- Kevin Janzen – CEO Gaming & Ed. Tech AI Studio, Globant
- Amra Khullar – Senior Product Manager at The New York Times
- Elizabeth Kilmer, PHD. – Clinical Psychologist at Respec Psychological Services
- Lucien Parsons – Fractional COO at OpsCat
- Shafik Quoraishee – Senior Game Developer at The New York Times
- Jason Della Rocca – Co-Founder of Execution Labs
- Jennifer Svedberg-Yen – Lead writer, voice and localization producer for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- AP Thomson – Creator of Titanium Court, the IGF Awards 2026 winner for Seumas McNally Grand Prize and Excellence in Design
- Austin Wintory – Composer & 2026 Grammy winner
GDC Festival of Gaming made its debut in 2026 as a boldly transformed event, designed to reflect the broader interconnected ecosystem of today’s games industry. The Festival brings together thousands of game-makers, publishers, distributors, investors, founders, technologists, toolmakers, marketers, educators, and media from around the globe for a week of connection, discovery, learning and celebration. GDC Festival of Gaming will be returning to San Francisco and the Moscone Center next year, Monday, March 1 to Friday, March 5, 2027.
For more information on the GDC Festival of Gaming, please visit the official website, or subscribe to regular updates via LinkedIn, Facebook, X or BlueSky. Official photos are available via the GDC Flickr account.
About GDC Festival of Gaming
GDC Festival of Gaming is the world’s largest professional game industry event with market-defining content for programmers, artists, producers, game designers, audio professionals, business decision makers and others involved in the development of interactive games and immersive experiences. GDC brings together the global game industry community year-round through events and digital media, including GDC Vault, GameDeveloper.com, Independent Games Festival, and the Game Developers Choice Awards.
GDC is organized by Informa PLC, a leading B2B information services group and one of the leading B2B Events organizers in the world. To learn more and for the latest news and information visit www.informa.com.
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