Heading to Gamescom? Join us for a session where we'll share proven tips on how to make the most of your time at the event. We'll cover tips & tricks on the venue, Belgian Games Booth, MeetToMatch platform, afterparties, pitching to publishers, follow-ups, networking, and communication.

(1:27) Chris Hanney

Chris Hanney is an independent game developer and producer based in Belgium. He worked on acclaimed titles including Space Pirate Trainer, Shredders, and Starship Home. After spending years manually monitoring player feedback across multiple communities, he built Gameplainer - a platform that automatically tracks what players are saying across Steam, social media, and streaming platforms.

(19:02) Flanders Investment & Trade (FIT)

FIT is a valuable partner for game studios looking to grow or expand internationally. Whether you're an indie developer or an established studio, FIT offers expert guidance, in-depth market insights, and access to funding and subsidies that support innovation and global growth, all tailored to the needs of the gaming industry.

(27:05) Vlaams Audiovisueel Fonds (VAF)

The Vlaams Audiovisueel Fonds (VAF) is a public fund in Flanders that supports film, TV, and game production through funding and talent development. Founded in 2002, it promotes artistic quality and helps bring Flemish audiovisual work to international audiences.

About Flemish Games Association (FLEGA):

FLEGA connects the Flemish game development community by bringing together developers, educational institutions, researchers, and service providers.
It supports its members through advocacy and advice, and represents them in communication with the government, non-video game sectors, and international organisations.

About Flanders Game Hub (FGH):

Flanders Game Hub supports gaming start-ups and scale-ups with personal guidance, knowledge sharing, and access to a strong network.
FGH builds a close-knit community, fosters professional growth, and helps studios secure their place in the international gaming sector.
Supported by industry experts, investors, and partners.

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Game development isn’t linear.

Codecks supports real pipeline workflows with parallel work and dependencies.
It organises everything around assets like: characters, levels, and sound, so you can track each one from concept to completion.
All related tasks and blockers stay connected in one place, making the progress clear at every step.

About the speaker:

Riad has been doing video games for over 20 years. From mobile games, to AAA, to founding his own indie studio. He's now focusing on helping other game devs run their game production successfully.

Why are indie game funding deals getting harder in 2026? In this episode, I'm joined by Pontus Maehler, games industry advisor and Co-Founder of Agora Gaming Partners, an advisory firm focused on video gaming M&A, publishing, and fundraising.

He breaks down the real state of game publishing, project financing, China publishing opportunities, and how indie studios can survive the current market. We cover how publishing deal terms have changed, why vertical slices matter more than ever, common mistakes developers make when pitching publishers, and what actually gets games funded today. If you're an indie developer, game founder, or anyone trying to understand the business side of the games industry, this episode is for you!

Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used in creative and innovative processes, particularly in the gaming, media, and audiovisual sectors. At the same time, the use of AI raises fundamental questions regarding intellectual property. Can protected content be used to train AI? What obligations apply when using AI tools? Who owns the rights to AI output?

In this webinar, we outline the current (legal) landscape surrounding AI and IP, and we examine what is already clear today, and what is not (yet).
This webinar is an accessible introduction for anyone who uses or wants to use AI in a professional context and wishes to gain insight into the (legal) considerations. The webinar will be conducted in English.

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This webinar offers a practical and legally grounded overview of intellectual property in the context of co-productions.

You’ll gain insight into the key considerations, from initial discussions to the final agreement, including the pros and cons as well as tips and tricks. The tax aspect is also briefly covered: how is revenue distributed? How does the allocation of R&D costs affect your tax benefits? How does the Belgian tax deduction for innovation income work in joint development projects?

This webinar is intended as an introductory session to clarify exactly what co-productions are, who might consider them, and to strengthen your basic knowledge of intellectual property.

On March 17, 2026 , Flanders Game Hub hosted the Financial Event on how to navigate the funding landscape as a game studio or game tech provider. The oal is to provide clarity, education, and direct connections to inform you on what is needed to map out a sustainable financial future for your studio.

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OVERVIEW:

00:00 Introduction by Michiel from Flanders Game Hub

07:26 Cultuur Krediet / Hefboom (Public & Culture Support)

14:56 VAF Gamefund (Public & Culture Support)

26:08 Gamevestor (Crowdfunding platform)

31:39 Tax Shelter / Cronos Invest (Production Funding)

39:44 Oro Interactive (Game Publisher)

50:20 Creative Europe (Public & Culture Support)

01:00:10 VLAIO (Financial Support)

01:10:10 Flanders Investment & Trade (Export Support | Financing)

01:18:50 BNP Innovation Hub (Banking | Acceleration)

01:29:50 Imec I.start (Pre-seed Funding | Acceleration)

01:40:48 Business Angel Network (Private Funding | Business Angels)

01:50:10 KBC - Start It Fund (Early Stage Funding | Acceleration)

01:58:32 Spreds (Crowdfunding)

02:03:48 PMV (Public-Private Fund)

02:13:50 ForsVC (Private Funding | Venture Capitalist)

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GameIndustry.be is the authoritative source of information on the Belgian game industry. It offers developers and consumers an overview of the latest events, capturing the beating pulse of the industry.

In this demo, Eric will give you a guided tour of the website's rear or backend, where you’ll discover just how deep the rabbit hole goes. Learn how to navigate the Game directory, explore events and mentors, create your own profile, and upload games or events.  View company profiles and public financial data, and integrate the API seamlessly into your own website.

Discover how to automatically track what players are saying about your game across Steam reviews, Discord communities, Reddit, YouTube, and social media all in one place. In this 30-minute demo, you'll see how Gameplainer sends real-time Discord notifications when your game is mentioned, analyzes review sentiment in 30+ languages, and helps you spot problems before they become disasters.

Negotiating a publisher deal is not a game (pun intended). Whether you are a start-up or expanding, protecting your assets and rights is of fundamental importance to your video game company. In this session, Christoph De Preter and Caroline Balemans from EDSON Legal will walk you through some tricky elements of a publisher deal.

The goal is not to be exhaustive, but rather to gain clear and practical insights that you can use the very first time you step into the negotiation room. Special guest is the team from studio Tovenaar, that will give first-hand testimony on how they experienced their first publisher deal.

In just 2.5 years Galaxy Grove went from a solo endeavour to a 16 team studio working on two games simultaneously, and the studio keeps growing quickly. The studio secured funding several times in a clamped down financial market and successfully released its first game only one year after hiring started.

In this talk Joost will explain the very deliberate studio strategy and choices that enabled this, both from a business perspective and from a creative perspective. Topics include defining company goals clearly, determining market fit of game concepts and the importance of (financial) planning.

Extraordinary talent resides everywhere.

Xbox Game Camp was founded in 2020 on the belief that extraordinary talent resides everywhere. The purpose of the program is to empower future waves of creators, storytellers and game studios to achieve more and realize their potential in the gaming industry and grow thriving game development communities around the world. In this presentation we will share information about the program's impact and scope while exploring the opportunity to run a game camp in Belgium.

Building Amazing Indie Games for Today & Into the Future with Xbox

We’ll talk about how Xbox helps indie developers succeed today and prepare for what’s next. From ID@Xbox tools and programs to trends like cloud, cross-play, and hardware, we’ll share practical tips to reach more players and build thriving communities. If you’re making games, this session is all about giving you the insight and support you need to make something amazing.

Making great games is hard. But running a great indie studio doesn't have to be. In this talk, you will learn a simple framework for running your indie studio with more confidence, better results, and less hassle. Oh, and there'll be Pokémon, too.

The development and success of Shredders has been an incredible journey.

Rami's description of this talk: "How to pitch your game?"

In just 2.5 years Galaxy Grove went from a solo endeavour to a 16 team studio working on two games simultaneously, and the studio keeps growing quickly.

The studio secured funding several times in a clamped down financial market and successfully released its first game only one year after hiring started. In this talk Joost will explain the very deliberate studio strategy and choices that enabled this, both from a business perspective and from a creative perspective. Topics include defining company goals clearly, determining market fit of game concepts and the importance of (financial) planning.

Join Deloryan Hommers, CEO and founder of Studio Deloryan, as she takes you through her journey from hobbyist to game studio leader. Discover how her side project, Horse Reality, transformed into a popular browser game with over 370,000 horse enthusiasts.

Deloryan reveals why embracing the business side of game development is important, shares the ups and downs she ran into, and offers insights for starting your own studio. Ideal for indie developers, students, and creative professionals, this talk offers practical advice (and possibly inspiration) to turn your game project into a business.

Jordy will be speaking about the build up towards launch, the launch and post-launch of "We Who Are About To Die". Context: We Who Are About To Die was (originally) a solo developed project, made over ~7 years, which had a global-top-selling Early Access launch on Steam.

He will be touching on all kinds of topics from dev, game design to the psychology and mindset of indie dev, to marketing and biz-dev!

Constraints often get a bad rap, as if they only hold us back. For the development of The Spell Brigade, we deliberately embraced constraints.

The result? A faster development cycle and a more successful game.In this talk, I’ll walk through the specific constraints we chose (and some we didn’t choose), how they changed our process, and why I now believe thoughtful limitations are a game developer’s best friend.

Monetization isn’t just a store at the end of production.

It’s a design pillar. This talk covers how to think about monetization strategically from the pitch stage to live-ops: defining your player value loops, balancing cultural fit with financial goals, mapping your in-game economy, and designing effective battle passes and events. Whether you’re F2P, premium, or hybrid, you’ll leave with a clear structure for building a sustainable economy around your game.

Starting in January'26, the Flanders Game Hub will offer support to a fresh batch of game studios.

Tune in to this info session to get an overview of what we can offer you and learn about the application and selection process.

Are you:

• A studio that has been around for a couple of years, released a few titles, and now working on a new IP?
  Or
• A start-up working on a first IP that shows promise and has traction?

We can help! Together with its network of (inter)national experts, the Flanders Game Hub offers:

• 1-on-1 mentoring and support for your business & project
• Monthly Sounding boards
• Physical meetups (playtesting, matchmaking, workshops, etc.)
• Access to market research & playtesting platforms
• Support in your search for public & private funding

Our ambition is to accelerate, professionalise and grow the Flemish game industry & the creation of original entertainment games with commercial potential.

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Shipping a good game that no one desires is a sad affair. I'll share how we avoid this by building many prototypes, evaluating them against real people and then go into an appropriately scoped production, staying happy devs in rough times.

René Habermann, Director – BIPPINBITS

The keynote explains how venture capital helps game studios grow, attract funding, and scale, while addressing key risks and comparing VC to publishers. It offers practical tips for game developers to secure VC investment.

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Join renowned industry expert Jason Della Rocca for an eye-opening keynote that reveals how cutting-edge game technology is driving breakthroughs beyond the entertainment world.

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The games industry is at a crossroads after a year of unprecedented layoffs; we would be remiss not to transparently discuss the reality of the state of the industryduring the Unwrap Festival.

Join us for a thought-provoking panel discussion,during which we’ll explore how companies/studios can manage project scope sustainably – and can learn from precedents (both good and bad) in order toensure the success and continued health of an organization. We’ll also discuss how to – as an individual – navigate turbulent times as a human being andindustry professional.

Our panelists will provide tangible strategies andsupport resources for those who have found themselves facing challenges in the past year, and will also be available for a Q&A. We’ll share experiences,talk resilience, and discuss ways toward a more sustainable industry.

The development and success of Shredders has been an incredible journey.

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How and why did we create a free one-hour game that everyone wants to pay for?

You worked hard at uni, put together a nice portfolio, and maybe landed an internship or your first job. But now what? Layoffs are rampant throughout our industry and there are so many great artists and devs out there. How can you stand out and assure yourself a steady position?

The Flanders Game Hub has been active for almost 2 years now. In this talk we will zoom in on what has happened during these past 2 years? At the same time we look forward and zoom in on the challenges laying ahead of us if we really want to grow our ecosystem. What have we learned? What should be our priorities?

In this fireside chat, we'll show how the principles of gamification and insights from gaming businesses can help your company level up!

Tara has been a dedicated commercial consultant at Amplo for 8 years, specializing in Belgian remuneration, copyright laws, social reforms for artists, and more!

Startups and indie studios require a wide range of important software tools to effectively develop software and collaborate. Using software-as-a-service (SAAS) offerings from big cloud companies seems like the only option with subscription fees, dubious privacy implications, vendor lock-in, and loss of control of your data.

Luckily free and open source solutions are starting to become as good or better than those expensive platforms. In this talk you'll learn the approach Grey Matter Games is taking with their self-hosted services using knowledge pioneered by the hobbyist community. This talk will cover hardware, software, security, and backups.

Join Deloryan Hommers, CEO and founder of Studio Deloryan, as she takes you through her journey from hobbyist to game studio leader. Discover how her side project, Horse Reality, transformed into a popular browser game with over 370,000 horse enthusiasts.

Deloryan reveals why embracing the business side of game development is important, shares the ups and downs she ran into, and offers insights for starting your own studio. Ideal for indie developers, students, and creative professionals, this talk offers practical advice (and possibly inspiration) to turn your game project into a business.

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Thomas will explore the intersection of modern art and accessible (mobile) game design.  He’ll discuss and compare the different challenges faced during development of the first game versus the second game, and share things learned from his journey as a solo-developer, winning the Google Play Indie festival in 2022 and securing a Apple Design award nomination. From finding funding, game-design, PR, marketing to releasing a game on Steam, mobile, Nintendo Switch, and efforts post-release, there are lots of takeaways from this talk.

Discover more on: https://www.unwrap.be/

Heading to Gamescom? Join us for a session with Chris Hanney as he shares proven tips on how to make the most of your time at the event. From planning your schedule to sharpening your networking skills, Chris will guide you through everything you need to show up prepared and make meaningful connections.

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With skilled talent from Belgian universities, strong government support, and a vibrant community of game developers and industry professionals, Flanders offers an ideal environment for creativity, growth and innovation.

About Flanders Investment & Trade (FIT)

FIT is a valuable partner for game studios looking to grow or expand internationally. Whether you're an indie developer or an established studio, FIT offers expert guidance, in-depth market insights, and access to funding and subsidies that support innovation and global growth, all tailored to the needs of the gaming industry.

About the Flemish Games Association (FLEGA)

FLEGA connects the Flemish game development community by bringing together developers, educational institutions, researchers, and service providers.

It supports its members through advocacy and advice, and represents them in communication with the government, non-video game sectors, and international organizations.

About Flanders Game Hub (FGH)

Flanders Game Hub supports gaming start-ups and scale-ups with personal guidance, knowledge sharing, and access to a strong network.

FGH builds a close-knit community, fosters professional growth, and helps studios secure their place in the international gaming sector.

Supported by industry experts, investors, and partners.

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Building a startup is like playing a tough co-op game. You need the right team, clear rules, and full commitment; otherwise, things fall apart quickly.

In this talk, we’ll share how to align with your co-founders from day one, split the equity, avoid dead equity, and make sure everyone is in it for the long run. We’ll also show how our new tech tool, the Blueprint, helps founders lay a strong foundation, before the real challenges begin. If you want your startup to level up, start with your team.

Speaker bio:

Maxim Van Eeckhout and Loïc Matthys are lawyers at Mace, where they support start-ups and scale-ups from launch to funding to exit. They’ve helped founders navigate legal, economic, and even personal challenges along the way. With Mace, they’re building an international firm, already based in Ghent and Copenhagen. They’re also investing in legal tech. One example is The Blueprint, a tool designed to help founders lay a solid foundation, based on real-world experience and deep market insights.

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DevOps is often overlooked, treated as something to add later or only when things start to break. But behind every smooth release is a hidden layer of systems that supports speed, clarity, and stability.
Momentum is quietly lost in game development and the right systems can shift that. You'll see how even lean studios can automate with intent, connect the tools they already use, and build a structure that keeps teams in flow without adding unnecessary complexity.

Speaker Bio:

Joke is a DevOps engineer and founder of FlowMechanic.
With over a decade of experience across iOS, web, and game development, she’s worked on titles like Divinity: Original Sin II and led DevOps for Baldur’s Gate 3 at Larian Studios. Now, she helps lean game studios build the infrastructure that supports fast, stable, and scalable development.

Why wait until the game is deep in production before you think of its first trailer? Thinking about what a trailer for your game will look like when you're at the prototyping phase can be an effective lens through which you can assess the appeal and viability of a game idea and show it to collaborators and business partners. Prolific game trailer editor Derek Lieu shares step-by-step instructions and best practices for conceiving game ideas via mockup trailers.

Studios are facing the new reality of evidence-based investing and need to start their market validation and community building from the very beginning to ensure commercial viability and funding attractiveness.

We explore this new funding landscape, cover methods for competitive analysis and concept validation, along with building traction, leading up to strong launch momentum.

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Speaker bio:

Jason Della Rocca is a game business consultant, investor, funding advisor, and ecosystem strategist. He currently spends the bulk of his time advising game studio founders on funding and product strategy, and advising governments around the world how to better grow/support the success of their regional game development ecosystem.

Learn the basic principles of game economy design starting from understanding what players care about. We look at the role of difficulty and power levels, and how these can be managed design through rewards and progression. We'll also look at what happens when commercial elements like IAPs, ads, and subscriptions enter the mix, and how to include them thoughtfully and stay compliant with the new EU rules without falling into dark patterns.

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Speaker bio:

Oscar has been a pioneer in online, mobile and console social games services since 1998 working in product and team leadership roles as well as being the original evangelist for Unity Ads; one of the most successful ad networks in the industry.

He’s the author of Games as a Service and is currently working on a new book focused on ethical monetization design and best practices for balancing game economies. Oscar is also one of the hosts of the podcast #GameDevLocal, where the team dives into “everything about game development you never dared to ask.”

Tune in at gamedevlocal.com.

Which characteristics and elements does it have? How can indies prepare for the trailer production process? What debug or camera tools are there? How much does a trailer editor cost? What are some great trailers of recent times? So many questions! Luckily, we're joined by popular creative director and trailer editor Derek Lieu.

This Expert Talk will provide entrepreneurs with a clear understanding of the “legal lifecycle” of a video game start-up on the Belgian market, using a fictional game studio as a guiding example.

Entrepreneurs will be familiarized with essential legal concepts and requirements for starting and growing a business in the gaming industry. Key topics include company incorporation, collaboration structures, funding considerations, recruitment and contracting practices, IP ownership, and licensing strategies.

Speaker bio:

Christoph has taught and researched at the Leuven University Center for Law and IT. He has practiced in premier international law firms. As a former Chief Commercial Officer in the geospatial industry, he managed global revenue, international expansion, the partner network, and 100+ sales executives and engineers. He advises C-level executives on a strategic level, is a dealmaker and fierce litigator. He is well-versed in Intellectual Property, Technology, Contracts and Strategic Litigation.

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This talk dives into the rapid development and successful launch of Order 13, an indie horror game developed by Cybernetic Walrus and published by Oro Interactive. In just three months, the team took the game from concept to release, leveraging agile workflows, market validation strategies, and efficient scoping to ensure its success

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Sam De Boeck (Oro Interactive) & Mike Coeck (Cybernetic Walrus) will break down the exact process behind Order 13—from identifying a market gap in the horror simulation genre, to building a prototype using existing assets, testing market interest early, and executing a targeted launch strategy. Whether you're an indie dev looking to speed up production or a studio seeking smarter publishing tactics, this talk provides real-world, proven methods to develop and ship a game efficiently while maximizing its commercial potential.

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Baldurs Gate 3, Cult of the Lamb, Disco Elysium, League of Legends — what do all of these games have in common? They were all wildly successful on Twitch, partly thanks to their Twitch integrations. In this talk, Thomas, the creator of these integrations, will talk about how he worked with these game's developers to create a memorable and interactive experience for their viewers. He will walk you through Twitch integration basics, Dos and Don'ts, as well as a couple of case studies.

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Speaker bio:

As Streaming Toolsmith, Thomas helps gaming companies improve live viewership by creating interactive experiences between streamers, the game they're playing, and their audience. With past projects like Baldur's Gate 3, Cult of the Lamb, Disco Elysium and League of Legends, Thomas gained invaluable insights into what features work well, and which pitfalls to avoid.

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Gaming companies are highly creative, but often not aware of the various tax incentives that can significantly optimize their tax burden.

Also the structure of the company can be essential for the amount of taxes that can be saved. During this talk, we discuss the most important incentives such as copyright remuneration, payroll tax reduction for R&D, innovation income deduction and the reformed investment deduction

This session is aimed at aspiring game studio founders who are looking for advice on the first stepping stones for their studios and pointers on which games you should make to build solid business foundations.In this workshop: The success and marketability of your game is determined before the game is created. How to approach market research for indies ~ Sam De Boeck (Oro Interactive, known for Murky Divers)

This session is aimed at aspiring game studio founders who are looking for advice on the first stepping stones for their studios and pointers on which games you should make to build solid business foundations. How to set up your studio for success in Flanders: do's and don'ts, best practices, funding overview, etc. ~Talk by Rik Leenknegt (General Manager of the Flanders Game Hub)

How to shape your marketing towards a game release - based on some real life success cases Game Drive worked on directly. Bram is a co-founder of Game Drive, a full-service game marketing agency for indie developers whose clients include well-known Dutch developers like BlackMill Games of e.g. Isonzo and Total Mayhem Games of the We Were Here series, as well as a variety of international studios like Pine Studio; Escape Simulator, and Funselektor Labs with several hit racing games. Bram has experience with nearly all of the facets of marketing, but his biggest interest lies in PR and business strategies.

It's not easy to budget your game internally, it's even harder to budget your game when you are looking for external money. With Real life examples and tools, let's create budgets together which you can use for your internal production needs and also to demonstrate your project costs to potential external financial partners.

Who is Laurent Grumiaux? 15 Years in the Gaming world, with one foot on each side of the language border. Expert in game production and management with a gamer soul still intact. I'm a punk producer and I love to challenge boring approaches to gaming with a twist of funk, anchored in the reality of the market.

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Check the budget file here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Juv-pUOBEqeqo5QRByxU4KehKt8kmMrIYhHeE3enKvs/edit?usp=sharing

In this GDC 2022 session, Armor Games Studios’ August Brown has an honest conversation about how publishers actually evaluate pitches and how you can adjust yours to give you the best chance of getting a publishing offer.

In this presentation, Jared will provide an overview of things to consider while running an indie game studio as a business. He'll cover the current market landscape in video games, hypothetical examples of what a studio's budget and financial outlook could be, and ideas to improve a game's chance of market viability, pulling from his experience with Devolver Digital and speaking with many other game devs around the world.

Manny will present an in depth look at problems and pitfalls that can (and often do) happen between the creators and distributors of our industry. Using real examples she has gathered from her own experience and stories shared from her network, she will highlight how to spot potential problems, plan for risk, and how to navigate certain issues when they arise. Stories such as contracts not being signed due to star alignment, work starting without contracts, and the infamous "15 Minutes Call".

To all of you who are attending Gamescom business days for the first time: We'll cover tips & tricks on the venue, Belgian Games Booth, MeetToMatch platform, afterparties, pitching to publishers, follow-ups, networking, and communication.

Discover how Kickstarter has evolved from a funding platform to a marketing tool. This talk will cover the viability of launching indie game campaigns in 2024, identifying successful games, and essential do's and don'ts. Learn about pre-campaign community building, budgeting, common challenges, and the benefits of partnering with Backercamp.

Summary:  Many studios tend to not put an effective system in place to ensure recruitment processes are efficient and work with the workflow of the business. Common problems as a result are: Over spending, Unsustainable hiring practices, Poor employer branding, PR fallout, Layoffs, Animosity and disagreement within the company This doesn't need to be some big, complex ordeal. Actually quite the opposite. The Talent Strategy Design Document will give you this system, let's go through it.

Speaker Bio: Andre has been recruiting in games now for over 3 years having worked with a wide range of companies from successful mobile start-ups like Lessmore through to 500 person AAA PC/Console studios like Avalanche Studios group. He has also found new companies to call home for people in all disciplines and seniorities of GameDev from Junior Programmers to Co-Founders. His system, the Talent Strategy Design Document, is built from this experience

Studio Testimonial - Oddshot Games: This talk explores how we transformed Slapshot Rebound from a concept into a live service game with 1.7 million downloads. It will delve into Oddshot Games' trajectory, covering solo founding, achieving product-market fit, team formation, tech development, financial strategies, and more.

Gilles has been passionate about game development since 2009. He earned his software engineering degree in 2018 and joined an early tech startup shortly after. Following the startup's acquisition in 2020, Gilles founded Oddshot Games, where he developed Slapshot Rebound, attracting over 1.7 million players worldwide.

In this session: Nicolas Pirot, lead technical artist at ZA/UM, on Creative Direction for Indies: Establishing and executing your creative vision.

Creative direction is a complicated thing. To have a clear vision of what your game is and what makes it special isn't easy, to deliver on that vision is much harder still.

In this talk, we'll be discussing how to refine and execute your creative direction, in ways that benefit the long-term stability of both your team and project.

Primarily aimed at small development teams working on their own IP, this talk will discuss creative methodology and production practices. Particularly useful for teams currently in preproduction, this talk can benefit teams in any stage of development.

Nicolas is the Lead Technical Artist at ZA/UM (Disco Elysium), and has been in games since graduating from DAE in 2017. As Technical artist he's experienced in both realistic and non-realistic artstyles, and over the years he's worked for several high-profile studios in the UK. Notable projects include the BAFTA-winning Sackboy: A Big Adventure, and Rocksteady's recent Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. A long-time fan of cinematic immersion and historical fencing, he currently leads the Technical Art team on an unannounced ZA/UM project.

The creation of FTL: Faster Than Light began with the desire to experience what it would feel like to be the captain of a starship. Many games have focused on space battles, but few games have focused on what happens in the ship itself. By focusing on a high-level goal of experiencing a singular feeling, and developing it with minimal preconceptions about FTL's gameplay, Subset Games was allowed to frequently alter or abandon aspects of its design, which eventually led to the game we know today. In this 2013 talkMatthew Davis and Justin Ma share their creative process as they take you step by step, from concept to crowdfunding to release.

Owlchemy Labs'  Alex Schwartz and Devin Reimer break down the successes, failures, and lessons learned during the development of Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality.

Subset Games co-founder Matthew Davis details the Into the Breach design process from early drafts to the final balancing decisions. Davis dives into years of cut content and iteration to show how Subset Games approached the difficult design challenges of making Into the Breach.

The stories we hear are often about the huge, mind-numbing successes. They are the one-in-a-million, lottery winning-type tales. Those success stories are great, and can inspire us to work hard and cross that finish line. However, they are few and far between, and aiming for that type of success can set you up to fail. In this GDC 2023 talk, Yngvill Hopen, CEO and Game Director at Henchman & Goon AS, shares her thoughts on how they have kept indie studio, Henchman & Goon, running for 10 years without any gigantic successes.

Discover how the Community Manager for indie hit Vampire Survivors managed a community of millions of players as poncle's only Community Manager, with no prior experience.

Grace Curtis breaks down everything you need to know about TikTok, from the technical questions (how the hell do I share a draft?) to the bigger, more existential concerns (how do I carve out my own space on the platform?). She explains how to grab attention, win trust, and convert views into sales—all from the comfort of your smartphone.

Rebekah Saltsman shares how the marketing and development teams at Finji use an integrated communication and asset creation process to manage projects that intentionally balances the high-profile marketing asks required to ship a game alongside the development reality of a project.

Game development is risky - every week hundreds of games are released on Steam. Most fail to sell even a hundred copies, and most studios close after their first release. It doesn't have to be this way. Playtesting & user research offer a structured way to discover if your game is enjoyable & understandable, while you still have time to deal with it. In this talk Steve will discuss how best to prepare for a playtest, and ensure that you're capturing reliable data that inspire game design decisions. Steve is a games user researcher, and work with publishers, platforms and studios of all sizes from indies to AAA to run playtests, and integrate players into the game development process. He's spent over 25,000 hours with players & wrote the bestselling book How To Be A Games User Researcher. Prior to this he was a senior user researcher for PlayStation and worked on many of their top European titles, including Horizon Zero Dawn, SingStar, the LittleBigPlanet series and the PlayStation VR lineup.

Alles over taxshelter voor videogames: van de aanvraag van de erkenning als producent, tot de aanvraag van het finale attest bij de Cel Taxshelter aan de hand van een concreet fictief voorbeeld. Wat zijn de mogelijkheden? Wie komt ervoor in aanmerking? Hoeveel houdt de studio er netto aan over? Wat met coproducties?

Bio: Arne is een ervaren fiscaal en juridisch adviseur met een passie voor lokaal talent. Hij helpt investeerders hun rendement te maximaliseren via durfkapitaal (ForsVC) en tax shelter (Cronos Invest). Zo stelt hij videogameontwikkelaars en producenten van podiumkunsten in staat om hun talent te kapitaliseren. Hij is ervan overtuigd dat lokale culturele ondernemers op deze manier hun volledige potentieel kunnen bereiken.

This session explains the basic principles of intellectual property, with a specific focus on its importance in the context of video games.

We will also take a closer look at the specific protection options for video games, and answer important questions such as: Who gets which rights? What are the costs of protection? Are there any subsidies available? ... Jarn Baele will share various useful tips and tricks to help you get started.

Discover key insights on building and managing an efficient audio team for indie projects. Learn how to select the right talent, brief them effectively, and leverage tools efficiently. Explore the fundamental aspects of sound design, music composition, and voice acting, ensuring your indie game not only achieves a memorable auditory experience but does so with insider tips, tricks, and industry insights that elevate the impact within budget constraints.François, an experienced audio engineer with a decade in the cinema industry, founded Demute in 2016, the first game audio studio in Belgium. Passionate about simplifying complex production processes, he transitioned from roles in sound mixing and technical direction to concentrate on audio production for games. He enthusiastically embraces the synergy of creativity, technology, and collaboration, always eager to share, learn, and deepen his understanding of the world.

VLAIO (Agentschap Innoveren & Ondernemen) is hét aanspreekpunt van de Vlaamse overheid voor alle ondernemers in Vlaanderen. VLAIO stimuleert en ondersteunt innovatie en ondernemerschap en dragen bij aan een gunstig ondernemersklimaat.In deze sessie: Wat kan VLAIO betekenen voor jou als ondernemer in de gaming sector en welke relevante (financiële) steunmaatregelen heeft VLAIO ter beschikking?

In "Prototyping Appeal," Jonas Tyroller addresses the importance of effective prototyping for indie game teams. The talk focuses on rapid prototyping techniques, balancing innovation with market appeal, and uses successful indie game examples to demonstrate how prototyping can lead to commercial success. This session is vital for small teams aiming to stand out in the indie gaming market.Jonas Tyroller, a key figure at GrizzlyGames, is renowned for co-creating three successful indie games: "ISLANDERS," "Will You Snail?" and "Thronefall." Alongside his achievements in game development, he also manages a YouTube channel focused on game development, which has garnered a substantial following of 170,000 subscribers. His channel likely offers insights into the game development process, industry tips, and possibly behind-the-scenes looks at his successful projects.

An overview of the current state of the art of artificial intelligence tools and techniques that can be used for game development. This talk will include a high-level overview of the different potential use cases with some practical examples. We will also take the time to go into some of the ethical and legal aspects of using AI in this creative context.Glenn is the head AI researcher at Digital Arts and Entertainment's Research Department. He recently concluded a three-year project introducing AI (machine learning, neural networks) to Belgian Game Development, VFX and Animation companies. He now continues this research on a number of other AI-centered projects, as well as working on projects focused on other innovative technologies including motion capture and in-camera VFX.

The number of game releases every year is insane, and is still rising. On Steam alone, there have been 13.5k releases in 2023 so far. This begs the question: "How can my game NOT get lost in this big mass?" There is no perfect answer, but Steam itself offers good ways to work on your game towards its release. In addition to a product page, proactivity, perseverance, planning and - inevitably - a bit of luck is needed. David and Tim will use INDUSTRIA as an example to show you how it can work.

Marketability of your game is very important. It's something you should consider and research in the early phase of your game development process. In this detailed, actionable talk, you will hear inspiring stories and the step-by-step processes that successful developers used to create and market their games to achieve success and sustainable careers as indie game developers.

It's unfortunately not unusual for indie game studios to spend years of their life, and all their savings, developing a game that a 10 minute market analysis would have shown that there is no viable market for. Many indie studios also waste too much time chasing publishers and investors for funding for games with no market viability. So, how do you carry out a market analysis of your game? This talk will break down the steps in an easy-to-follow, clear process, starting from selecting a competitor set to estimating sales projections for your game.

Hope is not a valid business model. To increase your chance of success, you need to be putting as much effort into "designing" your business as you do designing your game. Countless studios are built as a necessary byproduct of shipping a game, with no deliberate thought into the factors that will actually enable your game to succeed and your studio to thrive. The choices made around product roadmap, business model, marketing strategy, community development, corporate structure, compensation, funding, etc, help set a critical foundation for building a viable business. From countless mentoring and coaching engagements from across the globe, the same patterns around the lack of intentional business design keep emerging. This eat-your-vegetables session will explore the fundamentals of business design so you can go forward with more confidence.

Developers all know they should be eating their business broccoli, do market research, be active on social media, and build up an engaged community in order to have a chance at success. However, with limited resources and a typical focus on actual game development, it is often hard to execute the marketing and business side effectively. This session will lay out a community validated deployment framework to connect the game making process with the need to build marketing momentum leading up to launch. Bonus: you'll also have a more compelling case when pitching publishers, platforms, and investors.

How do you establish a creative vision? How do you hold onto it? And how can you ensure your team is aligned and ready to do great work within that vision? Rami Ismail is a Dutch-Egyptian industry ambassador & independent games developer with over 20 titles launched across PC, console, web, and mobile. His development of tools like the industry-standard dopresskit.com, his prolific & popular public speaking, and highly-regarded consultancy and insights have helped shape industry opportunities for games communities & independent game developers of any kind, in any situation, and anywhere.