Game Developer Conference rebrands as GDC Festival of Gaming: “the industry is changing and so are we”

The Game Developer Conference is rebranding as GDC Festival of Gaming, with the following occasion going down March 9-13, 2026, in San Francisco, California.

Announcing the change on social media, the group claimed it was “changing the game” as “the industry is changing and so are we.”

“The landscape has transformed. Budgets are tighter. Attention is fractured. Discovery is harder than ever. New tech and tools have redefined who can create. Our community needs more connection, visibility, and support,” the organizers clarify.

“The Festival of Gaming exists to satisfy your wants — bringing all the business collectively at a second that issues. More Connection. More Opportunity. More Relevance.

“From conference to industry game changer, [GDC is] the full game-making journey, in one place.”

There might be a brand new move construction for March 2026’s occasion, with “more access” and “no more trade-offs” so full entry is “the baseline – not the exception.” The Festival Pass replaces All Access at a “dramatically” cheaper price, with start-up and tutorial reductions out there.

The subsequent GDC convention — now GDC Festival of Gaming, after all — is scheduled to happen from March 9, 2026 to March 13, 2026 at San Francisco’s Moscone Center.

The organizers of this yr’s Game Developers Conference revealed that just about 30,000 folks have been in attendance. This matches 2024’s determine, however there was a rise in exhibitors at San Francisco’s Moscone Center from 325 to 400.

Over 1,000 audio system took half within the occasion, which hosted 750 periods, workshops, roundtable discussions, and networking alternatives. GDC 2025 additionally launched the primary annual GDC Nights after-hours occasion, which ran on March 17 and March 20, which welcomed greater than 6,000 attendees.