What to expect at GamesBeat Summit 2025: A guide

I’ve posted the updated and final agenda for our GamesBeat Summit 2025 event (25% off discount code: gbs25dean25) and thought it would be good to post a guide on what to expect on May 19-20 in LA. This post is organized by subject matter.On our first day, May 19, we’ll start out with a couple of hours of networking starting around 11:30 a.m. in the lobby of the Marriott Marina del Rey (4100 Admiralty Way, Marina del Rey). Then we’ll get started at 1:30 p.m. with four small group sessions at a time, all downstairs from the lobby. These are hour-long sessions and they answer our attendees’ desire for more engagement with speakers. These small rooms have about 65-seats each (for three of the recorded sessions) and 35 seats for the roundtable room (Catalina). Audience Q&A will be encouraged in these sessions, though some will opt for written questions. Our roundtables are not recorded, with Chatham House rules, where you can say what was said but not who said it. We’ll close out day one with a reception at 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. (Kicked off by Dean Takahashi and Gina Joseph of GamesBeat and Peter Levin of Griffin Gaming Partners).Gina Joseph and I will come out on stage at around 9:30 am and then I’ll kick things off with a short opening speech around 9:35 a.m.Then, throughout the day, we’ll have more traditional 30-minute talks on two stages (California and Promenade rooms) as well as two roundtable rooms (Malibu/Santa Monica and Venice/Peninsula). I’ll give closing thanks at 5:30 p.m. on May 20.The big topics: AI in games and growth opportunitiesTynan Sylvester created RimWorld while Owen Mahoney spent a decade each at EA and Nexon.As noted in one one of our social posts, we’ve got a number of sessions on AI and gaming. The hype around AI reminds me of some years ago of how we had lots of sessions on blockchain games or the metaverse, but AI is showing early results and we’ve heard that this is what people want to talk about. I don’t see these as repetitive sessions. Rather, they present attendees with choice, with exposure to many different bright minds on their own perspectives of the AI revolution. The sessions include high-level strategic views of AI in entertainment and games with Owen Mahoney formerly of Nexon, Bing Gordon of Kleiner Perkins, Mitch Lasky of Benchmark and Tynan Sylvester of Ludeon. (2:30 pm -3:30 pm in Palisades downstairs room on May 19).We’ll also have a talk on surprising uses of AI in game creation with Kayla Comalli, Neil Young, and Irena Pereira (3:30 pm-4:30 pm in Malibu/Santa Monica on May 19). AI in Gaming presented by Amazon Web Services (AWS) will include Ashwin Raghuraman, Hilary Mason, J. Aaron Farr, and moderator Chris Melissinos. They will talk about their own perspective on the AI tools that are emerging for production. (4:30 pm – 5:30 pm in Venice/Peninsula room on May 19).On May 20, Rich Vogel, CEO of T-Minus Zero Entertainment. Vogel, who won our Up and Comer Award in the past, will talk for the second year in a row on the AI tools that are reinventing game development. (3 pm – 4 pm on May 20 in Malibu/Santa Monica room — not recorded, with Chatham House rules).Also on May 20, we will have a roundtable entitled “From Player Safety to Child Wellbeing and the Role of AI” with moderator Chris Melissinos of AWS, Henderika (Heidi) Vogel Brockmann of Guardian Gamer and adviser Joel Silk. (1 pm – 2 pm on May 20, in Venice/Peninsula room).During our mainstage sessions on May 20, we’ll touch on AI in “Living Games: The AI and Live Services Revolution Reshaping Games,” presented by Google Cloud with Catherine Hawayek of Google Cloud Games and Dean Takahashi (2 pm – 2:30 pm in the California ballroom on May 20). And we will have another AI topic come up in “Driving Change in Gaming: Business Models, Player Needs, AI, and the Road Ahead,” with Matthew Bromberg of Unity and Sarah Parvini of the AP at 3:30 p.m. – 4 p.m. in the California ballroom on May 20).Other big topicsChris Hewish is chief strategy officer of Xsolla.We’ve also got sessions related to the growth opportunities for gaming, including the clash between developers and platforms over fees. On day two, our opening panel with Chris Hewish of Xsolla, Anthony Bartolacci of Sensor Tower and moderator Gina Joseph of GamesBeat will cover the topic of Epic Games’ recent court victory against Apple and the opportunity it creates for mobile gaming growth. (9:45 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. on May 20).Our Visionary Awards will take place at 10:15 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on May 20, with Andrea Rene as our host. The Visionary Award is for a game industry leader who showed vision throughout their career. And the second award, The Up and Comer Award, is for someone whose potential lies ahead of them. Our judges included They include Sarah Bond of Microsoft, Rich Vogel of T-Minus Zero Entertainment, Don Daglow of AIAS Foundation/Strong National Museum of Play, Perrin Kaplan of Zebra Partners, Elizabeth Olson of Strategic Marketing, Dinga Bakaba of Arkane, Tara Bruno of Tara Bruno PR, Charmaine Duff of Women-Led Games, Mark Chandler of TIGS, Meggan Scavio of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, Kat Jones of Motiv, Shelley Andagan of Qualcomm, onine game pioneer John Smedley and me.Diversity sessionsRachel Kaser is a GamesBeat writer.More than 54% of our speakers come from diverse backgrounds, and 35% women. And we continue to focus on diversity in the gaming industry for many of our topics. On day two, we get started with our tenth Women in Gaming Breakfast (meant for women, at 8:30 a.m. Pacific – 9:25 a.m.) Presented by Xsolla, that session (starting at 9 a.m.) will be moderated by GamesBeat’s Rachel Kaser and include speakers Carla Bedrosian of Xsolla, Angela Dalton of Signum Growth Dot Play and Nancy MacIntyre of World Winner.During lunch on May 20, at 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m, we’ll have our first accessibility in gaming panel, sponsored by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). Aubrey Quinn, senior vice president for the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), leads a conversation with Holly Wescott, Accessibility Lead at Amazon Games, Kaitlyn Jones, Director of Clinical Outreach at Warfighter Engaged and Gaming Accessibility Lead at Xbox and player, content creator and accessibility consultant Steve Saylor, about how the video game industry is advancing efforts to make games accessible for as many players as possible.Gordon Bellamy, professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and head of Gay Gaming Professionals, will lead a roundtable on how the “underestimated” can break into high levels of gaming. (a roundtable 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. on May 20 at the Malibu/Santa Monica room).And for the first time in about a decade, we’ll have a panel on ageism entitled, “Lost on the outsides: Ageism and belonging in the game industry.” The session will be moderated by Bellamy and includes Amir Satvat of Tencent, Jen MacLean of Dragon Snacks Games, Richard Brown of Blue Moon Production Company. (10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the California ballroom on May 20). Warren Spector is chief creative officer at OtherSide Entertainment.Gaming veteran Warren Spector recently wrote about his decision to talk about his bipolar condition and working in the game industry with it. TakeThis.org’s Kelli Dunlap will discuss mental health in the games industry with Spector in a roundtable. This session will take written questions only. (4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on May 19).Mental health and games will also come up for discussion in a roundtable with Susanna Pollack of Games for Change and Perrin Kaplan of Zebra Partners. They will talk about the subject in the context of work by the Global Mental Health Task Force and the World Health Organization. (roundtable at 1 pm to 2 pm at Malibu/Santa Monica room).The economics and growth potential of gamingMitch Lasky of BenchmarkOne of our longer big-stage talks will be moderated by Eric Goldberg of Playable Worlds with longtime game venture capitalist Mitch Lasky. They will talk about how to navigate games in the new normal. They will address what the new normal is, how to get out of the box that the industry has put itself in and fix gaming investment. (10:15 a.m. to 11 a.m. on May 20 in the Promenade room).I will also moderate Tian Xiao of Tencent, one of the giants of the game industry, on its perspective on the global game industry. (11:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. on May 20 in the California ballroom). Mobile gaming has become the biggest sector in gaming, and so we’ll have a session on “Winning in mobile gaming: Strategy, growth and innovation with Playtika.” Craig Abrahams of Playtika and moderator Michael Metzger of Drake Star Partners will talk at 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on May 20 in the California ballroom.And following up on their big-stage sessions, two industry thinkers will discuss “The repair room: Industry problems, group solutions.” The games industry is overflowing with problems, but light on solutions. In this interactive roundtable hosted by Adam Boyes (Vivrato) and Amir Satvat, attendees will vote on the 10 biggest challenges facing games in 2025. (a roundtable at 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on May 20 at Venice/Peninsula).Jesse Meschuk, the new COO of Savvy Games Group, will discuss a big new frontier of games in “Savvy Spotlight: Investing in the long-term mindset.” I will moderate the session with Meschuk with a focus on the long-term view of gaming and esports. (3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. at California ballroom on May 20).And our lone debate of the conference is entitled, “Is there still growth ahead for gaming?” The years of double-digit games market growth are over. COVID accelerated things, but the writing’s been on the wall for a while. Even live-service games have shown themselves to be mostly zero-sum, while esports, the blockchain, and the metaverse have done very little to move the needle. So what’s next for the games market? This debate features game economist Catalin Alexandru, Michael Pachter of Wedbush and moderator Rhys Elliott of Alinea Analytics (1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. in Malibu/Santa Monica room).Politics and gamingKarla Reyes founder and studio director at Anima Interactive. Politics has divided us across the country, and so it’s no surprise that some political topics have risen to the fore at our event.“Gaming the government” is about the experiences that gaming industry professionals have had in the U.S. federal government. Mark Deloura of Level Up Games (formerly Obama’s White House lead on games) and Paul Fischer of Accenture (formerly of the U.S. State Department). (It will take place 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on May 19 in the Palisades room).One of our sessions is entitled, “Playing With Truth: Handing disinformation through games.” It’s about storytelling can be used to challenge false narratives. Karla Reyes (moderator) of Anima Interactive, Paul Fischer of Accenture and Susanna Pollack of Games for Change will speak in the session (11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Promenade room). Rich Hilleman of Cleanplay will talk about “Partnering for the planet: Adopting clean energy for growth” to address energy consumption in the game industry. (a roundtable at 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m on May 19 in the Catalina room).New business modelsAndre Swanston is the CEO of Phynd and previously founded Tru Optik.André Swanston of Phynd will do a solo talk on “The gaming revolution will be televised,” with a focus on the new business model of ad-supported free cloud gaming services. (11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on May 20 in the Promenade ballroom). Adam Boyes of Vivrato and moderator Andrea Rene of Shortie Media will talk about the need for more transparency in the game industry and paths to focus on growth. (11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the California ballroom on May 20). We’ll have a live services talk, “Get live or die trying.” Industry veteran Sheloman Byrd will take the audience through a live service exercise of decision making based on past cases, where each team will weigh decisions across multiple areas, including an assessment on where they would end up for market success at session’s end.Sheloman Byrd of Open Ocean Games (1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. on May 19 at Palisades room)Byrd’s colleague, Jennifer Jo of Open Ocean Games, is a seasoned expert with over 20 years of experience in gaming monetization. She will run a roundtable on unpacking the secrets of maximizing revenue while keeping players engaged. Drawing on her extensive work across companies like Tencent, Kabam, Meta, WB, and Nexon, Jo will offer actionable lessons learned from PC, mobile, console, AR, and VR games. This session is a must for anyone seeking to refine their approach to monetization in a player-first era. (roundtable at 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on May 19 at Catalina room).One of the most interesting new models for helping brands connect with players comes from Twin Galaxies in a session entitled, “The competitive layer you’re missing: How game brands are building loyalty without adding extra code.”In a world where attention is fleeting and communities are fractured, competition might just be the secret glue. This session explores how game publishers and brands are using no-code, community-driven competitions to generate positive player sentiment, drive repeat engagement, and foster long-term loyalty. Learn how a novel approach has turned casual players into invested communities and why competitive formats are emerging as a must-have in the modern live ops toolkit.A talk by Zack Rozga and Jace Hall of Twin Galaxies (1:30 pm – 2:30 pm on May 19 in the Venice/Peninsula room).And we have a session on game publishing dubbed, “The problem with publishing.” Moderated by GamesBeat’s Rachel Kaser, with Jon Snoddy of Operative Games and Ben Kvalo of Midwest Games (2:30 pm – 3:30 pm at Malibu/Santa Monica room).New technologiesModulate’s team in Cambridge, Massachusetss.One of our tech sessions is about “Moderation tools and techniques: the advanced class.”Today’s gaming audiences are demanding more: safety, clear communication, and smarter responses to issues. In this fireside chat, Meta’s Blake Harper will share real-world strategies for building resilient communities. Mark Nolan of Modulate and Blake Harper of Meta (3:30 pm – 4:30 pm on May 19 at Palisades room).And Matei Trebien of VoicePatrol will give on a talk on advances in voice moderation technology in a five-minute sponsored session at 9:25 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. in the California ballroom on May 20.Sometimes old technologies coming back. We have a session on the evolution of motion gaming: Past, present and future. Nex Playground has launched to target children and their love of motion gaming. It’s an example of going after a niche that players love and the hardware makers have left behind. How big a niche will it be?Tom Kang of NEX and moderator Dean Takahashi of GamesBeat will discuss the topic. (3 p.m. to 3:30 pm on May 20 at the California ballroom).Entrepreneurs and investmentMoritz Baier-Lentz is a gaming partner at Lightspeed.Justin Woodward has long experience working with indies via The Mix. This session will look at how to curate indie games and talent. How can indies diversify their funding sources and engage with passionate, collaborative co-developers? I will moderate a talk in a fireside chat at 1:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. on May 20 in the Promenade room. One again, we’re delighted that Lightspeed is sponsoring our Game Changes 2026 list, which will find the top 25 game companies in the industry and present them in the fall. The Game Changers 2026 theme is “Building Through Chaos.” From mass layoffs and economic headwinds to the rise of AI and shifting global policies, the gaming industry is weathering continued volatility. Speakers include Moritz Baier-Lentz of Lightspeed, Dean Takahashi of GamesBeat, Kieran Donovan of K-ID, Stephen Bell of Gardens and Cheryl Fichter of Inworld AI. (1 pm – 1:30 pm on May 20 at California ballroom). We’ll also have a session on investing in new markets. What are the trends that matter to game investors now? How can we forge ahead with investments during a tough time for gaming? Where can we find new players? This panel of game M&A and investment experts will tackle these questions and more.The speakers include Hemal Thaker of Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Danzig of Sharp Alpha, moderator Emily Wang of Griffin Gaming Partners and Tyler Matheson of Makers Fund. (1 pm – 1:30 pm on May 20 in the Promenade room). Louis Gresham of Hydratec Dan Bunting, Venture Partner at 1am Gaming and former Call of Duty Game Director will discuss “The lucrative niche: Building multibillion-dollar franchises from core initial community outward.” (3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Promenade room). We’ll also cover the path from triple-A to solo game devs, with Adam Kugler, founder of CyanAvatar Studios and solo developer behind MoteMancer. He’ll run an intimate roundtable exploring the transition from leading large triple-A teams to the deeply personal journey of solo game development. (roundtable at 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Venice/Peninsula room). Lastly, we’ll get the “360-degree view of raising money for game startups” in a panel with Garrett Young of Emptyvessel, Jeonghee “JJ” Jin of NC America and Teppei Tsutsui of GFR Fund. Emptyvessel was one of the companies that targeted a niche, created a good prototype and got off the ground with funding. We’ll talk about the process of raising money for game startups from multiple points of view — and how we got to a full vessel. (4 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. on May 20 at Promenade room).Game communitiesScopely is acquiring Niantic’s game business for $3.5 billion.We’ll explore game communities in “Beyond the game: Scopely and Discord’s approach to building and maintaining thriving game communities.” Fostering thriving, vibrant player communities is not just a competitive advantage—it’s become crucial for game discovery and meaningful engagement.The speakers are Ryan Jacobson of Scopely, Stanislav Vishnevskiy of Discord and moderator Rachel Kaser of GamesBeat (1:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. on May 20 in the California ballroom). Shelby Johnson-Sapp SVP of Corporate Strategy at Scopely, and Rachel Kaser of GamesBeat in a roundtable conversation on what it takes to build a resilient, adaptive games business in today’s dynamic market. (2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on May 20 in the Malibu/Santa Monica room). We’ll also have a session on understanding the next generation of gamers. Kevin Beatty of Samsung Gaming and Emerging Technologies and moderator Stella Chung (2 pm – 2:30 pm on May 20 at Promenade room).We’ll also have a session about games in Asia and the West, entitled, “The East-West Connection: Successfully bringing Asian games to western markets (and vice versa).”There’s still a lot of flow of games between Eastern and Western game markets, as players are embracing global content in both predictable and surprising ways. We’ll talk about the way to foster this connection and get new projects off the ground. The session includes Jeonghee “JJ” Jin and moderator Lisa Cosmas Hanson of Niko Partners (2:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. on May 20 in the Promenade Room).And lastly on the community front, we have a session, “Leveraging industry non-profits for growth.”Gaming nonprofits are a great tool to grow your audience and grow your revenue. How working with nonprofits can help you build more successful games and businesses.The speakers include Blair Durkee of GLAAD, Stephen Machuga of Stack Up and moderated by Jen MacLean of Dragon Snacks Games and IGDA Foundation (2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on May 19 at Venice/Peninsula).Hollywood and gamesMaureen Fan is CEO of Baobab Studios.Since we’re doing this in Los Angeles, we would be remiss if we didn’t cover the love affair between the movies, TV and gaming. We’ll talk about where it’s going next in a session with Hollywood and gaming veterans.We’ll have a more intimate roundtable entitled “Video games: A performers’ perspective. A look inside the world of video game performers providing insights into the realities of working as a video game actor; the state of the industry, the existential threat to performers livelihood due to Generative Artificial Intelligence and the future of the gaming industry for performers who are passionate about their art and work.Actors speaking include Sarah Elmaleh, Zeke Alton and Andi Norris (3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on May 19 at Catalina room).Adam W is a creator and comedian.We will also have a small group session entitled, “The influencer playbook behind Assassin’s Creed: Mirage. In the fast-paced world of gaming, where trends start and evolve swiftly, and audiences crave innovation, only the most creative and authentic campaigns can make a lasting impact with audiences. This conversation brings together the visionary minds behind Ubisoft’s award-winning influencer campaign for the launch of “Assassin’s Creed Mirage.” Glenn Ginsburg of QYOU Media, Anna Ivanko of Ubisoft, content creator and comedian Adam W and moderator Amanda Perelli of Business Insider (3:30 pm – 4:30 pm on May 20 at Venice/Peninsula room).We’ll put a spotlight on “How documentaries are shining a light on games.” This will be a roundtable documentary discussion with Theresa Loong, who is making Game On, a film about game designer Brenda Romero and how to exist as a creative person. Moderated by Shelby Moledina of Glowy Pixels Entertainment and maker of Resting Pitch Face, a short film about a woman running the gauntlet of raising money for a startup. (1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. on May 19 at Catalina room).And lastly, we’ll have a talk from a tech/film/gaming pioneer Territory on “The Motion Revolution: Redefining real world experiences.”Step into the forefront of innovation with The Motion Revolution to explore how interactivity is transforming the way we engage with next-generation technologies. Discover how we bring the unimaginable to life, crafting motion design at the intersection of science fiction, technology, and gaming.As technology takes center stage the world is evolving into multi-dimensional realities, offering us new experiences like never before. Discover how our design work extends into this new era, honed on blockbusters such as Iron Man, Avengers, Ready Player One and VR games including Batman: Arkham Shadow.Russ Gautier of Territory Studio (5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on May 20 at California ballroom)Our advisers include Peter Levin of Griffin Gaming Partners, Mark Chandler of TIGS, Jace Hall of Twin Galaxies, Jeff Karp formerly of EA Mobile, Ed Lu of Fandom, Mike Romo of DDM, Charmaine Duff of Women-Led Games, Don Daglow of AIAS Foundation/Strong National Museum of Play, Eric Goldberg of Playable Worlds, Tammy McDonald of Fusion Point Studios, Noah Falstein of The Inspiracy, Perrin Kaplan of Zebra Partners, Ivan Fernandez Lobo of Games Executive Summit Europe, Michael Metzger of Drake Star Partners, Elizabeth Olson of Strategic Marketing, David B. Hoppe of Gamma Law, Mike Vorhaus of Vorhaus Advisors, Zsuzsa James of private family office, Kat Jones of Motiv PR, Wanda Meloni of M2 Insights, Lisa Cosmas Hanson of Niko Partners, Sibel Sunar of Fortyseven Communications, Michael Chang of Mavent Partners and Adam Boyes of Vivrato.We hope you’re excited about this and appreciate your support. Our sponsors include Xsolla, Scopely, Tencent, Entertainment Software Association, Modulate, AWS, Google Cloud, Lightspeed, GEEIQ, Sawhorse Productions, VoicePatrol and more.We couldn’t draw as much attention to our event without our great community partners including Women-Led Games, Women X AI, IGDA Foundation, Black in Gaming Foundation, Games for Love, Games for Change, Moms in Gaming, AIAS, GEMA and WIGI.And thanks to our staff: Gina Joseph, CEO of GamesBeat; Cathy Simpson and David Glass of the events team; Ji Bowlus of partnerships; our writers me, Mike Minotti, Rachel Kaser and Giancarlo Valdes; our marketing head Marta Ordeig. We also had a lot of help from VentureBeat on this event, with contributors including Marc Gartenberg, Todd Bokin, Gloria Lukos, Karen Horn, Nicole Patricio, Mike Rosinski, Alyssa Hill, Brian Thurman and Alexey Ilinikh.