Following the postponement of GDC proper as the coronavirus outbreak worsened, organizers behind the conference have decided to plan the follow up for this August, dubbed GDC Summer.
Informa Tech, the organization behind GDC, announced the new GDC Summer event today for August 4-6 in San Francisco, CA. Current health expert analysts are still divided on whether or not life will return to normal by summer.
Reportedly, GDC Summer will be a bit different than a normal GDC. It is described as a “unique” experience with a focus on “high-quality technical content” but is not a digital event, it will take place in the Moscone Center of San Francisco, CA like usual.
In addition to the technical content, GDC Summer promises comprehensive developer sessions and panels on how to pitch your game successfully. From the sounds of it, the event will be focused much more squarely on the up-and-coming developer community.
Bolstering this aspect, GDC Summer will also debut a new community-partnership-program allowing organizations to apply for on-site space to host meetings and gatherings. This includes, “SIG meetings, non-profit board meetings, local meet-ups, hosted “office hours” by community professionals, portfolio review rooms, podcast recording and more. This program enables GDC as an organization to reach areas of the industry previously untapped due to space restrictions. Meanwhile, sponsorship packages are designed to be easy to execute, with a shorter-than-average runway compared to other industry events.”
According to the press release GDC Summer wants to bring people together “in a way that hasn’t currently been possible due to COVID-19” but the timing still feels risky given the current global situation. Reportedly they will continue to monitor things, so it sounds like there is still potential that this event is either cancelled outright or postponed once again.
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