Three things I learned at GDC 2025, 20/03/2025
Including one Serious Games scoop for VGIM
We run through things we learned at GDC (including one actual news story)
Former England manager Sir Gareth Southgate takes an unexpected pop at gaming
Assassin’s Creed Shadows launches to critical acclaim and commercial expectation
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Hello VGIM-ers,
Welcome to the latest edition of the newsletter, which has been penned mainly from San Francisco’s prestigious Presidio.
It’s great to have friends in literally high places.
I have little to update you on because the past couple of weeks have been a complete whirlwind in the run-up (and during) my trip to the West Coast.
So rather than faff about with the usual introductory fluff, let’s get on with what I think is a genuinely intriguing edition of the newsletter.
The big read - Three things I learned at GDC 2025
Back again: The Game Developer Conference (GDC) has had the temerity to occur again. The biggest video games conference in the world returned to the Moscone Center in San Francisco this week, enticing thousands of professionals from across the globe to come together to do business, catch up with friends over a beverage and have a ride in the back of a Waymo.
Learning lessons: But beyond developing a deep respect for our robot car overlords, I also learned a few other things at this year’s GDC. And most surprisingly of all, it turns out that at least one of those things is an actual news story. Blimey.
Lesson one: The Serious Games Initiative is under threat
Scoop: The United State’s Serious Games Initiative - the only state-backed institution in the Western democratic world dedicated to supporting ‘serious games’ for public policy purposes - is reportedly set to close as a result of a Presidential executive order issued last weekend.
Serious Games Initiated: The Initiative, which was founded in the early 2000s via the non-partisan think tank The Wilson Center, aims to “communicate science and policy complexities” via the means of games.
Come together: Since its foundation, it has supported the development of interactive entertainment that has informed the public and policymakers on matters such as the environment, the conduct of fiscal policy and the damaging effects of deepfakes. It has also acted as an informal convener of The Federal Games Guild, bringing together experts from a range of public bodies and government departments to share best practices about using games in the pursuit of policy and communication excellence.
Slash and burn: However, several VGIM sources I spoke to during GDC confirmed that the body is under threat from an executive order issued by President Trump as part of his administration’s efforts to slash the size of the state.
Executive Ordered: On Saturday 14th March, the White House published an executive order titled Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy. It ordered seven governmental entities to eliminate all of their “non-statutory components and functions” to the “maximum intent” within seven days, while also ordering them to reject all incoming grants or funding applications in the process.
Some valuable context: One of the entities affected by the order is the Wilson Center within which the Serious Games Initiative sits. While the Act of Congress which established the Center in 1968 gives it a small amount of freedom to govern its affairs, the act also narrowly directs the Center to develop ‘fruitful relations’ between academic scholars and public policy on an initial fiscal budget of $200,000 a year - putting its whole programme (and almost certainly the games initiative) at risk.
Kremwin?: The Wilson Center did not respond to a request for comment about the future of the programme or the Center itself. However, VGIM sources were clear that defunding or dismantling the initiative would deal a major blow to the cause of serious game development in the West. In turn, this would likely cede further control within the video games information space to nation states such as Russia - who happily promote the country’s worldview via their own national video game publishing strategies.
Alternatives needed: For now, we will have to wait and see how the Center responds to the order and whether the Initiative can survive any likely cuts. But without an alternative home for the Initiative’s work in the US or abroad, things are looking grim for the cause of serious games development across the Western world.
Lesson two: The cost of GDC risks outweighing its value
Uncomfortable segway: Speaking of geography and the games business, GDC has long been considered the biggest games business conference in the world. But according to the majority of people I spoke to at the event this year, there’s a belief that its position is coming under threat due to its overly high cost of entry.
Vacant rooms: The spark for the conversation was how comparatively quiet the event felt this year. The usually rammed hotel bars were a little less full than usual. The typically heaving Yerba Buena Gardens were noticeably easier to navigate. There were even spare rooms in a number of the most popular hotels in downtown San Francisco.
Headcount cuts: Obviously, the enormous number of games industry lay-offs was almost certainly responsible for the likely downturn in attendance. According to the conference’s own State of the Industry report, 11% of the global games industry lost their jobs in 2024. With a big chunk of those cuts coming in America due to its losing combination of high labour costs and piss-poor employment rights, it’s unsurprising that a US-based event had less of a buzz about it.
Tough times: But while lay-offs may have cut the number of grassroots attendees at the event, there also seemed to be a wider push by businesses to cut the number of people they sent to the conference. With the cost of attending GDC climbing higher and higher - with most of the people I spoke to estimating that the total cost of the trip per head was somewhere between $3000 and $5000 - businesses literally can’t afford to send hefty delegations to the event in the current climate.
What does it all mean: The question on many lips was whether this likely downturn in attendance is a one-off issue or a reflection of something deeper. And for what it’s worth, I think dramatically declaring ‘the death of GDC’ would be both deeply premature and - even more importantly - wrong.
Get some perspective: The UK’s trade delegation to the event was the biggest in the history of its programme. Some companies like Xsolla grew their presence outside of the halls of the Moscone Center, displacing a decent chunk of meetings. And while the event remains expensive, it’s possible return on investment - either through chatting with bigwigs who have deep pockets or by learning interesting stuff during talks as part of a learning and development spend - will keep people coming back.
Value proposition: But while concerns over cost are measured in the short term, questions about value can present a conference with long-term problems. And with figures in the industry already suggesting that they’re considering investing more of their conference budgets in growing markets like South East Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, GDC may need to think carefully about its value proposition in the years to come.
Lesson 3: Welcome to the ‘get to the point’ era of video games
Cult following: And finally for this week’s slightly weird edition of the newsletter, I wanted to share with you the words of wisdom that I heard from Helen Burnill - the Founder and CEO of thriving publisher Cult Games - about the state of the games industry.
Get to the point: During a ten minute rapid fire chat over lunch, Helen told me that we have entered the “get to the point” era of the video games industry. This means that games themselves have to ‘get to the point’ to show that they respect limited player time (and attention), while games businesses must do so with their pitches to catch the eye of overstretched - and currently cautious - publishers and investors.
Find the fun faster: It is, I believe, a typically erudite remark from Helen. On the game design side of the equation, her point stands up brilliantly. We know from research by market boffins Newzoo that a handful of video games are dominating more and more of a typical player’s time. And we know that developers are adjusting accordingly whether in the form of tighter Triple-A games (e.g. Indiana Jones and The Great Circle), through tightly crafted live service titles (e.g. Helldivers 2) and even through time-respecting mobile games (e.g. The New York Times and its suite of word puzzle games) - suggesting her encapsulation has more than a ring of truth to it.
Pithy pitching: And on the business side, one of the people I met at the conference shouted “hell yes” when I raised the “get to the point theory” after they had told me of the frustration of sitting through pitches that didn’t tightly and pithily pitch what the developer was making, why it had a market and how much cash they needed to deliver it.
Exceptions to the rule: Of course, a throwaway remark over lunch should still be treated a little carefully. Games with extensive user bases, deeply attached fan bases or behemoth status (e.g. GTA 6) will always find an audience. And while pithier pitches will succeed more often than rambling chats will in any business context, the market for finance and support in the industry remains painfully tight for even the most polished developers.
Inspiring mantras: But if you’re looking for a mantra for the industry - and potentially for life, if you’re feeling particularly rudderless - “get to the point” is a remarkably handy way to think about working in games. I might even take it on board for VGIM at some point too, you know.
GDC 2025 - The Best of the Rest
Playing politics (behind closed doors) - GDC may have been a touch quieter than usual but it still received its usual minor political stardust. The Irish Consulate hosted investment ministers and the domestic games industry at its St Paddy’s Day bash on Monday, while representatives of Saudi Arabia’s investment ministry respectfully navigated through a drinks event hosted by Savvy Games Group the same night. But arguably the biggest name seen at GDC this week was Lord Mandelson - the UK’s ambassador to the US and former New Labour dark arts man - who posed with VGIM after I made an excellent joke about my name. It truly is the gift that keeps on giving.
Rampant gossip - As per usual, GDC proved to be a prime opportunity to overhear plenty of excellent gossip that is both almost certainly true and entirely impossible to report on. But I did enjoy hearing three separate rumours about Grand Theft Auto 6’s release date, including a rapid-fire release in early Autumn, a drop in time for Christmas and a possible postponement to next year. The more you hear, the less you know right?
Bar hopping - To curry favour with the many people I met at GDC, I chucked all of my meetings a few softball questions about how to make the most of the conference. For those wondering which are the best hotel bars to do business in, Team Xsolla recommended The St Regis while the Four Seasons received two tips from corporate BD types. However, Steve Collins, CTO of Unity, warned VGIM that the Marriott’s bar is “a bit too loud”, while several contacts suggested that the W’s reputation as a prominent hangout spot was waning. Something to mull over if you do make it out here next year.
Effective eventing - I also received plenty of tips for excellent networking events to go to from my contacts. Maria Beck of Sweet Baby Inc. tipped Day of the Devs as the perfect kick-off for GDC on Sunday afternoon. The Keywords party was highlighted as the best of a busy bunch of networking activities on Wednesday. And Tommy Thompson of AI and Games said the speaker party was a good knees-up, before admitting that made him sound “privileged”. You’re damn right it does, Tommy.
Newbie tips - And for those of you thinking about making your first trip to GDC, VGIM received three main pieces of advice for making the most of it. Martin Hultberg, comms and narrative head honcho at Sharkmob recommended leaving room for serendipitous meet-ups. Kelly Ekins at Unity recommended wearing comfy shoes. Lucy James from GameSpot suggested that you shouldn’t post on social media about being in San Francisco until you’ve made it out of downtown (zing!). And George Morgan from Poncle left us with one final practical word of advice upon which to conclude this part of the newsletter: hydrate.
News in brief
Southgate slams games: Former England manager and general good egg Sir Gareth Southgate delivered an unexpected drive-by on the games industry this week, suggesting that directionless young men who end up in the man-o-sphere are drawn in via “unhealthy alternatives” such as “gaming, gambling and pornography." In response to the comments, UK trade body Ukie has penned a public letter asking Gareth for a meeting to discuss the positive side of games. Let’s see if he takes them up on it…
Showing Discord: There were more announcements than you could imagine at GDC this week, but Discord’s launch of a software development kit to allow game devs to cook its social infrastructure into their games is huge. As well as allowing loads of developers to embed a load of communications functionality into games that otherwise wouldn’t have it, the move will almost certainly cement Discord’s dominance of the video game chat world - strengthening its already formidable position in the market.
Ubi-Selling bits off: Ubisoft is considering creating and selling a minority stake in a new business venture containing hit IP like Assassin’s Creed to try to resolve its financial woes, reports Bloomberg. The company has reportedly asked businesses such as Tencent to make preliminary bids to be involved with the new venture by the end of the month.
SAG-ging on: SAG-AFTRA, the US-based actors union, has said that it remains “frustratingly far apart” from video game publishers and studios over a potential deal to end its long-running strike. The union, which represents over 160,000 performers, released a lengthy statement criticising a proposal from companies covered by the Interactive Media Agreement - including the likes of Activision Blizzard, Take-Two and Electronic Arts - which it said fell significantly short of providing the protections it requires for its members.
Ever greater unions: And speaking of unions, game workers in the US and Canada have launched United Videogame Workers in partnership with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) to “build worker power” in the North American games sector. Importantly, individuals are allowed to join the new Union directly without being part of an existing games business - opening up membership to freelancers and laid-off workers who will likely help it to swell its ranks quickly.
Moving on
Steven Norris is Samsung’s new Director, Mobile Ecosystem & Gaming Partnerships…Lauren Harper has joined IGN as an Associate Guides Editor…Marie Dealessandri and Patrick Garratt have been brought on to helm Future’s new B2B newsletter Knowledge…Mike Verdu has left Netflix as its VP of Generative AI after just five months…And Justin O’Connor has been elected chair of Irish trade association IMIRT. Dr Maria O’Brien has also resigned from the board after three and a half years…
Jobs ahoy
Build a Rocket Boy is looking for an Associate Producer in Edinburgh…HP is hiring for a Principal, Gaming Strategy and Business Planning…Discord is seeking a Senior Developer Advocate, Web Games…Plaion is recruiting a new Key Account Manager to represent Australia and New Zealand for the company…And Rocksteady Studios is set to snap up a new Cinematics Director for its North London studio…
Events and conferences
Games Industry Law Summit On Tour, Rome - 1st - 3rd April
London Games Festival, London - 2nd-13th April
BAFTA Game Awards, London - 8th April
Reboot Develop Blue, Dubrovnik - 14th-16th April
A.MAZE, Berlin - 14th-17th May
Games of the week
Assassin’s Creed: Shadows - Much delayed make or break Japanese set kill ‘em up drops across platforms today.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition - Wii-U era action role-playing game lands on Nintendo Switch.
Wreckfest 2 - Destructive car racing sequel lands in early access on Steam.
Before you go…
The GDC shop is home to all kinds of merchandise, including limited editions of beloved video games, intriguing academic books about the sector and some thoughtfully branded conference merchandise.
It’s also where you can buy the GDC commemorative shot glasses, which offer you the chance to remember misguided nights out at industry socials for just ten bucks a go.
What a wonderful world we live in.