I’m pleased to report we’ve got a near-complete agenda for our GamesBeat Summit 2019 conference, which has a great roster of speakers and takes place in Los Angeles on April 23-24.

Our 10th annual event will take place at Two Bit Circus, the micro-amusement park in downtown Los Angeles, and we’ve got more than 80 speakers talking about our theme of “Building gaming communities” across two days. The code GBS19EXPERIENCE will unlock a 20 percent discount on your registration.

We filled out our the agenda earlier this year than we ever have before, and we think that’s going to result in a stellar event. Our emcees across two concurrent stages include Andrea Rene of Whats Good Games, Tommy Tallarico of Intellivision and Video Games Live, and Elizabeth Howard of Aspyr. We’re calling the stages the Boss Stage and the Hero Stage, and we’ll have a couple of small rooms available for “Unconference,” as well as plenty of options for entertainment at Two Bit Circus.

Please check out the full agenda here online.

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Above: Andrea Rene is co-emcee on Hero Stage and on-camera host, producer & writer for “What’s Good Games”

Image Credit: What's Good Games

Opening Gathering

11:00 a.m. – 1:05 p.m.

1:10 p.m. – 1:20 p.m.

Introductory remarks by Dean Takahashi, lead writer for VentureBeat’s GamesBeat

1:20 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

“The Landscape of Gaming” with Michael Pachter, video game analyst at Wedbush Securities – Boss Stage

Andrea Rene and Tommy Tallarico (co-emcees for Hero Stage)

1:30 p.m. – 1:50 p.m.

“How to Take Risks and Run a Studio for Decades” with Ted Price, CEO of Insomniac Games, moderated by Morgan Webb – Boss Stage

“How Riot Games Views Community” with Chris Greeley, senior manager of esports league operations at Riot Games – Hero Stage

1:50 p.m. – 2:10 p.m.

“Hollywood and Games 3.0” Special guest, moderated by Chris Heatherly, executive vice president of Games and Digital Platforms, NBC Universal – Boss Stage

“Games of the future” with Danny Bilson, chairman USC Interactive Media and Games Division – Hero Stage

2:10 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

“If Adtech is Dead, What Comes Next?” with Brian Bowman, CEO of Consumer Acquisition – Boss Stage

2:10 p.m. – 2:50 p.m.

“Growing up Bushnell” with Brent Bushnell of Two Bit Circus, Tyler Bushnell of Polycade, Wyatt Bushnell, and video game pioneer Nolan Bushnell; moderated by Alissa Bushnell – Hero Stage

2:30 p.m. – 2:50 p.m.

“Eat or Get Eaten – Consolidation is Coming” with Frank Gibeau, CEO of Zynga; moderated by Michael Metzger, partner at Drake Star – Boss Stage

2:50 p.m. – 3:10 p.m.

Q&A on “The Death of Third-Party Ad Tech” with Brian Bowman, CEO of Consumer Acquisition – Hero Stage

3:10 p.m. – 3:40 p.m.

Where Game Communities are Going, with USC professors Scott Rogers, Archie Prakish, and Scott Easley, moderated by Gordon Bellamy of USC – Hero Stage

3:20 p.m. – 3:40 p.m.

“The Mobile Game Company for Hollywood” with Chris DeWolfe, CEO of Jam City, moderated by Michael Pachter, analyst at Wedbush Securities – Boss Stage

3:40 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

JamCity Coffee Break

Eight of our key speakers at GamesBeat Summit 2019.

Above: Eight of our key speakers at GamesBeat Summit 2019.

Image Credit: VentureBeat

4:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

“Renewal: Why Institutional VCs Are Turning to Games Again” with Gregory Milken of March Capital Partners, Ethan Kurzweil of Bessemer Venture Partners, Scott Rupp of Bitkraft, and moderated by Eric Goldberg of Crossover Technologies – Boss Stage

“Building a Game Studio From Scratch” with Rob Pardo, head of design and operations at Bonfire Studios; moderated by Morgan Webb, community and culture at Bonfire Studios – Hero Stage

4:30 p.m. – 4:50 p.m.

“The Future of the Blockchain and Crypto Gaming Community” with Brock Pierce, chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation; moderated by Dean Takahashi, lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat – Boss Stage

4:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

“The Future of the Blockchain and Crypto Gaming Community” with Leo Olebe, Global Director, Games Partnerships at Facebook; Jason Rubin, vice president of AR/VR partnerships and content at Facebook; moderated by Andrea Rene, cofounder of Whats Good Games – Hero Stage

4:50 p.m. – 5:20 p.m.

“Chasing the Fun” with Vince Zampella, CEO of Respawn Entertainment; moderated by Ted Price, CEO of Insomniac Games – Boss Stage

5:00 p.m. – 5:20 p.m.

“Influencer Campaigns that Work” with Dodger, Omeed Dariani, CEO of OPG.tv, Brian Perry, Senior Marketing Manager at Wizards of the Coast; moderated by Adam Lieb, CEO of GameSight – Hero Stage

5:20 p.m. – 5:40 p.m.

“Giving a Voice to a Truly Global Game Development Community” with Rami Ismail of Vlambeer; moderated by Ivan Lobo, founder and president of Gamelab – Hero Stage

“Communities That Last for Years” with Owen Mahoney, president and CEO of Nexon; moderated by Michael Pachter – Boss Stage

5:40 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

“The Future of Kids Communities” with Jesse Divnich, vice president of research and strategy at Interpret; moderated by Michael Cai, president of Interpret – Hero Stage

“Location-Based Entertainment Then and Now” with Brent Bushnell of Two Bit Circus and Atari cofounder Nolan Bushnell; moderated by Jason Robar, Co-Founder & CPO at AuthorDigital – Boss Stage

6:00 p.m.

Closing Remarks & Opening Reception

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Tommy Tallarico is head of Intellivision Entertainment and founder of Video Games Live.

Above: Tommy Tallarico is co-emcee on Hero Stage and head of Intellivision Entertainment and founder of Video Games Live.

Image Credit: Intellivision

8:00 a.m. – 9:15 a.m.

Registration & Breakfast

9:15 a.m. – 9:20 a.m.

Opening remarks with Dean Takahashi, lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat – Boss Stage

9:20 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

“Lightning Talks” with Niko Vuori of Drivetime; Ned Lerner of Hearo.Live; moderated by Colin Campbell of Polygon – Boss Stage

10:00 a.m. – 10:20 a.m.

“The Wisdom of Owning Game Studios” with David Haddad, president of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment; moderated by Mike Vorhaus of Vorhaus Advisors – Boss Stage

10:20 a.m. – 10:50 a.m.

“Surviving China’s Gaming Market” with Greg Pilarowski, founder of Pillar Legal; Taewon Yun, general manager of global publishing at Super Evil Megacorp; Andrew Tang, chief business officer at Gamepoch; moderated by Lisa Cosmas Hanson of IGDA – Boss Stage

“Taking Esports to the Next Level” with Peter Levin, president, Interactive Ventures, Games & Digital Strategy at Lionsgate; Mike Sepso, chairman, Electronic Sports Group, investor, and strategic advisor New York Excelsior – Hero Stage

10:50 a.m. – 11:10 a.m.

“MMO Gamers Are More Diverse Than You Think” with Kristen Dumont, CEO of Machine Zone – Boss Stage

“What PC Gamers Want,” with Roger Chandler, senior vice president of Intel; moderated by TBD – Hero Stage

11:10 a.m. – 11:40 a.m.

“When Everybody Plays” with TBD, moderated by Keisha Howard, founder of Sugar Gamers – Boss Stage

“Seed Stage Investing for Games” with David Gardner, general partner of London Venture Partners; Ed Fries, former head of Microsoft Game Studios; and Charles Hudson, managing partner at Precursor Ventures; moderated by Eric Goldberg of Crossover Technologies – Boss Stage

11:40 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

“Gaming’s New Growth Areas” with Kevin Chou, CEO and cofounder of Forte Labs; moderated by Mike Vorhaus of Vorhaus Advisors – Boss Stage

“Q&A on Why Hardcore MMO Gamers Are More Diverse Than You Think” with Kristen Dumont, CEO of MZ – Hero Stage

12:00 p.m. – 1:10 p.m.

Lunch

More speakers at GamesBeat Summit 2019.

Above: More speakers at GamesBeat Summit 2019.

Image Credit: VentureBeat

1:00 p.m. – 1:55 p.m.

Breakout – “Science fiction, technology, and games” with TBD and Alex McDowell (Panel located at Oblong Industries).

Breakout – Monetization and Payments with Katie Hutcherson Madding, global product director of Adjust; Yaron Oliker, cofounder of Unbotify; moderated by Steve Peterson, co-creator of Champions

Breakout – Blockchain Panel with Roy Liu, head of business development at Tron Foundation; Sebastian Borget, cofounder of Pixowl; Miko Matsumura, general partner of Gumi Cryptos; Nicolas Pouard, blockchain initiative manager at Ubisoft

2:00 p.m. – 2:40 p.m.

“The Future of Influencers and Gaming Videos” with Ryan Wyatt, Global Head, Gaming & Virtual Reality at YouTube – Boss Stage

“Building a Community for Girls” with Taina Malen, chief marketing officer and chief operating officer Star Stable Entertainment; moderated by Perrin Kaplan, principal of Zebra Partners – Hero Stage

2:20 p.m. – 2:40 p.m.

“Video Games Live, Intellivision, and Gaming Communities” with Tommy Tallarico, president and CEO of Intellivision Entertainment; moderated by Mike Gallagher, consultant at GetIntrepidity – Boss Stage

“Dealing With Gamers Across the Decades” with Raph Koster, veteran game designer, creative executive and author; moderated by Amy Jo Kim, CEO, startup coach and bestselling author – Hero Stage

2:40 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Afternoon Break

3:00 p.m. – 3:20 p.m.

TBD – Boss Stage

Q&A on The Future of Influencers and Gaming Videos with Ryan Wyatt, global head of gaming and virtual reality at YouTube; moderated by Mike Minotti, review editor at GamesBeat – Hero Stage

3:20 p.m. – 3:40 p.m.

“Unconscious Bias” with Celia Hodent, game user experience Consultant; moderated by Andrea Rene, cofounder of Whats Good Games – Hero Stage

We're reaching wide with our speakers for GamesBeat Summit 2019.

Above: We’re reaching wide with our speakers for GamesBeat Summit 2019.

Image Credit: VentureBeat

3:40 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

TBD

3:40 p.m. – 4:20 p.m.

“Secret Speaker” with somebody secret – Boss Stage

4:20 p.m. – 4:40 p.m.

“Building a Brand New AAA Studio” with Michael Condrey, studio manager of 2K Silicon Valley; moderated by Dean Takahashi, lead writer for GamesBeat – Boss Stage

4:40 p.m.

Closing Reception