GDC Festival of Gaming Opens at Moscone Center for Landmark 40th Edition

The Game Developers Conference kicked off its 40th edition Monday under a new identity: the GDC Festival of Gaming, spreading across and around San Francisco's Moscone Center through March 13 with an expanded program that organizers say is designed to reach far beyond its traditional developer base.

Organized by Informa Festivals, the rebranded event draws game-makers, publishers, distributors, investors, founders, technologists, marketers, educators, and media from around the world. The rebrand, announced in October 2025, reflects what organizers called a fundamental shift in the industry. "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," organizers said in announcing the change.

A new physical space called GDC Commons debuts this year at Moscone, offering drop-in indie game sessions and live interviews alongside podcast recordings in what organizers described as a "comfy seated area." Lounges, open seating areas, and dedicated meeting spaces throughout the venue are designed to support what the press materials called "the countless conversations, chance encounters and planned meetings that have long defined the GDC experience." Named corporate participants in the programming and exhibits include Reddit, Google Cloud, Meta, Servers.com, and NVIDIA.

The conference also introduces a restructured ticketing model: the Festival Pass replaces the previous All Access pass at a "dramatically" lower price, with discounts available for startups and academics. Organizers framed full access as "the baseline, not the exception."

To understand the scale of the event, last year's figures offer a baseline. GDC 2025 drew almost 30,000 attendees, matching 2024's total, while exhibitors at Moscone increased from 325 to 400. Over 1,000 speakers participated across 750 sessions, workshops, roundtable discussions, and networking opportunities. The 2025 edition also introduced GDC Nights, an after-hours event held on March 17 and March 20 that drew more than 6,000 people.

Among the more detailed programming visible for this year is Adobe Substance 3D's Substance Days, a full-day track running Monday in Moscone's West Hall, rooms 3001 and 3003, from 10:10 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Speakers include Vytautas Katarzis, Antonio Vaz Figueiredo, and Michael Tran, all senior and advanced environment artists from MachineGames. An after-party follows at 111 Minna Gallery from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., free to Substance Days attendees but limited in capacity. Portfolio reviews with Substance expert Wes McDermott run in 20-minute bookable slots in West Hall's Summit Connect Meeting Pod SC07 through Friday.

The conference has been anchored at Moscone since moving to the South of Market venue's new West building in 2005. The event originated in April 1988 as the Computer Game Developers Conference, with 525 attendees in its first year. Moscone Center is located at 747 Howard Street.