The countdown for Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki Digital 2020 enters its final few weeks, and we are delighted to announce more expert speakers!
Taking place entirely online from Monday, September 14 to Friday, September 18, our annual Helsinki conference sees 1,500 industry professionals from all around the world log onto their computers to do business, network with one another and learn from more than 250 of the world’s leading authorities in the games industry.
Each talk, panel, keynote and seminars will be streamed live, recorded and made available on demand, so with a ticket you can interact with our speakers during their talks through our Q&As or catch up at a later time if you’re unavailable for the stream.
Pocket Gamer Connects conferences are well-known for having the best speakers in the industry, and providing an incredible choice of talks to attend. This latest line-up makes that especially clear. Which of these are you looking forward to learning from most next month?
As the world continues to battle through the current Covid-19 crisis, it’s important to witness how the games industry is currently faring and what happens after. Omdia’s games industry analyst Louise Shorthouse appears on a panel discussion which looks at the second wave of games, and coming back from the pandemic.
International focus
The event is called Helsinki Digital because it’s the time of year we usually look forward to being in Finland’s capital, the spiritual home of the mobile games industry. This year the event is 100% online, which means we can both celebrate Finnish excellence but also invite in the most insightful commentators from all around the world.
For instance, Peliosuuskunta Expa’s chairman of the board Tuomas Roininen discusses the future of Finland’s games industry with a panel. Then, Leti Arts’ CEO and co-founder Eyram Tawia and Kiro’o Games’ CEO Olivier Madiba unite for a panel where they will delve into the growing games industry in Africa with other speakers. Meanwhile Tamatem’s founder and CEO Hussam Hammo leads a session on how to successfully publish a game in the MENA region.
Growth and income
Game making is a business as well as an art, and a Pocket Gamer Connects conference is a great way to learn about the economics of games, from successful people with tons of experience. Jam City’s senior director of publishing Ryan Atilano, for instance, features on a panel which will highlight what publishers do for their money.
Steve Taylor leads a session which focuses on how you can unlock more than one billion potential users
Ten Square Games’ senior project manager Bart Zabłocki shows you how you can retain the culture that drives your growth, whereas Full HP’s project and business development manager Murad Musakaev looks at how to scale up with a minimum budget. Metamoki’s head of product/monetisation and UA Eiso Kawamoto discusses with a panel how to use UA funding effectively.
AdInMo’s CTO Chris Wright appears for a fireside chat on what game developers really think about monetisation. This will provide your first glimpse of the results from our own developer survey! (Have you shared your opinions yet?)
Unity Technologies’ product manager code Steve Taylor leads a session which focuses on how you can unlock more than one billion potential users. Wizards’ managing director Stuart Muckley shows how you can take care of your backend and set up your infrastructure.
Ever wanted to know how you can build a clear vision for your brand? Paradox Interactive’s business developer Dhaunae De Vir and Genuine Entertainment’s CEO Joe LeFavi discuss with other panelists how you can go about it.
Yevgeny Peres presents his game developers guide to iOS14, which contains expectations and preparations you should have
SplitMetrics’ SearchAdsHQ customer success manager Olga Baranovskaya explains how to nail ASO with Apple search ads. ironSource’s VP growth Yevgeny Peres presents his game developers guide to iOS14, which contains expectations and preparations you should have.
Irdeto’s team leader mobile Christian Koidl offers track attendees unique insights into mobile games piracy. AppLovin’s general manager Idil Canal and Hyper Hippo Entertainment’s senior growth manager Luke Gorman appear on a curated panel which aims to show how to maximise ARPDAU with a hybrid approach.
We’re also happy to announce that App Annie’s senior market insights manager Lexi Sydow and Pole To Win’s senior manager – marketing and PR Kaley Hurst join us for next month’s online conference.
Living, breathing games
Discover why live ops is not a dirty word! Amber’s head of product development Scott Humphries and Tag Games’ CEO Marc Williamson will look at some of the best practices of live ops and why good practice isn’t limited to the platform with a panel. Meanwhile, Jagex’s product director Matt Casey talks about live ops strategy for living games.
Keeping the focus on live ops, King joins us next month with lead level designer Oliver Dowling as he discusses how you can take live ops to the next level. DECA Games’ head of business development Stephen Lee and MAG Interactive’s QA coordinator and customer support manager Chris Peters appear on a panel to showcase the damages of not starting live ops early. Stumbling Cat’s CEO Renee Gittins discusses “how long is too long?” for your game with a panel of other experts.
The universe beyond mobile games
You will have noticed that at previous conferences we’ve added more and more sectors to our talks and discussions. As well as esports and blockchain our conferences bring you dedicated dives into PC and console too. This year, for the first time, we’ve added a whole track dedicated to what games can learn from film, TV and comics too.
David Mullich analyses how games, movies and other media interact with one another
Fundamentally Games’ COO Ella Romanos and UX is Fine!’s founder Jason Schklar, together with a panel group, explore commercial models in PC and console. We are excited to announce that Genvid Technologies’ director of developer relations Chris Hamilton joins the speaker lineup for a superstar session on designing for interactive game streams, and how you can incorporate stream viewers into your vision. A must for those interested in live streaming and esports experiences.
Another top addition to the speaker lineup that we are stoked to see is Cinemoi’s game producer and product manager David Mullich, where he analyses and presents how games, movies and other media interact with one another. StikiPixels’ CEO Yarden Yaroshevski features on a panel which looks at drawing inspiration from outside games.
Carry1st’s co-founder Lucy Hoffman joins us for the Pocket Gamer 2020 Sessions, where she has little under seven minutes to share her incredible insights. She’ll be one of a select group of entertaining speakers introducing our unique take on Pecha Kucha-style speed speeches, featured digitally for the first time! Martine Spaans will be your host for that, taking over duties from previous toastmaster Wilhelm Taht.
Book now and save more than $190 before midnight tomorrow!
Want to hear and learn from these amazing speakers next month? Then book your tickets for Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki Digital 2020 now! You can save more than $190 on your ticket with our Mid-Term prices, but only if you book before midnight tomorrow!
If you book a ticket to November’s G-STAR conference while you’re there, you can save an additional 20% too.
We’re also allocating a limited amount of free passes solely for small indie developers, enabling them to meet with investors and publishers, and learn from the industry’s biggest names. If you think you qualify, sign up here.
