The full conference schedule for Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2018 is now live!
It’s an amazing line-up of speakers, featuring more than 120 of the foremost figures from PC, mobile, VR, AR and handheld consoles.
Across the two days of September 11th and 12th, we’ll present 12 packed conference tracks covering the most crucial issues including user acquisition, monetisation, international publishing opportunities, indie development, esports and key industry trends.
You can see the whole schedule here, but let's look at the unmissable seminars from each of the 12 tracks:
The key elements that YouTube influencers look for when deciding which games to cover.
1) Connects X: Specific format issues covered in new track exploring platforms including PC, Switch and XR.
Don’t miss: Veikkaus’ Karoliina Korppoo, lead producer on Cities: Skyline, will discuss reaching the widest audience and the unique challenges of gambling games. At 14:20 on day 1.
That's on top of Epic Games, Ubisoft Red Lynx, Dead Cells maker Motion Twin, Rival Games, Fake Fish, Housemarque and much more
2) Live Ops Landscape: A track dedicated to explaining and improving your approach in Live Ops, the core of the mobile games world.
Don’t miss: In his keynote, Space Ape’s product owner Nick Mansdorf will walk through the evolution of their live operations and events tools as well as the processes and organization they have built around live games. He’ll show how a small team delivers new content and events every week, growing revenue and funding the studio to focus on future projects. At 14:20 on day 1.
3) Developer Toolkit: Practical and technical talks on the likes of game design, audio, character/UX design and narrative.
Don’t miss: King’s Sabrina Carmona will explain how to create agile teams and foster the culture of excellence while developing games. At 10:40 on day 1.
4) Esports Academy: Hear game makers, hardware vendors and esports teams give insight into the opportunities in competitive gaming.
Don’t miss: Pieter van der Pijl of InFinCapital as he moderates what will be a fascinating panel session looking at the future of mobile esports. He’ll be joined by Gaseus Games’ Carlos Estiguarra; eSports.com’s Arne Peters; LVP’s Sergio Burgos; GINX’s Solenne LaGrange; and Game Insight’s Nikita Sherman. At 15:20 on day 2.
7 post-launch CRM strategies you need to know to maximize revenues.
5) Monetiser: Make the most of mobile advertising, IAPS and other monetisation opportunities in our new focused track.
Don’t miss: Unity's mega five-session marathon comprising:
- Mobile Monetisation Beyond Ads
- Unity Monetisation Platform to make your game successful
- Unity LiveTune - game performance optimisation for a better retention
- User Acquisition with Unity - ROAS is the future
- GDPR is the reason to go exclusive with Unity: Supercell case
From 09:40 on day 1.
6) The Growth Track: Essential insight into user acquisition and retention techniques and how to grow your game.
Don’t miss: DeltaDNA’s Isaac Roseboom's Superstar Session kicks off the second day of the show, when he’ll reveal 7 post-launch CRM strategies you need to know to maximize revenues. At 10:00 on day 2.
7) The Indie Track: How to survive and thrive as a smaller studio in today's mobile games development competitive landscape.
Don’t miss: Seriously’s VP of Game Design, Reko Ukko, will explain how to design a successful game and enduring IP that will build brand awareness and continually engage the consumer across platforms, using the success of the Best Fiends brand as a case study. At 11:20 on day 2.
8) Trade Trends: Facts, figures and insight into the latest & hottest industry trends from Finland and beyond.
Don’t miss: Wilhelm Taht’s Superstar Session. Hot from spearheading Rovio's turnaround as EVP Games from 2016 to 2018, he’ll lead you on a fascinating journey through time from Snake to a $50bn industry in 20 years. At 09:40 on day 1.
Are messaging platforms are a real game-changer or mobile distraction?
9) East Meets West: The latest news from the hottest markets in the East (China, Japan, Korea, South-East Asia, Middle East).
Don’t miss: Kicking off the afternoon with a keynote, Sean Parmenter, Head of Supply Europe at Mintegral, will detail what you should know before monetising your game in the Asia-Pacific territory. At 14:00 on day 1.
10) Game Changers – Hypercasual & IM: Simple, one-click games are growing and messenger platforms offer even wider distribution – find out how to take advantage.
Don’t miss: CoolGames founder and CEO Laurens Rutten asking whether messaging platforms are a real game-changer or mobile distraction? At 11:40 on day 1.
11) Game Changers – Cloud & Connected Experiences: Exploring many other new technologies that promise to make an impact on the industry.
Don’t miss: In his keynote, Hatch co-founder and head, Juhani Honkala, will share the top 5 things learned during a year of open beta development on the world’s first games-on- demand streaming service for mobile. At 10:00 on day 2.
12) Influencer Insight: Hear first-hand from top Twitchers, YouTubers and the marketing agencies that are changing the media world.
Don’t miss: Traplight’s Veera Rouvinen will explain the key elements that YouTube influencers look for when deciding which games to cover. At 16:20 on day 2.
Blockchain Gamer Connects: A further four tracks and more than 40 speakers.
New kid on the blockchain
And then there’s the small matter of a co-located event with a further four tracks and more than 40 speakers entirely dedicated to gaming and the blockchain, Blockchain Gamer Connects. Your ticket will get you into both shows.
1) The Blockchain Basics: Explaining cryptocurrency, how it works with games and how the current market looks.
Don’t miss: Tony Pearce will reveal the development experience of ambitious AR mobile FPS, Reality Clash one year on. At 15:40 on day 1.
2) ICO insights & Token Trends: How to create and manage a currency before, during and after an Initial Coin Offering.
Don’t miss: Fractured Labs’ Stephen Arnold will offer an outline of how survival MMO Decimated will leverage blockchain to manage assets and why they chose blockchain for the project. At 11:40 on day 2.
3) GameMaker Sessions: Incorporating blockchain into games development and the exciting opportunities it presents for new ways to play.
Don’t miss: NeoDistrict’s Marguerite deCourcelle will lead a panel session all about building games on the blockchain. She’ll be joined by Touchhour’s Ralph Laemmche; Decenter’s Andrej Cvoro; and Crypto Barons’ Okoro Emmanuel. At 15:00 on day 2.
4) Link to the Future: Identifying the top trends and exploring where the industry will go next.
Don’t miss: What better way to close the two-day conference schedule than this forward-thinking panel session exploring the frontiers of blockchain? Chaired by gumi’s Masaru Ohnogi, he’ll be joined by Play2live’s Serge Ovsyanik; Fig’s Alex Amstel; and PlayWin’s Garrett Weinzierl. At 16:40 on day 2.
Trailblazing talks from Google, Amazon, Facebook, Epic Games, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Square Enix, and many more.
More trailblazing talks
That’s just a small selection of the incredible speakers who will share their insight with the audience September 11-12. These sessions will be joined by more trailblazing talks throughout both days from the likes of Google, Amazon, Facebook, Epic Games, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Square Enix, and many more.
You can now see the full schedule here, or find out more about some of the amazing speaker roster here and here.
Whole lotta shakin’ goin on
As well as a total of 160 speakers and 16 conference tracks across the two events, we’ll also have a bustling expo, a game jam, Big Indie Pitch events for PC and mobile with G-STAR, the $150,000 finale of our blockchain developer contest with Alto.io, workshops, IGDA Mentor Cafe, matchmaking sessions, an unlimited free meeting system and, of course, our infamous PechaKucha-style sessions and legendary Global Connects party.
Use code PGBIZ10 for a 10% discount.
Register now for a 10% discount
If you want to be part of the two-day Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki conference and expo in 2018, use code PGBIZ10 for a 10% discount - book now!
