GDC Festival of Gaming 2026: A New Concept Unfolds

The GDC Festival of Gaming in 2026 hosted over 20,000 unique attendees from more than 85 countries. This impactful event, which rebranded last year and implemented a pricing overhaul and simplified pass structure, took place from March 9 to March 13. Attendees gathered at the Moscone Center and Blue Shield of California Theater at YBCA in San Francisco, California.

The week-long conference featured over 700 cross-disciplinary sessions from 1,100 speakers, thousands of networking meetings, and more than 300 exhibitors.

Organizer Informa Festivals reported 30,000 attendees for the previous year's event, a figure that included 6,000 participants for the GDC Nights evening program.

According to GDC president Nina Brown, the 2026 event marked the first year of a new concept for GDC. Brown stated that this significant transformation was built on community feedback, reflecting a commitment to evolving with its audience.

GDC is scheduled to return to the Moscone Center from March 1 to March 5, 2027. The call for submissions for the 2027 GDC Festival of Gaming will open in early July 2026, inviting the community to contribute to its continued evolution.