Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki Digital 2020 is less than a week away, and we’re excited to bring you the last announcement of confirmed speakers!
Wow, what a lineup we have in store for you!. From Monday September 14 to Friday September 18, over 1,500 industry professionals will log onto their computers to learn from more than 250 of the world’s leading experts in the games industry. The theme is Helsinki – it’s that time of year when we typically visit the Finnish capital – but the content – entirely in English and broadcast on UK time – is perfect for games industry professionals everywhere.
Each talk, panel, keynote and seminar 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.
And now we’re just days away from the conference, the speaker line-up is now complete, with this announcement of speakers showcasing some of the finest talent in the industry. Now the question is, which of these are you looking forward to learning from most?
We’re excited to announce that Microsoft’s PlayFab engagement manager Mark Val joins the speaker lineup for Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki Digital 2020, with a superstar session on the dialogue of iteration in live ops. Val also features on a panel alongside Miniclip’s head of external developer relations Jamie Cason and other speakers to discuss the best practices in live ops and why good practice isn’t limited to the platform.
Falko Boecker takes a dive into why working with a publisher from day one is becoming the new normal for hypercasual developers
Miniclip’s head of business development Anh Luong hosts a session to show you what to look for in a publishing partnership, while Miniclip’s commercial associate Naheda Noori features on a panel looking at what publishers do for their money. Kwalee’s publishing manager Jake Parker also explains why you should listen to a publisher about game design in his virtual fireside chat.
JoyPac’s senior publishing manager Falko Boecker takes a dive into why working with a publisher from day one is becoming the new normal for hypercasual developers. Homa Games’ co-founder and CRO Olivier Le Bas also joins the lineup with his session titled ‘publishing an IP hypercasual game as seen on NERF epic pranks’.
Keeping the focus on hypercasual, Umami Games’ CEO Riley Andersen offers her insights of an indie hypercasual studio. Andersen also appears on a panel Agora.io’s director of sales EMEA Ali Nhari and other expert speakers where they will deconstruct hypercasual and social games.
Culture and campaigns
Jayvian Hong discusses empowering others in the games industry.
App Annie’s director of market insights Amir Ghodrati and Big Karma’s founder Pascal Clarysse look at games as a cultural force and their role in advocacy with a panel of other speakers. Miniclip’s senior commercial associate Jayvian Hong discusses empowering others in the games industry.
Agora.io’s director of developer relations and partner engineering Sid Sharma talks about how #PlayApartTogether is not just a campaign, it’s a lifestyle with Bunch’s co-founder and CEO Selcuk Atli on this fireside chat. Sharma also features on a panel with Roll20’s marketing and brand strategist Amber Cook focusing on the topic of moving to retention as a focus to making money.
Get the K Factor! Imperia Online’s CMO/CBDO Mariela Tzvetanova, App Radar’s co-founder and CEO Thomas Kriebernegg and Crazy Labs’ UA and marketing team lead Nimrod Klinger discuss how your campaigns can also improve your organic growth.
The global games industry
Speed is of the essence. Catch this speed panel featuring HyprMX’s business development manager Eric Blevens and Kolibri Games’ director of business development Nathaniel Barker alongside other experts as they discuss monetisation with in-app bidding.
James Dean delivers a keynote session on virtualising esports during a global pandemic, and how it’ll shape the future of esports
Vectr Ventures’ managing director, product and development Tony Zander compares dealing with Eastern and Western developers. Meanwhile, Playtika’s head of performance marketing Dror Gilran discusses with a panel how you can use UA funding effectively.
Resistance Games’ co-founder and CEO Anna Salomaa and Zynga’s product lead Sonja Angesleva explore the future of Finland’s games industry with a panel.
Uncover new market opportunities and expand your product portfolio by understanding gamer preferences with App Annie’s principal product manager James Gagen and general manager of gaming Junde Yu in this joint superstar session. Yu also appears on a panel discussion which looks at coming back from Covid-19.
The pandemic has made a huge impact on the industry and is shaping the very future of the field we’re in. ESL’s CEO James Dean delivers a keynote session on virtualising esports during a global pandemic, and how it’ll shape the future of esports. PCGamesN’s deputy editor Richard Scott-Jones joins the lineup for a fireside chat which looks at managing production through a crisis.
Acquisition, retention and vision
Bring new life to your game with this superstar session conducted by Lab Cave’s business development executive Anna Frangogianni, as she presents her case study on how gamers can keep content fresh in your existing game. PickFu’s co-founder John Li explains how you can give gamers what they want with rapid user testing.
Hutch’s COO Andy Watson presents his five things about independent teams and why responsibility makes better games. Ten Square Games’ senior UX/UI designer Francis Leo Tabios explores reinventing the discovery process.
Ask a lawyer! Google’s cloud partner contracts manager Angelo Alcid, Odin Law and Media’s founding attorney Brandon Huffman, Frankfurt, Kurnit, Klein and Selz’s associate Matt Dobill and DLA Piper’s co-chair Ryan Black answer everything you’re afraid to ask about content law online.
Anna Frangogianni, as she presents her case study on how gamers can keep content fresh in your existing game
Dimoso’s founder and CEO Jacki Vause, Facebook’s vertical strategy lead Sneha Vaidyanathan and Rovio’s CMO Ville Heijari unite for a panel discussion on building a clear vision for your brand.
Tower Studios’ CEO Jon Hare delivers a keynote session on creating, developing and licensing a cross-platform game IP. Agora.io’s developer evangelist Joel Thomas hosts an incredibly insightful hour-long workshop on Unreal SDK implementation.
Funday Factory’s product manager and partner Emil Kjaehr, together with a panel, looks at the next generation of new ad formats.
Singular’s CEO and co-founder Gadi Eliashiv talks about UA in iOS14, and offers his tips for success in a post-IDFA world. N3TWORK’s director of UA Matthew Saunders looks at UA now and then, while also exploring what’s yet to come.
One of the many fringe events running at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki Digital 2020 is the Pocket Gamer Connects Careers Week. Alongside the digital jobs board, a daily recruitment hour in the Discord channels and supporting editorial coverage, there are focused recruitment talks, panels and roundtables. Rovio’s senior studio recruiter Alexei Ryan features with his session on hiring competitively and proactively in an international talent market.
We’re also pleased to announce that G-STAR/Lucrion’s international promotion partner/president Don Kim joins us for Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki Digital 2020, where he shares his fantastic insight online with the games industry.
Book your tickets now!
These are amazing speakers you will want to learn from. So please book your tickets for Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki Digital 2020 now!
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.
To support jobseekers during this difficult time, we’re inviting a select amount of people currently out of work and looking for a new role absolutely FREE.
