- 1,300 registered attendees
- 200+ Indies showcasing & networking
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Last week, Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki welcomed 1,300 attendees representing 560+ companies and 200+ indies, plus over 50 countries joined us at our customary Wanha Satama venue.
We pride ourselves on the Pocket Gamer games industry community that we’ve helped to build around the world over the last 10 years. And nowhere has that been more evident in 2024 than our 10th anniversary return to Finland – our home from home.
Everywhere we looked – from the three dedicated conference track rooms to the 998m² expo floor and the 45 dedicated meeting spaces – we saw a genuine buzz of old friends reuniting and new friendships being forged. More than 1,400 meetings were arranged through the online platform with countless more happening organically from the show floor, fringe events and the party.
And behind everything was a real sense of community – how can our attendees work together? What new knowledge could they share? Who could they refer to make new connections and forge new relationships?
Many of our attending companies are in competition, but we hope you’ll allow us to get a bit misty eyed as we noticed a real sense in Helsinki that, ‘We’re all in it together.’ It was so rewarding this week to see all you beautiful people pulling together in what has been a tough year for so many.
Revealed: The Top 50 Mobile Game Makers 2024
Revealed live on stage during Day 2 of PG Connects Helsinki, the Top 50 Mobile Game Makers celebrates the industry’s finest. Sponsored this year by Appcharge, the Top 50 is packed with success stories with a plethora of hot new titles – some obvious, some that have flown under the radar – that have generated hundreds of millions of dollars – if not billions – during the past year. See the full list now.
Audience Choice Award winner
Taking place for the first time in Helsinki this year, the Audience Choice award sponsored by JamCity. Attendees could try all the games being demoed in the Big Indie Zone, then vote for their favourites across both days. Revealed live at the end of Day 2, the winner was Walkscape by Not a Cult. Our thanks to all the great indie developers that took part in the event and congratulations to the winner!
Big Indie Pitch Winners
Our world-famous Big Indie Pitch competitions returned to Helsinki with dedicated editions for mobile, as well as PC and console. Across both competitions developers competed to take home the number one spot.
We were impressed with the quality of entries and the sheer imagination behind them this year, with the expert judges hotly debating the worthy winners in both categories. Here’s who came out on top:
The Very Big Indie Pitch (Mobile edition)
- Spirit World by Cozy Game Studio
- Jamland by Record Games
- Walkscape by Not a Cult
The Very Big Indie Pitch (PC + Console edition)
- Get Colossal by Glitch Hammer
- Painted Peril by Message Photon
- Radiant: Guardians of Light by Chorrus Games
Honourable Mention: RunOut – Run & Fun Together by Waka Studio
Finnish Firsts
The 21-track conference schedule featured more than 42 hours of content delivered by 170+ expert speakers from the biggest brands and most exciting companies in the games industry, from Google and Meta to Rovio, Supercell and King.
One of those tracks was the first appearance of the Wwise Tour Track brought to the event by Audiokinetic, which was well received, and another first was the IDGA Chat Corner, providing informal support for newcomers to the event.
The Career Zone Powered by Games Factory Talents was well received and attended with back-to-back meetings throughout the two days, including a well attended recruitment round table discussion.
Top Stories From PG Connects Helsinki 2024
Our very own Head of Content Craig Chapple was on hand roaming the expo floor and seminars tracking down the latest insights to share with our online audience of games industry professionals. Here’s the top three articles from PG Connects Helsinki 2024:
- How Finland’s games industry is weathering the storm
- The five pillars of perseverance in game development teams
- Driving 25% of mobile game players to a web shop can lead to 8% increase in profitability
A word from the boss
Steel Media CEO Chris James said, “The Finnish games scene has been a world leader in both mobile and PC/console markets for many years. Awesome games, technical excellence and a fantastically supportive community – and they certainly didn’t let us down for the 10th anniversary edition of PGC Helsinki – one of our biggest and best editions yet!
“The conference was up from last year on every metric and all the local big names were present to celebrate the inaugural Finnish Games Week – from Supercell, Rovio, Small Giant and Fingersoft to Next Games/Netflix, Nitro Games, Housemarque and Remedy. Suffice to say they were joined by hundreds more game makers, publishers, investors and service companies from across the region and around the world – sharing insights, learning new tools and techniques and most importantly pushing the business forward!
“And ‘pushing ahead’ was very much the tone of the event. Whilst no-one was glib about the challenges faced or the tough times that have led to record job losses in the last few years, there was a genuine underlying positivity that the worst of the correction could be behind us and we can look forward to much better years ahead, as new techniques, technologies and models gave everyone a chance to ‘thrive in 25’.
“Suffice to say we’ll be doing our best to support them and the rest of the industry in this mission – next stops Jordan (November 8-9) and London (January 20-21).”
Next up: One month to PG Connects Jordan
We may have only just closed the doors on what has been a truly amazing PG Connects Helsinki, but that doesn’t mean we’re ready to put our feet up!
There’s just over a month before we head back to Jordan for the last Connects event of our 10th anniversary year. This November 9-10, attendees from more than 30 countries will join us by the Dead Sea to explore the potential of the fastest-growing territory that is the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). See out 2024 in style!
