Our 10th year of delivering deal-making, career-changing conference experiences for the games industry is off to an amazing start with a record-breaking PG Connects London.
This Monday 22nd and Tuesday 23rd, we welcomed 2,600 attendees from more than 1,300 companies – a new record. All were keen to learn and do business in the UK capital. We often say that our events are for the global games industry and visitors from 65 countries gathered in London for our flagship event of the year.
Many of those attendees were there to hear the latest trends and learn best practices in everything from game design to monetisation. The final tally reached 290 world-class expert speakers delivering the 29-track conference schedule across both days. Others came for the chance to meet key decision makers from some of the most exciting brands and pioneers in the industry, with over 5,000 meetings organised through our official online MeetToMatch platform.
No doubt you’ll be aware that it’s a challenging time for the games industry, with numerous reports of layoffs. We wanted to support our colleagues looking for new opportunities with a new focus on the Careers Zone which helped registered jobseekers match with active recruiters.
Attendees also met their dream business contacts through our curated matchmaking events Publisher SpeedMatch and Investor Connector, while dozens of indie developers got the unparalleled opportunity for real-time expert feedback, media coverage and prizes with our Very Big Indie Pitch events.
This was our busiest show floor yet as well, bustling with brands demonstrating their products and services all day, both days.
Making the news
As well as the very latest industry insights and hotly debated topics onstage, this week’s event also saw product launches and an awards announcement. Here’s a quick roundup of some of our most popular articles that came out of PGC London this week.
The future of Gen AI: “I don’t see how this doesn’t become a key part of the workflow”
PGC London panel discusses the future of games development with artificial intelligence and its potential threat to the jobs market
The Top 50 Blockchain Game Companies revealed
The team at Blockchaingamer.biz have picked their Top 50 companies for 2024, and revealed the rundown live at Pocket Gamer Connects London
You were laid off… What now?
An insightful PGC London panel discusses experience with layoffs and what to do next
Jesse Lempiäinen of Geeklab delivers the perfect game launch
Live from Pocket Gamer Connects London, the ex-Rovio, Geeklab CEO and founder dispels myths and explains why two (or more) is always better than one…
AI vs NFTs… What’s really the next big thing in games?
Panellists at PGC London discuss the various technologies prevalent in recent years and where they may be going next
A word from the boss
Steel Media CEO Chris James (pictured above) was delighted with the volume of games professionals that joined us to kick off the event series’ 10th year. This success only reaffirms the company’s plan to help even more brands and individuals take their game businesses to the next level this year than ever before.
“I always look forward to PGC London and to the opportunity to kickstart the year with the great and good – alongside the upcoming bright and brilliant – of the games industry with insight, positivity and a sense of exhilaration… and I wasn’t disappointed in ’24!
“Despite the miasma of downbeat headlines and the body blows from hefty layoffs, our record-breaking 10th anniversary show remained every bit as packed with infectious energy, new ideas and (whisper it!) resilient optimism as I can remember.
“I was particularly overwhelmed by the goodwill from all quarters of the 2.600 delegates towards myself, my team (who frankly deserve it well) and of course the conference itself. All I can really say is that the feeling is VERY much mutual.
“I’m exceptionally proud of the show and our awesome team, but even more so of the wider games industry – I really couldn’t think of a place I’d rather be than working alongside you all! Best wishes to everyone else in games for the new year! It may be a little bumpy, but the future is unbelievably bright, so if we stick together we’re going to be fine.”
Thank you and see you soon
Our 10th anniversary London edition had more attendees, more exhibitors, more developers and more publishers than any of our conferences before! We are immensely thankful to all those that made this possible, as we couldn’t have asked for a better start to 2024 – thank you to every attendee, speaker and sponsor for this event. This magnificent success couldn’t have been possible without you.
It was our genuine pleasure to host you in London – and we can’t wait to see you at one of our shows throughout the year in San Francisco, Dubai and Helsinki.
Get involved in future events
Become a speaker
Want to speak at one of our international events? There’s no better place than Pocket Gamer Connects events to share your knowledge and expertise with the global games community We’re accepting applications from renowned producers, developers, executives and leaders in the space to lead a session on a topic they’re passionate about and have expertise in at our upcoming shows.
If you think you have something to offer our audience, complete our speaker submission form or get in touch with charlie.scowen@steelmedianetwork.com to discuss further!
Become a sponsor
Nothing breeds success like success – if you want your brand to be associated with our leading international event series, why not join us as a sponsor? If you’re looking to put your brand in front of the global mobile games industry, get in touch today to find out more about our varied sponsorship opportunities or other ways to get involved with our B2B sales team. Please contact lisa.bisset@steelmedianetwork.com or chris.james@steelmedianetwork.com for more details.
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We’ve had so much fantastic content over the last two days, with much more to come this year. Catch up on what you loved or may have missed – as well as what’s still to come – and sign up to our weekly email newsletter for exclusive industry events info and video content from Connects live events, plus exclusive competitions, discounts and special offers.
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