Develop:Brighton Digital 2020: Details Announced For Free Virtual Conference & Expo

Monday 12 October: Tandem Events has today announced the full details for Develop:Brighton Digital conference and expo, a three-day virtual event taking place 2-4 November which is free for games industry professionals and students to attend.

More than 40 live and pre-recorded sessions will take place across the three days, including four keynote sessions and three live panels. The event will culminate with the Develop:Star Awards from 5pm GMT on Wednesday 4 November.

The Conference

Bethesda Game Studios director Todd Howard will deliver the conference’s headline keynote on Monday 2 November at 5pm GMT.

In addition to this, there will belive keynote panel titled Running a Game Studio - All You Need to Know, featuring Maria Sayans from ustwo games, Imre Jele from Boss Studios and Aj Grand-Scrutton from Dlala Studios. This keynote will also feature a live Q&A for attendees with the speakers.

Gary Whitta, game designer, former PC Gamer editor and host of Animal Crossing talk show Animal Talking, will be taking part in a keynote fireside chat about the success of his popular Twitch show.

Last year’s Develop:Star Awards Diversity Star winner Kish Hirani will also be hosting a live panel about diversity in the industry featuring this year’s finalists for the same award, including representatives from Sumo Digital and Media Molecule.

Sessions run from 10am to 6pm GMT and will be streamed online via a dedicated site. Access to the conference and expo is completely free for industry professionals and students, but advanced registration will be required to access the event and its many features.

Those interested in attending Develop:Brighton Digital can register now at: https://www.developconference.com/developbrighton-digital-registration-form

A full list of the current speakers for Develop:Brighton Digital can be found at: www.developconference.com/whats-on/2020-speakers

Speakers include representatives from Ubisoft, Media Molecule, EA DICE, Frontier Developments, Mediatonic Games, Jagex, ustwo games and Splash Damage.

The Expo

The Develop:Brighton Digital website will also house this year’s expo. Here, users will be able to browse virtual booths set up by our exhibitors, staffed live by representatives ready to answer any questions attendees might have.

Companies wishing to exhibit at Develop:Brighton Digital should reach out to hello@tandemevents.co.uk.

Networking

Attendees will be able to network through the site with each user able to create a digital business card and set up one-on-one and group video chats. There will even be a Digital ‘Hilton’ Bar allowing users to network freely and make new contacts. Users will be able to opt-out of the networking features entirely should they wish.

The Develop:Star Awards

The Develop:Star Awards will take place at 5pm GMT on Wednesday 4 November, at the conclusion of the conference and expo. The broadcast will be streamed through the conference website as well as the Develop:Brighton YouTube channel.

Seventeen awards will be given out, celebrating the best of the video game development community. This year’s Develop:Star will be awarded to Bethesda Game Studios’ Todd Howard in recognition of his legendary career.

This year’s finalists were announced on Wednesday 7 October, with a closed industry vote to decide the winners currently underway. If you have attended Develop:Brighton since 2016, you will have received an invitation to take part. If you have not received an email, please reach out to developstars@bastion.co.uk.

“It’s still disappointing not to be having a physical event this year but at the same time we’re hugely excited about Develop:Brighton Digital,” said Andy Lane, Managing Director of event organisers Tandem Events.

“We have a line-up of great talks across the conference, headlined by Bethesda’s Todd Howard. But on top of that, there’s a virtual expo where exhibitors can interact with visitors in real-time, and on Wednesday the Develop:Star Awards will recognise and reward the best games and talent within the industry.

“What’s more, all the talks will be free to watch this year thanks to the generosity of the folks at Amazon Web Services. We wanted to be able to support the industry in this difficult time, so developers from the UK and across the globe will all be able to access the entirety of Develop:Digital.”

For more information and the latest updates about Develop:Brighton Digital and the Develop:Star Awards, visit developconference.com and follow @DevelopConf on Twitter.