The VP of content strategy explains why GDC is introducing the Business Hall, how pricing has changed, and how the event is evolving with an ever-changing industry

The organisers of the Game Developers Conference (GDC) Festival of Gaming are not unduly phased about the 30% drop in attendance the event witnessed in 2026.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, the event's VP of content strategy, Mark DeLoura, says that while there was a decline in the number of people at the show, he still feels that the conference is hugely valuable to the games industry.

"We always want the event to be as valuable as possible to as many people as possible," he says.

"There were still 20,000 game developers there, which was amazing. It's the biggest show for developers worldwide. Attendance was down, and that was clear to people there, but I heard people were having more substantial conversations, which was interesting. We're definitely going to try to grow the event. Our job is to make it the best possible event for as many people as we can. That's why we're making changes to try to make it more appealing. So, I suppose it is a concern, but only because there are many more game developers out there, and we need to help them, especially right now. It's our job."

GDC 2027 is undergoing some changes; the organisers have already announced that the event is being reduced to four days rather than five, "something that has been much requested," DeLoura says.

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