The event marks its 40th edition with a rebrand as the Festival of Gaming, expanding its scope to reflect the broader, interconnected games industry; GDC 2026 takes place March 9-13 in San Francisco, CA.
GDC Festival of Gaming 2026 brings together the game development community to exchange ideas, solve problems, and shape the future of the industry across five days of education, inspiration, and networking. Attendees include developers, publishers, distributors, investors, founders, technologists, toolmakers, marketers, educators, and media. The festival’s program has also been updated to reflect the full spectrum of the game-making experience featuring peer-to-peer talks, networking opportunities, lectures, demonstrations, and workshops.
New this year, is the Luminaries Speakers Series, a three-day, executive-level program, delivered by influential voices from the game and adjacent industries. GDC also hosts to two award ceremonies, the Independent Game Festival Awards and the Game Developers Choice Awards.
GDC Festival of Gaming takes place March 9-13, 2026, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA. More information is available on the GDC website.
