The 17th annual LA Games Conference returns online this May 10-12, 2021!

View the agenda!

WHAT IS LA GAMES CONFERENCE?

LA Games Conference Online is a high-end favorite among game, media, and investment leaders for the high energy, focused environment for networking, meetings, and deal-making. This 3 day online conference is part of a new complementary series to Digital Media Wire’s live events - a new venture in serving our community and sharing ideas.

LA GAMES CONFERENCE DATES

LA Games Conference Online will be presented May 10-12, 2021. Registration for this online conference is open! We look forward to having you.

CONFERENCE FORMAT

LA Games Conference Online features 3 tracks over 3 days - with fireside chats, roundtables, panels, and presentations on digital game investment, creation, distribution, marketing, and monetization. Stay tuned for speaker announcements!

2021 Featured Speakers Include:

Stay tuned for more speaker announcements!

Andreea Enache

Head of Global Development and Strategy,
Blind Squirrel Entertainment

Andy Swanson

Head of Publisher Relations,
Mod.io

Angela Roseboro

Chief Diversity Officer,
Riot Games

Ben Feder

President, International Partnerships (North America), Tencent Games

Bernard Kim

President of Publishing,
Zynga

Caty Tedman

Head Of Marketing and Partnerships,
Dapper Labs

Chris DeWolfe

CEO and Co-Founder,
Jam City

Chris Heatherly

Former EVP Games and Digital Platforms,
NBCUniversal

Chris Hewish

President,
Xsolla

David Gardner

General Partner and Co-Founder,
London Venture Partners

David Pakman

Partner,
Venrock

Francisca Phillips

Head of Global Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging,
Jam City

Frédéric Chesnais

CEO,
Atari

Julie Shumaker

Senior Vice President of Revenue, Unity Operate Solutions,
Unity Technologies

Kevin Zhang

Partner,
Upfront Ventures

Luke Alvarez

Managing Partner,
Hiro Capital

Maxim de Wit

Global Head of Content,
Unity Technologies

Mike Vorhaus

CEO,
Vorhaus Advisors

Moritz Baier-Lentz

Partner,
BITKRAFT Ventures

Ned Sherman

Partner,
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips

Nika Nour

Executive Director,
IGDA Foundation

Phil Ranta

COO,
Wormhole Labs

Sam Englebardt

Managing Partner,
Galaxy Interactive

Simon Sim

President and CEO,
Netmarble US

Susanna Pollock

President,
Games for Change

Uri Marchand

Co-Founder and CEO,
Overwolf

2021 Online Agenda

May 10 - Games Business

10:00 am - 10:45 am

Keynote Conversation

11:00 am - 11:45 am

Chris Hewish
Julie Shumaker

The View from the Top: 2021 State of the Industry

With stay at home orders in place during most of 2020, global gaming sales rose nearly 20% to approximately $180 billion in 2020 (source: IDC), and most experts expect growth to continue in 2021 and beyond. This panel of industry leaders will discuss the current state of the games industry...
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Chris Hewish

Julie Shumaker

12:00 pm - 12:45 pm

Luke Alvarez
David Gardner
Moritz Baier-Lentz
Kevin Zhang
Ned Sherman

Investing in the Games Ecosystem: How to Navigate Opportunities in this Booming Sector

Investments, M&A and IPOs in the games industry reached a total value of $33.6 billion in 2020, with venture capital and corporate investments accounting for $5.9 billion across 363 deals (source: InvestGame). This panel of venture capital and corporate investors will discuss the current climate for investmenting in the games...
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Luke Alvarez

David Gardner

Moritz Baier-Lentz

Kevin Zhang

Ned Sherman

1:00 pm - 1:45 pm

Angela Roseboro
Susanna Pollock
Nika Nour

Diversity and Inclusion in the Games Industry: What Needs to Happen

Gamers in the United States are almost evenly split between men (54%) and women (46%) (source: Entertainment Software Association), however, just 24% of game developers are women and only 2% identify as black (source: International Game Developers Association). Further, in-game toxicity and harassment related to sexual orientation, race, or ethnicity...
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Angela Roseboro

Susanna Pollock

Nika Nour

May 11 - Hollywood and Creators

10:00 am - 10:45 am

Uri Marchand
Sam Englebardt

Gaming and the Metaverse: The Opportunities for Brands, Musicians and the Entertainment Industry

While Neal Stephenson’s sci-fi classic Snow Crash may have popularized the term “metaverse” in 1992, today some of the brightest minds in the tech and games industries are bringing the concept to life in new ways as they focus on developing massive virtual worlds and experiences where users can have...
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Uri Marchand

Sam Englebardt

11:00 am - 11:45 am

Chris DeWolfe

Keynote Conversation with Jam City

Interview with Chris DeWolfe, CEO and Co-Founder, Jam City

Chris DeWolfe

12:00 pm - 12:45 pm

Caty Tedman
Phil Ranta
Frédéric Chesnais
David Pakman

The Rise of NFTs: Gaming Brings Blockchain Mainstream

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) shot into the public eye earlier this year, in part, due to the enormous success of NBA Top Shot, a blockchain-based trading card system that has generated over $230 in gross sales. Musicians, artists and brands have moved fast to capitalize on what is perceived as a...
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Caty Tedman

Phil Ranta

Frédéric Chesnais

David Pakman

1:00 pm - 1:45 pm

Andreea Enache
Chris Heatherly

Creating Blockbusters: The Role of Games & Interactivity in Developing Entertainment Franchises

Major movie studios, television networks and gaming studios have increasingly embraced the notion of storytelling across mediums with a focus on building long-lasting entertainment franchises that engage audiences through the artful and well-planned use of multiple-media platforms. The panel will discuss the important role that games and interactive entertainment are...
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Andreea Enache

Chris Heatherly

May 12 - Mobile and Esports

10:00 am - 10:45 am

Bernard Kim

Keynote Conversation with Zynga

Featuring Bernard Kim, President, Zynga

Bernard Kim

11:00 am - 11:45 am

The Growth of Mobile Games: What’s Next in Creativity & Innovation?

Mobile gaming saw a huge increase in popularity during 2020’s lockdowns. Nearly every metric is up — in-app purchases, engagement, conversion rates and ad demand – and it’s translating into revenue. However, creativity and innovation is needed for growth to sustain for the long-term. How will mobile games developers and...
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12:00 pm - 12:45 pm

Maxim de Wit
Simon Sim
Mike Vorhaus
Ben Feder

Asia – The Mecca of Gaming

We will talk with experts from some of the leading Asian gaming companies about the growth of gaming in Asia, the success of Asian companies in the West, and the future for Asian and Western gaming – both in their own markets and in the worldwide markets.

Maxim de Wit

Simon Sim

Mike Vorhaus

Ben Feder

1:00 pm - 1:45 pm

The Intersection of Esports + Gaming Culture + Lifestyle Content

The panel will discuss esports teams, games-focused brands, competitive gamers, streamers and influencers and the rapidly growing market for esports and gaming culture and lifestyle content. What content strategies are working? Which platforms are driving the most engagement? What is the expected esports monetization mix from in-person, digital, and hybrid...
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