Gaming industry's brightest return to SF for Game Developer Conference amid layoffs

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Game Developer Conference is back in San Francisco for the 39th edition.

The week-long conference at Moscone Center is considered to be the world's largest and longest-running professional game industry event.

"I do love games I've always loved games since I was a kid," said Kalle Ronkainen with Supercell.

Expect to see thousands of visitors from all corners of the globe.

"Nearly half of our attendees are international," said Stephanie Hawkins with Game Developers Conference.

"I'm from South Korea," said attendee Joon Chang.

"I'm stationed in Helsinki, Finland. It's a bit of trek," said Ronkainen.

Last year, the conference saw nearly 30,000 people eating, staying in hotels, enjoying San Francisco and spending money.

RELATED: GDC: World's largest gaming conference generating over $40 million in economic impact for SF

According to the San Francisco Travel Association, the conference generated more than $40 million in economic impact for the city.

Organizers say GDC is the game industry's premier professional event that champions game developers and the advancement of their craft. The week features education and innovation-including workshops, roundtable discussions, networking events, and exhibits.

"We're going to the sessions on Astro Bots as well as Final Fantasy 7. I know everyone is super excited for those," said Hawkins.

Game developers and gaming enthusiasts all bring diverse portfolios.

"Supercell does mobile games. Our flagship game-- it's a bit of an old one now, but it's still going strong- 'Clash of Clans'," said Ronkainen.

Kate Edwards is CEO of Geografy in Seattle.

"I've worked a lot on a lot of different games. A lot of AAA games like Age of Empires and Mass Effect, and Indiana Jones," said Edwards.

Ronkainen and Edwards have been coming to the conference for years -- connecting with fellow developers, talking about game development and what it means.

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"It's been a challenging couple of years for the game industry. We all know that. There's been a lot of layoffs. There's been a lot of thinking about how game development needs to happen--especially on a large scale because it's become extremely expensive to make games," said Edwards.

Like many other attendees, they're looking forward to the inspiration and the innovation.

"We have booths on the show floor where you can see AI action, and we have an AI summit," said Hawkins.

They are also looking forward to see San Francisco again as some attendees say the city seems to be improving since the pandemic. But, the challenges are still there.

"It's crazy that this is the heart of the tech industry, but at the same time there are so many socio-economic issues," said Ronkainen.

Edwards says San Francisco is much like Seattle, where she lives. Edwards says both cities are struggling to get back to their 'glory days.'

"The city isn't what it was. Some of us are reminiscing of the GDC 10 years ago," said Edwards. "It doesn't feel like there's been a lot of recovery going on yet. That is a concern to me. I know Seattle, they are trying as well."

Organizers say GDC is a bright spot for San Francisco, attracting lots of talk and lots of talent.

The Game Developers Conference 2025 goes through Friday at Moscone Center.