It will be a busy week in Cologne as both Devcom and Gamescom attract gaming professionals from all over the world.

The former event begins with a two-day conference where more than 250 speakers in over 200 sessions will discuss some of the biggest challenges facing the industry today.

The full program offers a lot to get through, so the GamesIndustry.biz team has selected highlights from some of the sessions we think will be most interesting.

The Devcom Developer Conference 2024 will take place from Monday, August 19th to Tuesday, August 20th at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany. For more information, visit the event website.

Monday, August 19

A plea for better story integration – or: “I beg you to stop calling it a story wrapper”
10:00–11:00 a.m., Keynote Stage – Confex Expo Floor

In Devcom’s opening keynote, Outer Wilds writer and narrative designer Kelsey Beachum explores how every element of a game can help tell the story without limiting it to modal conversations and cutscenes.

The global PC and console gaming market, forecasts and trends for 2024
11.30am–12.30pm – Stage 5 – Xsolla Stage – Confex 2 Floor

Devan Brennan, senior consultant at Newzoo, examines the latest data and insights from the global PC and console gaming market, including revenue and spending, player behavior, and the analytics firm’s forecasts through 2027.

Surviving eight years as an indie studio: keeping tools and discarding tactics
12.30–1.30 p.m. – Stage 14 – Confex 3-floor

Philomena Schwab, CEO and game designer at The Wandering Village developer Stray Fawn Studio, explores the key lessons learned since the company’s founding and how indie developers can overcome the challenges they face.

A look behind the scenes: What content considerations will indie publishers make in 2024?
1:30 p.m.–2:30 p.m. – Stage 14 – Confex 3-floor

Jasper Barnes, Head of Game Discovery at Team17, sheds light on the decision-making processes indie publishers go through when greenlighting the titles they want to bring to market, and helps developers better understand the criteria for success.

How to lose a player in 10 days
3:00 p.m.–3:30 p.m. – Stage 5 – Xsolla Stage – Confex 2 Floor

Product director Feras Musmar of TTK Games, a studio founded by former DICE veterans, examines the problem of player churn in games that aren’t based on live services and looks for ways developers can encourage players to finish the games they work so hard on.

The art of closing
5.30pm–6.30pm – Stage 14 – Confex 3-floor

Fleur Marty, Producer at Ubisoft Montreal, offers a rare insight into one of the least glamorous and most critical phases of game development: closing, crossing the finish line. Marty offers advice on how to close in a way that ensures quality, and what mistakes to avoid.

Tuesday, August 20

On the way to Valhalla in “God of War”

11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m., Stage 1 – Confex Expo Floor
Mihir Sheth, co-game director of God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla, talks about how Santa Monica Studio developed its first DLC, what role it played in the franchise, and how it was received by fans.

Exploring Ethical Horizons: The Challenges of AI-Generated Art

12:00–12:30, Stage 11 – Confex 3-floor
Judy Ehrentraut, creative content strategist at Red Meat Games, examines the importance of training AI models to handle ethical content, ensuring creators and artists are compensated, and the role of AI in general.

Combating sexism and resistance to diversity in the modern gaming industry

1:30 p.m.–2:30 p.m., Stage 8 – Call for Change Track – Confex 3-floor
Jamie Christensen and Cecilia Luna of Bytro Labs discuss the issues women and members of the LGBTQ+ community face when working in the games industry, how these have changed over time, and what can be addressed in the short and long term.

Demystifying creativity
3:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m., Stage 1 – Confex Expo Floor

Fawzi Mesmar, Vice President of Global Creativity at Ubisoft, explores creativity and originality in game development, getting to the heart of the creative process by combining insights from psychology, neuroscience and personal experience.

AAA graphics are dead
4:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m., Stage 1 – Confex Expo Floor

Matt Radford, CEO and Creative Director of 5th Corner, discusses what’s next for AAA once photorealism is mastered, drawing on his experiences working on games like Uncharted, The Last of Us, and The Matrix Awakens.

Cozy Futures: Challenging traditional game design
4:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m., Stage 17 – Confex 3-floor

Moderated by Jennifer Estaris, Director of Ustwo Games, panelists Lea Schönfelder (Co-CEO of Fein Games), Joost Vervoort (Associate Professor at Utrecht University) and Meghna Jayanth (Narrative Designer and Author) discuss how to challenge traditional game design by focusing on other aspects of creativity.

GamesIndustry.biz is a media partner of Devcom, which provides travel and accommodation services.