STORY OF GDS

Story of GDS

The Philippines has long had all the ingredients for an international summit that celebrates the best of the video game industry. The country has an established community of professionals and studios working with international developers on some of the biggest and most influential games, a government and industry determined to advance, and some of the most beautiful destinations in the world to host one and all.

GameDev Summit was therefore inevitable, a concept waiting for the perfect set of circumstances to align and make the summit a reality. So what’s the story behind GDS 2024?

For more than a decade, The Game Developer Association of the Philippines (GDAP) and the Philippines Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) had worked closely together to advance the country’s video game industry on the global stage. Through trade missions and participation in international events, Philippines game services and products expanded the country’s networks and enabled more long-term partnerships, and news of the Philippines’ mission spread.

Encouraged by the support of many countries and organizations, such as the ARISE Plus project of the International Trade Centre, which was integral to bringing even more Philippine studios to conferences around the world, international interest in the potential of the Philippines steadily grew, and the country became emboldened to take the next big step… bringing the world instead to Philippines (Boracay Island!) shores.

From the onset, the goals of GameDev Summit were like the waters of Boracay, crystal clear. To (1) support the needs of the Philippines video game industry, (2) provide an international platform for creating meaningful business relationships, and (3) create a summit like no other that the world would never forget. Spearheading the project, the GDAP Directors for Industry Development, Alexis Geronga and Andro Baluyut, set forth to bring together the agencies, organizations, and individuals that would help achieve these goals.

Foremost were the industry’s stalwart allies, the various agencies of the DTI, particularly the Competitiveness and Innovation Group (DTI-CIG) headed by Undersecretary Rafaelita Aldaba, the Export Market Bureau’s (DTI-EMB) Teresa Loring, and the Foreign Trade Service Corps’ (DTI-FTSC) Celynne Layug. The DTI was not only the backbone of the project, but also the symbol of support for the industry.

Next were the pillars of the Philippines video game industry, the GDAP, Chairman Alvin Juban and President James Lo, the board, members, affiliates, individual advocates, and MOST importantly the indie development community. Their participation and collective efforts would bring word of GameDev Summit to every corner of the Philippines and to their combined reach across the globe.

And finally, most serendipitously, Chris Wren, Lilli Clark, and Catherine Runnals, would contribute the experience, pedigree, and influence of Vancouver’s renowned long-running External Development Summit (XDS) to the project with the XDS Main Stage of speakers, curated and designed for the inaugural 2024 edition of GameDev Summit.

These groups and people combined, alongside the network of mentors, investors, and advocates the Philippines video game industry built over the years, are the reason for the success of GameDev Summit 2024. The GDS 2024 professionals-only B2B summit featured an Indie Games Track and an External Development Track, each with their own main stages, exhibitor halls, workshops, beachside meeting areas, and networking parties that hosted more than 300 attendees from 30+ countries around the world.

It didn’t matter where in the world anyone was coming from, once there, the only thought was “worth it”. Because as expected, the magic of Boracay truly lent to an atmosphere of organic connections and the unanimous praise of a summit truly like no other. With every single attendee excited for next year, and calls for making GDS a tradition, the overwhelming success of GameDev Summit’s inaugural year will surely carry into 2025, and make the Philippines host to a celebration of connections in the global video game industry for many years to come.