Hello there!
We’re fresh off the plane from San Francisco after another packed GDC, which was headlined by AI, falling attendee numbers and a certain new Xbox console.
But the biggest story of the week? I’d argue it was the changes to the PEGI age rating system.
Let’s take a look at the week that was, shall we?
GDC 2026 attendance drops 33% year-on-year
In Brief: The newly branded GDC: Festival of Gaming attracted 20,000 attendees, a drop on the 30,000 it achieved last year. GDC will return to San Francisco between March 1 and March 5, 2027.
What You Need To Know:
This year, GDC overhauled its content to attract a broader audience. It also introduced a simpler pricing structure, which brought down the overall GDC price, but removed the entry-level ticket option.
GDC organizers said there were attendees from over 85 countries this year.
There was a number of last-minute talk and attendee cancellations due to the US war with Iran.
My Take:
Whenever I launch a new event, the goal of year one is to simply ‘get away with it’.
