Xbox at GDC 2025: Discover the Next Era of Gaming Anywhere

As we gear up for the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2025, we couldn’t be more excited to meet up with our friends and colleagues in the industry and explore the many incredible new opportunities that await. This year, GDC takes place from March 17-21 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California. We’ll host partner meetings, participate in conference sessions, and sponsor events like the IGF Awards and the ESA Foundation’s Nite to Unite. Attendees that come by the Xbox Lounge in Moscone South will have a chance to see the latest Xbox experience on PC, join a Q&A with an Xbox development expert, and learn about the opportunities and benefits of building with Xbox across PC, Cloud and Console.

Xbox is expanding to any screen on any device, making it easier for anyone to play with the friends they want – whether they choose to play with Xbox console, PC, Smart TV or mobile. At GDC, we’re inviting game developers to go behind the scenes to better understand what it means for Xbox to be playable on any screen. We're committed to empowering game developers to tap into that opportunity by building cross-capable games that take advantage of Xbox across devices. Our presence will reveal the many ways game developers can reach more players with Xbox and showcase success stories of developers who are maximizing the opportunity.

Whether you're an indie developer or a seasoned professional, Xbox speakers will be presenting insights for every stage of your development journey. Check out the full schedule below. If you will be engaging remotely, you can learn more by visiting our Game Development Resource Hub here and to learn more about AI for Gaming, check out our Gaming AI Resource Hub here.

For us, GDC 2025 is as much about showcasing the Xbox developer experience as it is about fostering collaboration with partners and driving our gaming future, together. See you there!

Monday, March 17

The Future of Gaming Supported by AI: How Xbox is Empowering Players and Creators (Presented by Microsoft)
Speaker: Fatima Kardar (Microsoft), Sonali Yadav (Microsoft)
Date: Monday, March 17
Time: 9:30am - 10:30am
Location: Room 3011, West Hall

UX Summit: UX Writing: A New(ish) Craft in Mobile Games
Speaker: Patricia Gomez (King)
Date: Monday, March 17
Time: 9:30am - 10:30am
Location: Room 2010, West Hall

AI Innovation for Game Experiences: From Research to Prototyping (Presented by Microsoft)
Speaker: Haiyan Zhang (Xbox), Katja Hofmann (Microsoft)
Date: Monday, March 17
Time: 10:50am - 11:50am
Location: Room 3011, West Hall

Community Management Summit: Social Media Microtalks: Authenticity from You and the Business “We”
Speaker: Cindy Tran (Obsidian Entertainment), Antonio Cara (DeNA Corp.), Harper Jay MacIntyre (Double Fine Productions Inc), Livvy Hall (Xbox Game Studios Publishing), Megan Spurr (Microsoft)
Date: Monday, March 17
Time: 10:50am - 11:50am
Location: Room 2014, West Hall

Live Service Games Summit: Reinventing ‘Candy Crush Soda’ for the Next 10 years
Speaker: Abigail Rindo (King), Paul Hellier (King)
Date: Monday, March 17
Time: 10:50am - 11:50am
Location: Room 2006, West Hall

Animation Summit: 'Diablo 4': Bringing to Life the Priestess of Hatred

Speaker: Chad Waldschmidt (Blizzard Entertainment)
Date: Monday, March 17
Time: 3:50 pm - 4:20 pm
Location: Room 2018, West Hall

Machine Learning Summit: Fitting Armor Assets in ‘World of Warcraft’ with Deep Learning
Speaker: Zhen Zhai (Blizzard Entertainment)
Date: Monday, March 17
Time: 5:30pm - 6:00pm
Location: Room 3018, West Hall

UX Summit: Making the World Playful: The Importance of Accessible Mobile Games
Speaker: Emilio Jeldrez (King)
Date: Monday, March 17
Time: 5:30pm - 6:00pm
Location: Room 2010, West Hall

Tuesday, March 18

Live Service Games Summit: Mass Engagement Winning Strategies: The 15M Player Tournament of 'Candy Crush Saga'
Speaker: Margaux Diaz (King), Roberto Kusabbi (King)
Date: Tuesday, March 18
Time: 9:30am - 10:30am
Location: Room 2006, West Hall

Thriving Players Summit: Prosocial Design Workshop
Speaker: Natasha Miller (Blizzard Entertainment), Weszt Hart (Riot Games)
Date: Tuesday, March 18
Time: 9:30am - 11;50am
Location: Room 3005, West Hall

The Climate Crisis Workshop
Speaker: Grant Shonkwiler (Shonkventures LLC), Trevin York (Dire Lark), Paula Angela Escuadra (Microsoft / Xbox), Jennifer Estaris (ustwo games), Arnaud Fayolle (Ubisoft)
Date: Tuesday, March 18
Time: 10:00am - 6:00pm
Location: Room 204, South Hall

AI Executive Panel: Exploring What's Next in AI for Gaming (Presented by EPAM)
Speaker: Stef Corazza (Roblox) Vitalli Vashchuk (EPAM) Haiyan Zhang (Xbox), Craig Nowell, Databricks
Date: Wednesday, March 19
Time: 10:30am - 11:30am
Location: Room 2020, West Hall

Gaming Reimagined: Mobile’s Impact on Play Today (Presented by King)
Speaker: Todd Green (King), Paula Ingvar (King), Peiwen Yao (Blizzard Entertainment)
Date: Tuesday, March 18
Time: 10:50am - 11:50am
Location: Room 2000, West Hall

Unpacking Anti-Toxicity Strategy in "Call of Duty" (Presented by Community Clubhouse)
Speaker: Mark Frumkin (Modulate), Grant Cahill (Activision)
Date: Tuesday, March 18
Time: 2:40pm - 3:40pm
Location: Esplanade 158, South Hall

Live Service Games Summit: Game Designer's Notebook
Speakers: Marta Cortiñas (King), Kenny Dinkin (King)
Time: 2:40pm - 3:40pm
Location: Room 2006, West Hall

Wednesday, March 19

Opening a Billion Doors with Xbox (Presented by Microsoft)
Speaker: Leo Olebe (Microsoft), Chris Charla (Microsoft)
Date: Wednesday, March 19
Time: 12:30pm - 1:30pm
Location: Room 3022, West Hall

Accelerating Your Inner Loop with Visual Studio and GitHub Copilot AI (Presented by Microsoft)
Speaker: David Li (Microsoft), Michael Price (Microsoft)
Date: Wednesday, March 19
Time: 12:30pm - 1:30pm
Location: GDC Industry Stage, Expo Floor, South Hall

Grow Your Audience with the Updated Xbox Experience on PC (Presented by Microsoft)
Speaker: Tila Nguyen (Microsoft), Jose Rady (Microsoft)
Date: Wednesday, March 19
Time: 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Location: GDC Industry Stage, Expo Floor, South Hall

Make your Game Available ANYWHERE with Xbox Cloud Gaming (Presented by Microsoft)
Speaker: Harrison Hoffman (Microsoft), Jordan Cohen (Microsoft)
Date: Wednesday, March 19
Time: 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Location: Room 2000, West Hall

Masterworking Systems: Lessons Learned from the Engineering of Season of Loot Reborn in 'Diablo IV'

Speaker: Patrick Ferland (Blizzard Entertainment)
Date: Wednesday, March 19
Time: 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Location: Room 2006, West Hall

Ask Game Lawyers Anything Roundtable Day 1
Speaker: Ryan Black (DLA Piper (Canada) LLP), Brandon Huffman (Odin Law and Media), Angelo Alcid (Microsoft Corp.), Yan Perng (Netflix)
Date: Wednesday, March 19
Time: 3:30pm - 4:30pm
Location: Room 308, South Hall

Xbox Game Studios Panel: Scaling Cross-Platform Development Across Xbox and PC (Presented by Microsoft)
Speaker: Kate Rayner (Microsoft), Soren Hannibal Nielsen (Microsoft, Chuck Rozhon (Obsidion Entertainment), Chad Dawson (Double Fine Productions) Phil Cousins (Microsoft), Magnus Auvinen (Machine Games)
Date: Wednesday, March 19
Time: 3:30pm - 4:30pm
Location: Room 2000, West Hall

Thursday, March 20

DirectX State of the Union: Raytracing and PIX Workflows (Presented by Microsoft)
Speaker: Claire Andrews (Microsoft), Austin Kinross (Microsoft)
Date: Thursday, March 20
Time: 9:30am - 10:30am
Location: Room 2009, West Hall

VFX Storytelling: How "Hearthstone" Breathes Life Into Hundreds of Cards
Speaker: Alex Cortes (Blizzard Entertainment)
Date: Thursday, March 20
Time: 11:00am - 12:00pm
Location: Room 2006, West Hall

Inclusive Gaming AI: Red Teaming for Accessibility and Disability
Speaker: Brannon Zahand (Microsoft)
Date: Thursday, March 20
Time: 11:00am - 12:00pm
Location: Room 3005, West Hall

Strategies for Indie Devs: How to Succeed with Xbox (Presented by Microsoft)
Speaker: James Lewis (Microsoft)
Date: Thursday, March 20
Time: 11:30am - 12:30pm
Location: GDC Industry Stage, Expo Floor, South Hall

G.A.N.G. Demo Derby: Sound Design
Speaker: Nick Hartman (Sound Lab), Scott Gershin (Sound Lab), Charles Deenen (Source Sound Inc), Gary Miranda (Injected Senses Audio), Brian Farr (Blizzard Entertainment)
Date: Thursday, March 20
Time: 12:15pm - 1:45pm
Location: Room 3018, West Hall

From Idea to Action: Lessons from a New Accessibility Initiative (Presented by The Entertainment Software Association)
Speaker: Aubrey Quinn  (Entertainment Software Association), Paul Amadeus Lane  (Amadeus 4th Corp), Amy Lazarus  (Electronic Arts), Dara Monasch  (Google), Anna Waismeyer  (Microsoft/Xbox), Steven Evans  (Nintendo of America), David Tisserand  (Ubisoft)
Date: Thursday, March 20
Time: 12:15pm - 1:15pm
Location: GDC Main Stage, West Hall, Street Level

Windows Productivity Tools for Game Developers (Presented by Microsoft)
Speaker: Demitrius Nelon (Microsoft), Kayla Cinnamon (Microsoft)
Date: Thursday, March 20
Time: 12:15pm - 1:15pm
Location: Room 2024, West Hall

Amplifying Player Voices with LLMs in Game Development
Speaker: Joshua Koen (Blizzard Entertainment), Ian Livingston (Blizzard Entertainment)
Date: Thursday, March 20
Time: 1:30pm - 2:00pm
Location: Room, 2010, West Hall 

Securing the Joy of Gaming: Xbox's Commitment to Gaming Security and Innovation (Presented by Microsoft)
Speaker: Temi Adebambo (Microsoft)
Date: Thursday, March 20
Time: 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Location: GDC Industry Stage, Expo Floor, South Hall

Xbox Play Anywhere Developer Roundtable (Presented by Microsoft)
Speaker: Chris Charla (Microsoft)
Date: Thursday, March 20
Time: 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Location: Room 2004, West Hall

King: Enhancing Mobile Audio with Accessibility and Inclusion
Speaker: Eduardo Broseta (King)
Date: Thursday, March 20
Time: 2:30pm - 3:00pm
Location: Room 3024, West Hall

Friday, March 21

Game Career Seminar: STR, DEX and INT: A Genre-Spanning Way to Think About Gameplay
Speaker: Joseph Shely  (Blizzard Entertainment)
Date: Friday, March 21
Time: 11:50am - 12:20pm
Location: Room 3005, West Hall

Game Career Seminar: Killer Portfolio or Portfolio Killer Part 2: Portfolio Reviews
Speakers: Greg Foertsch  (Bit Reactor), Sarah LeBlanc  (Bit Reactor), Rembert Montald  (Lightspeed LA), David Yee  (Unannounced), Jeffrey Johnson  (inXile Entertainment), Jade Law  (Wardog Studios), Gaurav Mathur  (E-Line Media), Jessica Kutrakun  (Hypixel Studios), Inmar Salvatier  (Maxis), Jeff Parrott  (Blizzard), Daanish Syed  (Bit Reactor), David Johnson  (UndertoneFX), Jeff Skalski  (Yellow Brick Games)
Date: Friday, March 21
Time: 2:00pm - 5:00pm
Location: Room 3000, West Hall