Title :

General Manager at ESL FACEIT GROUP

Theme :

Asia & Africa: Mobile gaming dominance and the esports boom

Schedule :

02/07/2025 from 16:00-17:00

Biography : 

Abdelatif Sakkoum is the General Manager of EFG DreamHack Sports. He previously served as Vice President of Finance at ESL Germany from 2019 to 2022. Prior to that, he was Finance Advisor – Chargé de Mission at Maroc Telecom in Rabat, Morocco from 2014 to 2019.

From 2011 to 2014, he worked as Internal Audit Manager for Special Projects at Vivendi in France. Between 2001 and 2011, he held the position of Finance Manager at Vivendi Games, and later at Activision-Blizzard.

Title :

Head of Business Development at Kwalee

Theme :

Publishing Challenges: Sharing International Experience

Schedule :

04/07/2025 from 11:00-12:00

Biography : 

Adam Snook, for the last 18 months, he has been the Head of Business Development at Kwalee’s rapidly growing PC Console division, scouring the world for the best indie titles. He has worked directly in the industry for the past 5 years, first as a Licensing Manager for Games Workshop, then as a Game Scout Manager for Team17. Prior to that, he worked in tech, providing online services to some of the biggest names in gaming — from high-capacity networks to DDoS mitigation, online security services, and servers.

Title :

Director of Sevenlinelabs

Theme :

The Future challenges in esports ecosystem

Schedule :

04/07/2025 from 16:00-17:00

Biography : 

Aiden Kong is currently leading Business Development at Miracle Play, a company at the forefront of AI-driven competitive gaming experiences. With a deep-rooted passion for sports and esports since childhood, Aiden pursued a degree in Sports Industry Studies at Yonsei University. Since 2021, he has spent approximately four years working in the blockchain space and at WWD Korea, focusing on planning and digital strategy. In 2024, he joined Miracle Play, where he continues to bridge innovation and gaming through strategic development initiatives.  

Title :

Senior Technical Producer at Star Stable Entertainment

Theme :

Education in Gaming: Building Sustainable Talent Pipelines

Schedule :

03/07/2025 from 10:00-11:00

Theme :

Career Development in Gaming: Opportunities and Pathways

Schedule :

03/07/2025 from 12:00-13:00

Biography : 

Ali Farha is a Senior Producer at Star Stable, the world’s leading MMO game for girls with a passionate global community. He is a board member at Future Games and The Game Assembly, contributing strategic guidance to shape gaming education and industry standards. He is currently serving as Head of Game Producer Education at Future Games Warsaw, where he develops the next generation of game production talent. He also provides advisory to multiple companies in the gaming sector, leveraging his industry experience to help teams achieve their development and business goals.

Title :

 Professor at Metropolia University (Finland)

Theme :

Education in Gaming: Building Sustainable Talent Pipelines

Schedule :

03/07/2025 from 10:00-11:00

Biography : 

Antti Laiho is the Head of Game Development Education at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. He has over 10 years of entrepreneurial experience and nearly 20 years in the field of education, covering topics such as Media Technology, 3D graphics and animation, as well as Software and Game Development. Over the years, he has been involved in more than 500 diverse projects. Currently, Antti focuses on training future game development engineers, with the belief that the core mission of an engineer is to make the world a better place. In his spare time, he designs board games that combine knowledge, fun, and excitement.

Title :

CEO of TA Publishing

Theme :

Publishing Challenges: Sharing International Experience

Schedule :

04/07/2025 from 11:00-12:00

Biography : 

Benjamin Anseaume is a French video game developer and entrepreneur with a passion for the gaming industry. In 2010, he founded Sushee, a Lannion-based studio that developed indie games such as Goetiaand Fear Effect Sedna, published by Square Enix. Despite critical recognition for Goetia, Sushee faced commercial challenges and closed its doors in 2018. Undeterred, Anseaume launched TA Publishing later that year, a production company focused on supporting independent studios and remaking classic titles. Part of the Forever Entertainment group, he has since contributed to projects like Panzer Dragoon: Remake and The House of the Dead: Remake and acted as a game director on games such as Care Bears: To the Rescue and Magical Drop 6.

Title :

CEO/Founder of ctrlPause

Theme :

The State of Esports Ecosystem

Schedule :

04/07/2025 from 14:00-15:00

Biography : 

Bethany Pyles resides in Los Angeles, California and serves as a consultant for SXNGA. She is the Founder and Co-Host of the Lurk Here podcast. Previously, Bethany served as the Player Development Specialist for the United States Esports Federation. As the Program Director for Connected Camps and the Network of Scholastic Esports Federation, Bethany spearheaded the development of the virtual high school esports coaching program.

With NASEF, Bethany co-authored and delivered training sessions for the Microsoft Esports Teacher Academy and the NASEF Coaching Academy rooted in developing social-emotional learning outcomes for esports athletes. As Coaching Director at Cloud9, Bethany played a pivotal role developing the transformative “Training Grounds” program that enabled athletes to grow and enhance their in-game knowledge and skills.

Title :

CEO of Obsidian Horizons

Theme :

North America & Europe : Market maturity and the race for innovation

Schedule :

02/07/2025 from 15:00-16:00

Theme :

Advanced Game Mechanics and Systems Design

Schedule :

03/07/2025 from 14:50-15:40

Biography : 

Carlos is s gaming executive with 27+ years in the games industry, driving revenue growth and team performance through strategic leadership and innovation. Carlos has extensive eperience leading development teams at major companies like Blizzard and Zenimax, managing live services, coordinating studio operations and delivering high quality game experiences for global player bases.

Title :

Founder, CEO of TMRW Foundation 

Theme :

The state of the Gaming Industry and Technology : Fireside Chat with Cevat Yerli and Young Mok Park

Schedule :

02/07/2025 from 14:00 to 15:00

Biographie : 

Cevat Yerli, the former founding CEO of Crytek GmbH, revolutionized the real-time 3D and gaming industry, launching critically acclaimed blockbuster IPs that have been played by hundreds of millions of people. He pioneered modern real-time 3D graphics and is now developing foundational technologies to transform the Internet into 3D—while also working to save bananas from extinction.

Cevat created his first computer game at age 12 from his childhood bedroom. At 19, he founded Crytek and launched many critically acclaimed titles such as Far Cry, the Crysis series, Ryse: Son of Rome, Warface, and Hunt: Showdown. These titles won hundreds of awards and generated over $5 billion in consumer spending, cementing Cevat’s reputation as a digital pioneer who transformed game development. His CryEngine platform, released in 2000, became a disruptive blueprint for modern 3D engines, fundamentally altering the trajectory of a now $200 billion industry.

Cevat is currently focusing on blue ocean foundational technologies and is also committed to combating the existential threat posed by fusarium fungus to bananas. He leads The TMRW Foundation as its Chairman & CEO, driven by a vision— inspired by his three children— to create a better world. He has invented and manages over 500 patents as part of a mission to develop a human-centric Internet—Internet of Life™—aimed at unlocking the unlimited potential of human communication and togetherness. This $20+ trillion opportunity involves upgrading the entire Internet into 3D, powered by the new social 3D Internet engine platform RealityOS™. Through his low-key impact investments under TMRW Impact, he is focused on saving bananas from an extinction-level event and curing various types of illnesses—with promising initial results.

Cevat believes that the next generation will see the entire planet as a world of gamers immersed in an artificially intelligent reality. To harness our full human potential, our primary mode of interaction with the world must be humanized and enjoyable—serving to bring people together and contribute to a better society.

Cevat consults with the following board members of The TMRW Foundation: Dr. Josef Ackermann (Former CEO & Chairman of Deutsche Bank), Enda Kenny (Former Irish Prime Minister), Prof. Reimund Neugebauer (President Emeritus of the Fraunhofer Society), Michael Warren (Former Advisor to President Barack Obama), Song K. Jung (Global Chair of IP at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP), and Chris Thomas (Former Group Managing Director at McKinsey for Global IoT and former GM at Intel China). Cevat is also a member of the Honorary Senior Advisory Panel for The Hague Institute for Global Justice.

Title :

Composer- Associate Professor at CNAM

Theme :

Dynamic Audio in Gaming: Trends and Techniques

Schedule :

03/07/2025 from 17:20-18:10

Biography : 

Cécile Le Prado is active in creation, teaching, and research . As a composer of electroacoustic music, she is particularly interested in the sonic space of the urban landscape and the active immersion of visitors in her installations. She is the author of numerous musical pieces and installations, as well as audiovisual compositions.

She has collaborated with INA-GRM (Musical Research Group of the National Audiovisual Institute), IRCAM (Institute for Research and Creation in Acoustics and Music), and CESARE (National Center for Musical Creation in Reims).

Cécile Le Prado was an associate lecturer at the CNAM (National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts) and head of the “Sound Design” specialization at the National School of Digital Games and Interactive Media (www.enjmin.fr). She was also responsible for sound-related teaching at the Cologne Games Lab at the Cologne University of Technology 

Title :

Partner at Proxy Planet

Theme :

Bridging the Gap: Aligning Educational Programs with Gaming Industry Needs

Schedule :

03/07/2025 from 11:00-12:00

Biography : 

Chris Hong is a seasoned game developer and entrepreneur with 30 years of experience. His journey in game development commenced in 1995 as a server and backend programmer, leading to the successful launch of 12+ PC/console real-time multiplayer online games and 10+ mobile games. Throughout his career, he assumed pivotal roles such as tech lead, tech director, and production director at renowned companies, including Ubisoft, Metacore, Neowiz, Smilegate, and more. Over 15 years, he established and effectively managed three game companies as a CEO, honing a unique ability to balance technical expertise with a keen understanding of the business landscape.

His expertise spans all facets of the game industry, encompassing development, live service, business foundation and management, finance, investment, and valuable overseas experience. With a notable tenure of over 12 years as a professor and lecturer at universities and polytechnics, Chris has delivered numerous presentations and speeches at academic institutions and events.

Chris has recently embarked on a new venture, founding the studio “CosmoUniverse” in Helsinki, Finland. This studio specializes in providing consulting, design, and development for backend / real-time multiplayer and live service tech.

Title :

Senior Developer Advocate at UNITY

Theme :

Developing Games with Unity 6

Schedule :

02/07/2025 from 12:30-13:30

Biography : 

Corrie Green is a Senior Developer Advocate at Unity Technologies from Scotland. With a PhD specializing in Virtual Reality interaction and optimization, they bring research and development expertise to real-world game design. As a cross-platform indie developer, they have contributed to over 18 game titles, including several shipped projects. Driven to empower creators, they are excited to support your development journey — whether you’re just getting started with the Unity game engine or tackling technical design challenges.

Title :

CEO of GXC

Theme :

How to Successfully build a game startup?

Schedule :

05/07/2025 from 17:00-18:00

Biography : 

Danny Woo is a CEO and Founder at GXC. He has 10+ years business experience in business strategy and development, and 10+ years startups investment experience from angel to VC investments. As a business consultant and developer, he worked for Samsung SDS, NAVER and other small startups to help the businesses grow substantially. And he built his investment career at NHN Investment as a game fund manager, setting up the game fund($15 Million) and investing game startups in early stage, and at TAB the Momentum as an internet/mobile startup accelerator in Korea, initiating an angel fund and investing into many startups. 

Danny founded GXC (Game X Companies), providing a GTR game accelerator program (pre-seed fund and business advice) and data insight through G.Round in order to solve problems plaguing the game industry. G.Round is a global gaming playtesting and marketing software that helps the successful launch of games by combining data collected through global user testing and AI analysis technologies during the game production to provide ‘precise strikes insight’ to find game improvement points and launch regions/users with a high probability of success. Danny is now committed to establishing equilibrium within the gaming industry by seeking gaming companies with high potential and developing a global ecosystem that drives cooperation. By creating a balanced GXC ecosystem, this will ensure gaming startups for commercial success and sustainable futures.

Title :

CEO of Pop Screen Games

Theme :

How to fully Generate a Mobile Prototype – Vibe Coding & Open Source Visual Asset Generation ?

Schedule :

03/07/2025 from 18:10-19:00

Biography : 

Davy Chadwick has been deeply involved in the gaming industry for over two decades, with expertise spanning development, publishing, and large-scale team management. He has led operations at major companies such as EA, Ubisoft, and gumi, before co-founding and scaling his own studio, PopScreen Games. Throughout his journey, he has built and guided teams that drive innovation in mobile gaming, with a focus on creating compelling midcore and core experiences for global audiences.

As an entrepreneur and industry leader, Davy Chadwick has built teams and projects from the ground up, both locally and internationally, scaling operations across multiple regions. Whether as a founder or an executive at leading gaming companies, he has led cross-functional teams, driven strategic growth, and brought impactful products to market. Today, Davy Chadwick is harnessing the full potential of Generative AI to transform game production. Through hands-on keynotes and collaborative industry partnerships, he helps studios integrate AI -powered workflows that unlock creativity, accelerate development, and push the boundaries of interactive experiences.

Title :

AD Ncosft

Theme :

Practical Game Art and Visual Development

Schedule :

03/07/2025 from 15:40-16:30

Biography : 

Daniel Dociu is an award-winning sci-fi and fantasy artist with 33 years of experience in the interactive entertainment industry. Born and educated in Romania, he earned a Master’s Degree in Industrial Design. He has lived in the USA since 1990, where he has functioned in senior creative leadership roles for prominent publishers and developers: NCsoft/ Ncsoft West, Amazon Game Studios, ArenaNet, Electronic Arts, Squasresoft, Microsoft, One More Game, Zipper Interactive etc. Daniel is also a prolific IP development consultant and freelance artist with notable contributions to numerous publications, advertising campaigns, films, and educational speaking engagements worldwide.

Title :

Senior Vice President for Public & International Affairs of EFG

Theme :

The State of Esports Ecosystem

Schedule :

04/07/2025 from 14:00-15:00

Biography : 

David Neichel, video games industry veteran with 15+ years at renowned companies such as Activision-Blizzard and Electronic Arts, David Neichel gained profound experience in esports joining ESL 8 years ago. Currently serving as Senior Vice President for Public & International Affairs for ESL Faceit Group (EFG), David previously served as CEO of ESL Gaming, where he was instrumental in driving the company’s vision and leading it to become the world champion and leading esports global organization.

Title :

President of France Esport

Theme :

The State of Esports Ecosystem

Schedule :

04/07/2025 from 14:00-15:00

Biography : 

Désiré Koussawo, Fort d’une expérience de plus de 20 ans dans les secteurs de l’IT, du divertissement et de l’esport, Désiré Koussawo est une figure publique à la fois pour la communauté des joueurs, les pouvoirs publics et les professionnels du secteur au-delà des frontières de l’esport.

Précédemment Directeur Général d’ESL Gaming France, filiale de la plus grande société esport au monde, et cofondateur et Président d’honneur de l’Association FuturoLAN, organisatrice de la Gamers Assembly, la plus grande LAN-party de France.

Actuellement Président de l’association France Esports, Désiré est également très investi dans le développement et la structuration de l’esport aux côtés des pouvoirs publics localement, régionalement, et à l’échelle nationale et internationale.

Il s’implique également depuis 2019 dans le développement et la structuration de l’esport sur le continent africain, notamment par le biais de sa société SAGES Africa.

Title :

General Secretary of the African Confederation of Esport

Theme :

How Can Africa’s Strategy for Building an esport Ecosystem Overcome Challenges?

Schedule :

04/07/2025 from 17:00-18:00

Biography : 

Emmanuel Oyelakin is a leading force in shaping the future of digital sports and empowering African youth globally, drawing on a widely traveled international perspective. As Founder & CEO of UK-based HyperRealm Studios, he’s pioneering immersive esports experiences.

Currently, he serves as Secretary General of the African Confederation of Electronic Sports (ACES) based in Casablanca, Morocco, is a member of the World Esports Consortium (WESCO) Presidential Council and sits on the Board of the Nigeria Esports Federation.

A sought-after voice and orchestrator of international initiatives, Emmanuel has spoken at prestigious events like the African Gaming Fest by inwi in Casablanca Morocco, the Next World Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the Business of Gaming (BOG) in South Africa. His collaborative work includes projects with the Japanese Embassy in Nigeria and Tottori Esports Association in Tokyo, and the French Embassy in Nigeria for the viral Legends Extraordinary Club Open (LECO). He previously served as Board Member and Vice President of the International Esports Federation (IESF) and founded LXG Esports and Esports Nigeria.

With a strategic blend of business acumen and a passion for community, Emmanuel is dedicated to building purpose-driven experiences that connect, inspire, and drive growth in the digital frontier.

Title :

Author, traductor, founder of Omaké Books

Theme :

How Yoshiki Okamoto created the best video games of Japan?

Schedule :

02/07/2025 from 18:00-19:00

Theme :

How Japan became the #1 video game industry in the World?

Schedule :

05/07/2025 from 18:00-19:00

Biography : 

Florent Gorges est historien du jeu vidéo, spécialisé dans l’histoire du jeu vidéo japonais.

Traduit dans plusieurs langues, il a rédigé plus d’une dizaine de titres sur ce sujet. Il travaille actuellement pour le projet de Musée du Jeu Vidéo Odyssée, situé près de Paris France et qui devrait devenir le plus grand musée du jeu vidéo au Monde. Également traducteur/interprète en français et japonais, il accompagne régulièrement des personnalités japonaises du monde du gaming.
Contact : X (@FlorentGorgesFR)

Title :

VP International Distribution & Publishing at Ankama studios

Theme :

Success Stories of Ankama Studios

Schedule :

04/07/2025 from 12:30-13:00

Biography : 

Frédérique de Fondaumière joined the management team of Ankama in 2022 to support the growth of its gaming IPs and to accelerate Ankama’s international recognition.

She has an extensive professional experience in marketing, sales, and subsidiary management roles within the gaming and video sectors, working for both French and international companies. She previously headed the French office of Activision Blizzard.

Title :

President, Korea (Gen,G)

Theme :

The Future challenges in esports ecosystem

Schedule :

04/07/2025 from 16:00-17:00

Biography : 

Guan Wang is the president of Gen.G Global Academy – the education arm of Gen.G. He is charged with the mission to create transformative learning experiences for millions of students who will learn essential skills for the future through gaming and esports.
Prior to joining Gen.G, Guan was Head of Business Unit Group Class at VIPKID, one of the world’s highest-valued education technology startups. Guan joined VIPKID in 2016 to incubate new businesses and drive innovation, and went on to build a new product line for English and Math group classes. Under Guan’s leadership, the business scaled rapidly and became the fastest-growing tutoring service in China, attaining the highest retention/renewal rates in the industry.

Prior to joining VIPKID, Guan was an entrepreneur in ed-tech and a product leader in online and education enterprises. He was the founder and CEO of Seed – backed by Sinovation Ventures – and was selected as one of the top startups by the ChinaBang Awards in 2015, and featured by Apple as Best New App. Between 2011–2014, Guan was the Global Product Lead for EF English Live, the world’s leading online platform for English learning for adults, powered by EF Education First.

Guan holds an MS in Engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology, and has always worked in global, cross-cultural settings. He has lived in 5 countries and speaks Chinese, English, and Swedish fluently.

Title :

Ex-Chairman & Advisor at IGDA Finland chair

Theme :

Career Development in Gaming: Opportunities and Pathways

Schedule :

03/07/2025 from 12:00-13:00

Biography : 

Häll Started in photography and the theatre/film and moved into the game industry a decade ago. 

Skillwise a background in physical (pen & paper, board games) media that I’ve brought over to the video game side. Currently I teach game design at a local university and am the head of operations at our current studio. Before this I had my own studio where we made games for long term patients at children’s hospitals.

A strong believer in paving the way for those who come after you. Having received mentoring and help with my own career, it would be not only selfish not to do the same to others, but also detrimental to the industry.

Thus I’ve highlighted non-profit orgs, universities, in-game guilds, volunteering, mentoring and many other tools we have to bring in fresh talent. 

Having been with IGDA Finland for over a decade now. We’ve pushed for more and more pathways to get fresh talent into the industry.

As the Chair I focused a lot on students and how to immerse them into the industry from the very beginning. We’we worked hard on making sure our events are more welcoming to newcomers and students. We also started the IGDA Finland Grant-program to specifically support devs/teams who are making their very first, commercial games.

Title :

President of FRMJE

Theme :

How Can Africa’s Strategy for Building an esport Ecosystem Overcome Challenges?

Schedule :

04/07/2025 from 17:00-18:00

Biography : 

Hicham El Khlifi is the President of the Royal Moroccan Federation of Electronic Games (FRMJE), the President of the African Confederation of Electronic Sports (ACES), and the Vice President of the International Esports Federation (IESF). He is also the Co-founder and CEO of RADIOMARS, the President of the Interprofessional Center for Media Audience Measurement (CIRAD), and the Vice President of the National Association of Media and Publishers (ANME).

Title :

Business Developer at Dashy Studios

Theme :

Asia & Africa: Mobile gaming dominance and the esports boom

Schedule :

02/07/2025 16:00-17:00

Theme :

Publishing Challenges: Sharing International Experience

Schedule :

04/07/2025 11:00-12:00

Biography : 

Hind Toufga is a professional in the gaming industry, beginning her journey in 2012 during the Facebook games era, where she specialized in product management, quality assurance, and localization. Over the years, her roles expanded into UI/UX, marketing, and production, gaining valuable experience across the EMEA region.

Currently, Hind works independently as a consultant, collaborating with clients such as Dashy Studios, Nordic Game, and Northify QA Company, all based in Sweden. She actively supports diversity, inclusion, and corporate social responsibility as a Women in Games Ambassador.

Beyond consultancy, Hind contributes as a jury member, mentor, and participant in angel investor communities focused on empowering female entrepreneurs. Committed to sustainability, she recently pursued specialized studies at IHM Business School, focusing on integrating circular economy principles into the gaming sector.

Hind’s experience and dedication enable her to effectively bridge communities and foster positive growth within the global gaming landscape.

Title :

Journalist & Game Analyst

Theme :

How Japan became the #1 video game industry in the World ?

Schedule :

05/07/2025 from 18:00-19:00

Biography : 

Hisakazu HIRABAYASHI was born in 1962 in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. He graduated from Aoyama Gakuin University. In the mid-1980s, he founded one of Japan’s first magazines dedicated to video games, and later went on to establish Interact Inc., a consulting firm specializing in the gaming sector.

Today, he remains highly active as an analyst, journalist, and consultant in the Japanese video game industry, and has authored countless books and articles that are now considered essential references.

In 2012, he founded Help Button, a company that provides gamification ideas to businesses. He also serves as the director of the Japanese Foundation for the Promotion of Game Culture, making him one of the most central figures in Japan’s video game industry and culture.

Title :

Deputy CEO, PD of NX3games

Theme :

Success Stories of NX3

Schedule :

04/07/2025 from 12:00-12:30

Biography : 

Kim Hyojae has 17 years of experience in the game industry, having worked with companies such as NX3Games and NCSOFT. As an Executive Producer, he led the development of ROHAN M and LORDNINE. LORDNINE achieved #1 sales ranking in Korea, while ROHAN M reached #2. His accomplishments have been recognized with several awards, including the Korea Game Awards 2024 and the SensorTower APAC Awards 2024.

Title :

Game Producer MEA Free Fire at Garena

Theme :

The Future challenges in esports ecosystem

Schedule :

04/07/2025 from 16:00-17:00

Biography : 

Johanes Eldwin Pradipta is the current producer of Garena Free Fire for the Middle East and Africa region. Over his decade-long career with the company, he has gained extensive experience in game operations, monetization, and business development. Under his leadership, Garena Free Fire has continued to strengthen its presence in the Middle East and Africa, becoming one of the most downloaded and played mobile games in the region. His expertise in mobile gaming and commitment to expanding the game’s reach have established him as a key figure in the industry.

Title :

CEO of SXNGA

Theme :

North America & Europe : Market maturity and the race for innovation

Schedule :

02/07/2025 from 15:00-16:00

Theme :

Esports in 2025: Key Trends Shaping the Industry

Schedule :

04/07/2025 from 15:00-16:00

Biography : 

Jorrel Batac is the founder and principal consultant of SXNGA, a creative and strategic agency serving entrepreneurs, startups, nonprofits, government institutions, and educational organizations, with a strong emphasis on cultivating global community.

In his most recent role, Jorrel served as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the Network of Academic & Scholastic Esports Federations (NASEF) and the United States Esports Federation (USEF.GG), leading the development of education and esports ecosystems around the globe.

With a background in Human Development (BA) and Career Technical Education (CTE), Jorrel has held a variety of leadership roles designing STEAM and game-based learning programs, facilitating international trainings, conferences, and communities of practice, and developing globally recognized organizations that promote educational and competitive pathways through gaming and esports.

Title :

CEO of Level Link Partners

Theme :

How Can Morocco’s Strategy for Building a Gaming Industry Ecosystem Overcome Challenges?

Schedule :

02/07/2025 from 17:00-18:00

Theme :

Esports in 2025: Key Trends Shaping the Industry

Schedule :

02/07/2025 from 15:00-16:00

Biography : 

Julien Villedieu is a leading figure in the video game industry, with over 20 years of experience driving its structural development of the French ecosystem. As the long-time Executive Director and co-founder of the SNJV (French Video Game Trade Association), he played a central role in securing key industry advancements, including the creation and expansion of the Video Game Tax Credit, the establishment of regional clusters, and the launch of national funding programs supporting hundreds of games.

He also founded major industry events such as Game Camp Franceand the Pegases. Awards, and helped position France as a top destination for video game production in Europe. In 2024, he launched Level Link Partners, a strategic advisory firm supporting game companies and public stakeholders in developing successful growth strategies and industry policies. He is actually driving the Video Game Incubator, a program launched by the Institut Français du Maroc and the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication of the Kingdom of Morocco in the context of the French and Morocco collaboration in video games.

Title :

Professor at SoonChunHyang University

Theme :

University Education for Practical Skills of Game Development

Schedule :

05/07/2025 from 16:00-17:00

Biography : 

Jung Yeop Lee is a Game Design professor at Sunchonhyang University. He previously served as a Research Professor at Seoul National University. A respected figure in the game industry, he currently acts as Jury Chairman for both the Busan Indie Connect Festival and the Korea Game Awards. He also contributes as a jury member for the Independent Games Festival (IGF) and the Game Connection Development Awards (GCDA).

Title :

CEO & Principal Consultant at Geogrify

Theme :

Building Better Worlds through Game Culturalization

Schedule :

05/07/2025 from 14:00-15:00

Biography : 

Kate Edwards is an award-winning, 30+ year veteran of the game industry, and the CEO and principal consultant of Geogrify, a consultancy that innovated content culturalization in games, as well as the CXO and Co-Founder of SetJetters, a film tourism app. She is also the former Executive Director of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) and the Global Game Jam. In addition to serving in several board and advisory roles, she is a geographer, writer, and corporate strategist. In 2021, she was included in Forbes’ “50 Over 50” Vision List and was also inducted into the Women in Games Hall of Fame.

Title :

Venture partner for T1

Theme :

Career Development in Gaming: Opportunities and Pathways

Schedule :

03/07/2025 from 12:00-13:00

Biography : 

Kevin Hoang is the CEO of Dreamlink Global, a cultural infrastructure company producing cultural festivals across emerging markets and represents the world’s most influential creators. He’s also the founder of Arclight Society, a nonprofit building programs for youth programs through gaming, esports, and creator experiences. A veteran of Twitch and VShojo, Kevin has scaled digital communities across Asia and the U.S., pioneering the college esports movement globally. 

Title :

President of Ghana esports Association & the technical comity ACES

Theme :

How Can Africa’s Strategy for Building an esport Ecosystem Overcome Challenges?

Schedule :

04/07/2025 from 17:00-18:00

Biography : 

Kwesi Hayford is an Esports Evangelist, Creative Designer, and a Digital Media enthusiast with a passion for the youth culture, technology and education. He inspires and empowers young people to create opportunities for themselves in digital media for the socio-economic growth for Africa.

Currently creating synergy, developing collaborations of Esports with all stakeholders both Ghana and internationally with the Ghana Esports Association which focuses on grassroots participation and content creation.

Kwesi Hayford has been very instrumental in organizing Esports events and helping professional gaming communities develop.

He is also founding member of the Africa Esports Championship. The dream to connect Africa with a Championship tournament with 20 countries. He is also the founding member of Esports Federation of Africa (ESFA)

Kiddie Esports is one of Kwesi’s initiative to help kids develop a growing interest in Esports and build a correct pathway via Education, Empowerment, Robotics, Drone Training and Exposure.

“I seek to look for innovations that will propel growth, business and career ventures for the youth where Esports is a vital tool in creating social and economic opportunities for ALL” –K. Hayford.

Title :

Professor at Hoseo University

Theme :

Bridging the Gap: Aligning Educational Programs with Gaming Industry Needs

Schedule :

03/07/2025 from 11:00-12:00

Biography : 

KyungSik Kim is a Professor of the Dept. of Game Software Development at Hoseo University. He is also an honorary chairperson of the Korea Game Society. He got his bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. degrees in the Department of Computer Engineering at Seoul National University in Korea in 1982, 1984, and 1990, respectively.

He has been devoted to improving academic activity as well as educating professional game developers since he established and started the Department of Game Engineering at Hoseo in 1997, which was the first one in universities in Korea.

Prof. Kim is known to have devoted himself to serious games, especially for the elderly. His team has developed “Paldogansan 1, 2, and 3,” which are walking games for the elderly.

Title :

Director – Campus Isart Digital Nice

Theme :

How Can Morocco’s Strategy for Building a Gaming Industry Ecosystem Overcome Challenges?

Schedule :

02/07/2025 from 17:00-18:00

Biography : 

Laurent Cluzel: Professionnel du jeu vidéo depuis 1989. Laurent Cluzel a travaillé pour une dizaine d’entreprises, de la start-up aux grandes sociétés internationales comme Ubisoft, Sony ou Namco. Depuis 35 ans, il a oeuvré aussi bien en tant qu’auteur, que salarié ou chef d’entreprise, en France, au Japon et au Maroc. Tour à tour graphiste, game designer, level designer, directeur artistique puis directeur créatif, il a participé à une trentaine de projets pour une douzaine d’ordinateurs et consoles, incluant deux projets de film d’animation 3D pour lesquels il a eu la chance de collaborer avec Yoshitaka Amano puis le réalisateur Rintaro. Après avoir aidé à monter le campus Ubisoft de Casablanca en 2008, dix ans plus tard il rejoint l’enseignement supérieur et est aujourd’hui directeur délégué du campus ISART Digital de Nice, tout en restant consultant pour l’industrie du jeu vidéo.

Title :

Founder/Consultant at Beyond the Wall Consulting

Theme : 

Building Independent Publishing Capabilities

Schedule :

04/07/2025  From 10:00-11:00

Biography : 

Markus Gerhard Wilding : An accomplished business, marketing, and communications professional with extensive experience gained from living and working in key global markets including New York City, San Francisco, London, and Munich. Expertise includes leadership roles in marketing and communications for renowned videogames publishers such as 2K, Rockstar Games, and Activision, as well as indie-focused companies like Private Division and remote control productions. Proven ability to lead and manage marketing and communications teams ranging in size from two to 20 professionals across North America, EMEA, and Asia. Experience includes leading, directing, and managing directly global, international, and regional marketing and PR campaigns for both AAA entertainment franchises and independently developed titles.

In late 2024, I founded Beyond the Wall Consulting to help businesses navigate the ever-growing challenges of a dynamic and competitive landscape. With leadership experience spanning AAA publishers and companies active in the Indie market alike, I combine deep industry knowledge with a hands-on approach to drive meaningful results. Throughout my career I maintained a deep.

Title :

CEO – Zenith Pirates

Theme : 

How Can Morocco’s Strategy for Building a Gaming Industry Ecosystem Overcome Challenges?

Schedule :

02/07/2025 from 17:00-18:00

Theme : 

Bridging the Gap: Aligning Educational Programs with Gaming Industry Needs

Schedule :

03/07/2025  From 11:00-12:00

Biography : 

Mehdi Benkirane‘s career started in music as a sound engineer in Scotland, Australia, and then Austria, and evolved into video games through academia in 2009 at the SAE Group as Group Academic Director, supervising thesis research for undergraduate students across the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, and France, followed by industry relations across the European operations.

Ten years later, Mehdi joined Remote Control Productions as Business Development Manager, representing the interests of 12 studios across Europe, bringing them RFPs and publishing agreements/development funding. In early 2021, he took on business development at i3D.net, a game hosting company that is part of the Ubisoft group, serving as Vice President until March 2025.

Since fall 2024, Mehdi has been heading his business and strategy consultancy, Zenith Pirates, as CEO, representing clients such as Modulate and Gate21 (a THQ Nordic studio), as well as advising studios such as Harakka Studios in Finland.

Additionally, Mehdi serves as Chief Business Officer at GIN (Games Industry Network), a disruptive game industry-centric professional social network.

Title :

CEO of HappyTuk, Taiwan

Theme :

Building Independent Publishing Capabilities

Schedule :

04/07/2025 from 10:00-11:00

Biography : 

MinYoung Yang : After earning his college degree in 2003, he began his career at the globally renowned online MMORPG company, NCSOFT Corp., where he built a strong foundation in game publishing and international business. In 2005, he was appointed Senior Manager of the Overseas Publishing Team and relocated to the company’s China R&D Center in Beijing, where he led key international expansion efforts during a pivotal time in the company’s global growth.

From 2008 onward, he took charge of global publishing at NCSOFT Korea, overseeing the successful launches of major titles in markets including Russia, China, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Japan. In 2010, he relocated to the NCSOFT Taiwan Branch, where he served as Chief Technology Officer and Head of Platform Business. There, he spearheaded numerous large-scale digital platform initiatives that significantly enhanced the company’s regional presence.

In 2012, he founded HappyTuk Co., Ltd., which has since become one of the most successful and influential game companies in Taiwan. Under his leadership as Chairman and CEO, HappyTuk has grown into one of the most dominant and respected forces in Taiwan’s gaming industry—going far beyond traditional publishing to offer full-scale game operations, marketing solutions, and even in-house development. The company has successfully published and managed a wide range of popular titles such as LOSTARK(MMO), AVA(FPS), and La Tale(MMO), each demonstrating strong user engagement and commercial performance across multiple Asian markets.

HappyTuk continues to achieve significant annual growth and is now recognized as the game company with the largest portfolio of live services in Taiwan. Notably, he became the second Korean national to have a company listed on the Taipei Exchange (TPEx), marking a rare achievement in cross-border entrepreneurship.

Beyond Taiwan, HappyTuk has expanded its publishing operations into Japan and Korea. In Korea, the company owns Naddic Games, a game development studio known for creating Closers, a cartoon-style game built upon the world of Action RPG.

With over two decades of experience in game development, publishing, and platform innovation, he remains committed to driving creativity, technological excellence, and global reach in the gaming industry.

Title :

Managing Partner of Proxy Planet

Theme :

Esports in 2025: Key Trends Shaping the Industry

Schedule :

04/07/2025 from 15:00-16:00

Theme :

The Future challenges in esports ecosystem

Schedule :

04/07/2025 from 16:00-17:00

Biography : 

Title :

General Director of SELL

Theme :

North America & Europe : Market maturity and the race for innovation

Schedule :

02/07/2025 from 15:00-16:00

Biography : 

Nicolas Vignolles, 44, is the General Delegate of the French NTA representing the major video game publishers (SELL) since August 2020 and Director of Paris Games Week, the largest French trade show dedicated to video games.

Graduate of Sciences-Po Grenoble and a Master 2 in public communication (CELSA/ La Sorbonne), he began his career as a parliamentary assistant to three French MPs, Jean-Marie Le Guen, Annick Le Loch and Jean-Jacques Urvoas.

In 2012, he became Parliamentary Advisor and then Deputy Chief of Staff to Fleur Pellerin, then Minister Delegate for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Innovation and the Digital Economy (2012-2014), Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, the Promotion of Tourism and French Nationals Abroad (2014), and Minister of Culture (2014-2016). Nicolas Vignolles then held the position of Parliamentary Advisor to Myriam El Khomri, at the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Vocational Training and Social Dialogue.

In 2017, alongside Axel Dauchez, he participated in the launch of the participation and civic engagement start-up Make.org, as Director of Public Affairs and Communication. At the beginning of 2019, then Director of Public Affairs and Communication at France Digitale, he was again called to the ministerial cabinet and joined Cédric O, Secretary of State for Digital Affairs, as Chief of Staff and Parliamentary Advisor.

Title :

CEO of Reforged Studios

Theme :

Asia & Africa: Mobile gaming dominance and the esports boom

Schedule :

02/07/2025 from 16:00-17:00

Theme :

Developing games in Africa: Challenges and Considerations

Schedule :

03/07/2025 from 16:30-17:20

Biography : 

Nicholas Hall is the Commercial Manager at Reforged Studios, a global collective of independent game development studios. Based in Cape Town, South Africa, Nick plays a pivotal role in building sustainable creative businesses across emerging markets.

He is the Co-Founder of Africa Games Week, the continent’s largest B2B event dedicated to game development, and serves as the Chair of Interactive Entertainment South Africa (IESA), the official trade body representing South African game developers.

Nick works closely with government and international organisations to shape policy and regulatory frameworks that support the growth of the interactive entertainment sector. His contributions to the industry have earned him international recognition, including being accepted as a full member of BAFTA for his work in advancing game development both locally and globally.

Title :

Partner and Professor at ProxyPlanet

Theme :

Bridging the Gap: Aligning Educational Programs with Gaming Industry Needs

Schedule :

03/07/2025 from 11:00-12:00

Biography : 

Ranhee Lee is a Ph.D. holder in Engineering and is currently a professor of industry-academia cooperation at Seoul Media Technology Institute and a partner of Proxy Planet Co. Ltd. in Korea.

She has over 20 years of experience in the game industry and research, focusing on game development education, national R&D projects, and industry-academia cooperation. She has also built solid expertise in the field of education and training of future game developers.

RanHee served as a professor of game development at Sogang University’s Game Education center for 15 years, where she taught game development and programming, developed curriculum for training game developers, and participated in various industry-academia cooperation game production projects.

Prior to teaching students at the university, she served as a project manager at Dongshin University’s Digital Contents Collaboration Research Center, where she led major content development projects and international cooperation.

Earlier in her career, she worked as a researcher at the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), a government-funded research institute in the science and technology field, where she participated in several national 3D content projects and developed the real-time marker-free motion capture system “MIMIC.”

Currently, Ranhee is serving as an evaluator for various national projects and is focusing on building an effective game developer education system and strengthening industry-academia cooperation.

Title :

CEO of GXC

Theme :

Building Independent Publishing Capabilities

Schedule :

04/07/2025 from 10:00-11:00

Theme :

Publishing Challenges: Sharing International Experience

Schedule :

04/07/2025 from 11:00-12:00

Biography : 

Rick Nahm is co-founder and COO of GXC, the company behind G.Round, the global user testing and marketing platform that has leading game companies from Korea and Japan as clients, and Global Top Round, the renowned global indie accelerator. With vast experience from leading corporations such as Samsung, Naver and Electronic Arts, Rick is a 15 year veteran in the video games industry as an investor and consultant.

Rick helped raise over $40 million for GXC and its 50+ portfolio companies from around the world and is now looking to help the Moroccan videogames ecosystem with the support of the Moroccan Government. GXC’s collaborations with government agencies include South Korea, Malaysia, Australia, Malta, Germany, Sweden among others.

Title :

Head of Global Esports, MOONTON GAMES

Theme :

The Future challenges in esports ecosystem

Schedule :

04/07/2025 from 16:00-17:00

Biography : 

Ray K.W. Ng is the Head of Esports Ecosystem of MOONTON Games, responsible for the daily operations of the esports ecosystem. Ray focuses on facilitating the esports ecosystem for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) esports and establishing partnership tournaments globally.

Ray has over 10 years of experience in gaming and esports, covering league operations to global licensing. Prior to joining MOONTON Games, Ray also worked at other game publishers, as well as in esports teams and the public sector.

Title :

PUBG Esports EMA team lead, esports veteran (KRAFTON)

Theme :

Esports in 2025: Key Trends Shaping the Industry

Schedule :

04/07/2025 from 15:00-16:00

Biography : 

Ryan Kewley is a Senior Esports Marketing Manager at KRAFTON Inc., where for the past six years he has guided esports content, communications, and paid marketing strategies for PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS across EMEA and, more recently, the Americas region.

Ryan has worked in competitive gaming for more than 11 years, including time at Blizzard Entertainment. He has contributed to the growth of esports programs across a variety of game franchises, scaling from community-targeted grassroots events up to world-renowned global productions.

Title :

Managing Partner of Proxy Planet

Theme :

The State of Esports Ecosystem

Schedule :

04/07/2025 from 14:00-15:00

Biography : 

Title :

Co-Founder of UNEVN, Cyberlabs

Theme :

How Can Morocco’s Strategy for Building a Gaming Industry Ecosystem Overcome Challenges? 

Schedule :

02/07/2025 from 17:00-18:00

Biography : 

Sam Cooke, a prominent entrepreneur in gaming and esports since 2014, Sam has built a formidable international network over a decade and counting. He co-founded, grew, and led Esports Insider for nine years ahead of a successful exit in 2025. He’s also a co-founder of Cyberlabs, focused on gamifying real estate; the CBDO at gaming solutions provider UNEVN; and an NED at Community Care Gaming.

Sam has advised a number of operators in and around the gaming sector, including 3D Aim Trainer (successful exit), Skybox, and Rewired VC.
Alongside the above, Sam is a director at GSE Group, which includes the agency Playmakers and the media and events entity The Insights Group, both of which launched in early 2025.

Title :

Managing Partner of ProxyPlanet

Theme :

Education in Gaming: Building Sustainable Talent Pipelines

Schedule :

03/07/2025 from 10:00-11:00

Biography : 

Samha Choi is a Ph.D. holder in Game Engineering and a prominent figure in the gaming and esports industries. He currently serves as the Vice President, Co-founder, and Managing Partner of ProxyPlanet Co. Ltd., and is the Korea Representative for the North America Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF). He also holds the position of Vice Chairman at the International Society for Esports Studies (ISES).

Dr. Choi contributes to various national initiatives, including as a member of the Class Reclassification Committee at the Game Rating and Administration Committee, and as a Game Culture Forum member at the Korea Creative Content Agency. He plays a strategic role in regional esports infrastructure as a Steering Committee member for the Chungnam Province Esports Stadium and acts as an Executive Advisor to the Gen.G-ELITE Esports Academy.

Previously, he was an Assistant Professor and General Manager of the Metaverse School at Soongsil University, and served as a Professor of Game Design at Sogang University’s Game Education Center. His leadership extended to the Gyeonggi Esports Exclusive Stadium as Vice Chairman of the Steering Committee, and internationally as Director of the Hero Engine Education Center at IDEA Fabrik (UK). He also co-founded Thirteenth Floor Corp., where he was Chief Operating Officer, and worked as a Senior Advisor for UNITS Co. Ltd.

Title :

Founder, CEO of GAKU

Theme :

Esports in 2025: Key Trends Shaping the Industry

Schedule :

04/07/2025 from 15:00-16:00

Biography : 

Sayo Okamoto graduated from a boarding school in Switzerland, and soon started getting involved in the world of Olympics. Working closely with the International Olympic Committee and steadily rising through the ranks, she also chairs the youth council at the Global Esports Federation, and has established a dependable, global network of contacts within the Olympic and sports industries.

Sayo founded GAKU in 2022, aiming to create and establish a safe, inclusive, and healthy environment surrounding esports and other future technologies, whilst celebrating and inspiring the youth of today. GAKU organises popular workshops and bootcamps for people all over the world, was involved in the Olympic Esports Week, and has contracts with Japan Esports Union (JeSU) and SEGA among others.

Title :

Marketing Team Lead at NX3games

Theme :

Success Stories of NX3

Schedule :

04/07/2025 from 12:00-12:30

Biography : 

Seongeun Kim is a Project Manager at NX3Games, with around two years of experience in the game industry. She is currently supporting the development of LORDNINE by coordinating tasks across teams and contributing to the delivery of a high-quality game experience.

Title :

CEO of LUDiMUS Inc.

Theme :

Asia & Africa: Mobile gaming dominance and the esports boom

Schedule :

02/07/2025 from 16:00-17:00

Theme :

Video game incubation and supporting ecosystem for indie game developers

Schedule :

05/07/2025 from 15:00-16:00

Biography : 

Sho Sato is the CEO at LUDiMUS Inc., a leading specialists group in international expansion for the games industry. He is the co-founder and Secretary General at iGi, the only game incubation program in Japan, and an advisor for the So-Fu game accelerator by the Ministry of Economy in Japan. Starting this year, he is the chairman of SIG Incubation under the International Game Developers Association, a working group of more than 120 leaders from incubators and accelerators in 60 countries. He is an invited speaker at various international events for game developers in more than 20 countries.

Title :

 Director of Communications & Marketing at FRMJE & Executive Director at ACES

Theme :

How Can Africa’s Strategy for Building an esport Ecosystem Overcome Challenges?

Schedule :

04/07/2025 from 17:00-18:00

Biography : 

Soufiane EL FILALI, Marketing and Communication Director, Spokesperson of the Royal Moroccan Federation of Electronic Games (FRMJE), and Executive Director of the African Confederation of Esports.

With 15 years of experience in sponsorship and sports marketing, I’ve dedicated my career to building bridges between brands and the world of sports and esports.

My motto: Working in your passion should always be a vocation.

Title :

Head of Business Development for Behaviour Interactive

Theme :

North America & Europe : Market maturity and the race for innovation

Schedule :

02/07/2025 from 15:00-16:00

Biography : 

Stefan Kreutzer, business Development executive with 20+years experience in the media & entertainment industry (video games, print, film, music) current task area includes sales of AAA full-/co-development services for video games for PC/console and mobile, sourcing of external development services, licensing, and M&A; furthermore lecturer at game and film schools, and consultant for Business Development, IP, trans-media, licensing & video game studies. Previous career steps & positions: started in the music industry as a tour booker with epm entertainment, later moving on to indie tour promoter target concerts, working with artists such as Alice Cooper, Slash from Guns’n’Roses, Deep Purple, Porcupine Tree, Scooter, UB40, Eminem, Lil Kim, P. Diddy, PMD, Cypress Hill, Heather Nova a.o., later as agent for German Rap star Sido and all Aggro Berlin label artists, K.I.Z., Culcha Candela, a.o. at piranha media’s event department.

After a sabbatical earning a Master’s Degree in Contemporary History and writing a book on the German political strategy in the Near East during WWI, returned to piranha media to head the Film & Games department as editor-in-chief and project lead of Burger King’s customer magazine KING bringing it to its most profitable years, working with all major & indie film & games studios operating in Germany. Switched to the games industry, working at remote control as its Director of Business Development, a.o. responsible for the releases of Ostwind/Windstorm, Ostwind/ Windstorm 2 – Ari’s Arrival, Das Boot VR Escape, Das Boot VR Demise, Pretzelland, WDR’s Meet the Miner and defining its IP strategy, i.e. through a licensing partnership with Hollywood legend Michael Bay. Joined Canada’s largest independent developer and publisher Behaviour Interactive as Head of Business Development for Europe in 2020.

Title :

Professor Emiritus at CNAM

Theme :

Education in Gaming: Building Sustainable Talent Pipelines

Schedule :

03/07/2025 from 10:00-11:00

Biography : 

Stéphane Natkin is Emeritus Professor at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, and former director and creator of the Ecole Nationale des Jeux et Media Interactifs Numériques (enjmin.fr). He is a member of the Interactions pour Lire et Jouer (ILJ) research team at CEDRIC (http://cedric.cnam.fr). He is the founder and president of “La Compagnie des Martingales” (www.cdmartingales.fr), a video game production and consulting company.

He is the author of numerous scientific publications and is responsible for collaborative research projects on game design theory, serious games, video games and disabilities, interactive sound, etc. He also acts as an expert and designer of games and transmedia products. He has been director of CEDRIC, the CNAM IT department, administrator at CNAM and Cap Digital competitiveness cluster of Paris.

Stéphane Natkin was also director of the Galerie Natkin-Berta, an art gallery presenting digital art installations, and founder of CESIR, an IT services company specializing in mission-critical systems. He is one of the producers and co-author of the book “Sol LeWitt Black Gouaches” and the author of the books “Les protocoles de sécurité de l’Internet” (DUNOD, 2002)  “Jeux et Media au XXI siècle” (Vuibert 2004) and “Video Games: A Glimpse at New Digital Entertainment” (AK Peters, 2006).

Title :

Senior Manager at Epic Games

Theme :

Bridging the Gap: Aligning Educational Programs with Gaming Industry Needs

Schedule :

03/07/2025 from 11:00-12:00

Biography : 

Steve Isaacs is the Senior Manager of Programs and Partnerships at Epic Games. His mission in this role is to support organizations and educators in the adoption of Epic tools in the secondary classroom in order to support students in preparing for careers in emerging technology. Prior to his role at Epic, Steve was a public school teacher for 28 years, teaching game design and development as well as other courses related to the creative uses of technology. Steve enjoys spending time with family and friends. His hobbies include video games, biking, snorkeling, hiking, and live music.

Title :

Head of Business Development for Behaviour Interactive

Theme :

North America & Europe : Market maturity and the race for innovation

Schedule :

02/07/2025 from 15:00-16:00

Biography : 

Stefan Kreutzer, he is a business Development executive with 20+ years’ experience in the media & entertainment industry (video games, print, film, music). Current task areas include sales of AAA full-/co-development services for video games for PC/console and mobile, sourcing of external development services, licensing, and M&A. Furthermore, he is a lecturer at game and film schools, and a consultant for business development, IP, transmedia, licensing & video game studies.

Previous career steps & positions: Started in the music industry as a tour booker with epm entertainment, later moving on to indie tour promoter target concerts, working with artists such as Alice Cooper, Slash from Guns N’ Roses, Deep Purple, Porcupine Tree, Scooter, UB40, Eminem, Lil Kim, P. Diddy, PMD, Cypress Hill, Heather Nova, among others. Later, he served as agent for German rap star Sido and all Aggro Berlin label artists, K.I.Z., Culcha Candela, etc., at Piranha Media’s event department.

After a sabbatical earning a Master’s degree in Contemporary History and writing a book on the German political strategy in the Near East during WWI, he returned to Piranha Media to head the Film & Games department as editor-in-chief and project lead of Burger King’s customer magazine KING, bringing it to its most profitable years, working with all major & indie film & game studios operating in Germany.

He switched to the games industry, working at Remote Control as its Director of Business Development, notably responsible for the releases of Ostwind/Windstorm, Ostwind/Windstorm 2 – Ari’s Arrival, Das Boot VR Escape, Das Boot VR Demise, Pretzelland, WDR’s Meet the Miner, and defining its IP strategy, including a licensing partnership with Hollywood legend Michael Bay.

In 2020, he joined Canada’s largest independent developer and publisher, Behaviour Interactive, as Head of Business Development for Europe.

Title :

CEO of GigaQuests

Theme :

Building Games with AI: A Tiny Dev’s Secret Weapon

Schedule :

03/07/2025 from 14:00-14:50

Biography : 

Taehoon Oh is a veteran game developer with over 20 years of experience in AAA development, including 8 titles in the Call of Duty series. Now based in Los Angeles, he leads Gigaquests, an agile indie studio leveraging AI tools and workflows to develop commercial games with a small, dynamic team.

Title :

Senior Lecturer (Creative Media & Technology) at Nanyang Polytechnic

Theme :

Education in Gaming: Building Sustainable Talent Pipelines

Schedule :

03/07/2025 from 10:00-11:00

Biography : 

Title :

Partner at Strategic Alternatives LLC

Theme :

North America & Europe : Market maturity and the race for innovation

Schedule :

02/07/2025 from 15:00-16:00

Biography : 

William Rhys Dekle has been in the video game industry for over twenty years. For the past decade, he has been a Partner at Strategic Alternatives, an acquisition-focused strategy consulting and advisory firm in the game industry. The firm advises the CEOs of over 40 development studio clients around the world in strategy, equity & project finance, and M&A. Over the past three years, he has sold six studios to companies such as Netflix, Annapurna, Keywords, and Devolver. He previously ran business development for Microsoft Xbox, leading their global content search for platforms including Xbox 360 and Xbox One. He was the original architect of ID@Xbox, the self-publishing platform for Xbox. He has been involved in numerous IP acquisitions for Xbox and was the lead in several studio acquisitions. Previously, he ran a $150M retail game business with P&L responsibilities for Hollywood Entertainment. Before the game industry, he worked for McKinsey and Goldman Sachs, as well as a startup in Japan. He has a BA from Yale University and an MBA in Finance from The Wharton School.

Title :

Director and Lecturer at NASEF Japan & Sapporo International University

Theme :

Career Development in Gaming: Opportunities and Pathways

Schedule :

03/07/2025 from 12:00-13:00

Biography : 

Yoshiaki Tsuboyama Sapporo International University Faculty Member /NASEF JAPAN Scholastic Associate – After gaining experience in the field of education as a former Athletic Trainer and High School teacher (Physical Education), I began to focus on the potential of Esports in the field of education, and have since been promoting the spread and utilization of Esports in collaboration with schools and educational institutions throughout Japan. I am currently involved in research and education in the new field of sports, including scholastic Esports, at Sapporo International University, the first university in Japan to do so.

Title :

Director and Game Producer at OKAKICHI

Theme :

How Yoshiki Okamoto created the best video games of Japan?

Schedule :

02/07/2025 from 18:00-19:00

Biography : 

Yoshiki Okamoto : Né en 1961 à Ehime au Japon. Producteur de jeux. Au début des années 1990, il a créé un boom mondial et sans précédent en produisant le jeu de combat: Street Fighter II. Il a continué à participer à la naissance de grands succès tels que les séries: « Resident Evil », « Onimusha » et « Monster Hunter ». En 20 ans, il s’est imposé comme l’un des créateurs/producteurs les plus réputés et talentueux du Japon, aussi bien pour les salles d’arcade que les jeux sur consoles. 

Dans le domaine des applications pour smartphones, il participe à l’élaboration de “Monster Strike” en 2013, qui deviendra rapidement l’un des jeux les plus vendus de tous les temps au Japon sur l’AppStore et Google Play en 2014.

Actuellement, le jeu n’est pas seulement limité au Japon, mais il étend également sa zone de service à d’autres pays d’Asie et à d’autres parties du monde.

Pour l’avenir, Okamoto souhaite s’impliquer davantage dans de nouveaux défis et d’imaginer de nouveaux genres, afin d’aider l’industrie à poursuivre son évolution continue.

Title :

CEO of Proxy Planet

Theme :

The State of the Gaming Industry and Technology: Fireside Chat with Cevat Yerli and Youngmok Park

Schedule :

02/07/2025 from 14:00-15:00

Theme :

How Can Morocco’s Strategy for Building a Gaming Industry Ecosystem Overcome Challenges?

Schedule :

02/07/2025 from 17:00-18:00

Theme :

Building Independent Publishing Capabilities

Schedule :

04/07/2025 from 10:00-11:00

Biography : 

Youngmok Park is a distinguished executive and thought leader in the global gaming and technology industries. He currently leads Proxy Planet LLC and serves as an adjunct professor at Korea University’s School of Business.

Over the course of more than 30 years, Park has held senior leadership roles that have shaped the gaming landscape. He served as CEO of Orangecrew, PTW Korea, and Crytek APAC, and held executive positions at Blizzard Entertainment, NCsoft, Naver, and Microsoft Korea. Throughout his career, he has played a key role in the global launch and success of landmark titles such as Age of Empires, World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Lineage 2, and Warface.

As a pioneer in game marketing and international expansion, Park has co-founded multiple ventures and remains a trusted advisor to institutions and governments across the globe. His advisory roles include the Ministries of Morocco and Uzbekistan, OP.GG, GTR (USA), and Sejong University. Through these roles, he continues to bridge academia, public policy, and private innovation, driving growth in the global games and esports ecosystem.

Title :

CEO of OGN (the world’s first game broadcasting systems)

Theme :

Esports in 2025: Key Trends Shaping the Industry

Schedule :

04/07/2025 from 15:00-16:00

Biography : 

Yunseung Nam is the current CEO of OGN. He has built a strong career in the media and esports industries, beginning in 1997 as a producer at SBS (Seoul Broadcasting System). In 2001, he continued his path as a producer at Channel [V] Korea. From 2005 to 2021, he served as Director of Production and Business at CJ ENM’s Ongamenet (OGN). Since 2022, he has been leading OGN as its CEO. In addition to his executive role, he is also a committee member of the Korea Esports Fairness Committee.

Title :

Chief Content Officer (CCO) at Focus Entetainment

Theme :

Publishing Challenges: Sharing International Experience

Schedule :

04/07/2025 from 11:00-12:00

Biography : 

Yves Le Yaouanq started his career over 30 years ago in the games industry, first on MUDs and MMORPGs, to then join Ubisoft for 11 years in strategic positions to help expanding the PC and Online expertise, while building bridges with external developers.

In 2021, Yves joined Focus Entertainment as Chief Content Officer, to lead the Publishing and Acquisition department, and support the Portfolio transformation, welcoming new games, talents and studios from across the world.