IGDA Incubation SIG Meetup

​We are happy to invite you to a session with the IGDA Incubation SIG at Gamescom 2026 at Koelnmesse.

Sponsored by Playful.

​Program:
10:00 - 10:05 : Brief updates about IGDA Incubation SIG by Sho Sato

10:05 - 10:45 : Insights from the 1st Census on Game Incubation and Acceleration by Dr. Pedro Santoro Zambon. Drawing on an international survey of 84 leaders and managers of game incubation and acceleration initiatives conducted through the IGDA Game Incubation SIG, Pedro will highlight how game incubation and acceleration programs are institutionally and operationally configured, which support logics define them, their financial sustainability models, and which structural bottlenecks they identify in both supported teams and program management.

10:45 - 10:55 : The importance of communicating globally with Linn Søvig lead of the European chapter of IGDA Incubation SIG

10:55 - 11:20 : Indigenous Pathways with Vee Pendergrast, Industry Development Manager at NZ Centre of Digital Excellence- CODE. In this talk, Vee will outline the model for New Zealand's Centre of Digital Excellence and how the organisation addressed the equity and workforce issues surrounding the under-represented Indigenous population of Aotearoa NZ. We will explore some of the specific initiatives and challenges around assisting Māori and Pasifika developers and how to apply the learnings to other minority populations.

11:20 - 11:50 : Jason Della Rocca will dive into the concept of
"inception publishing", and why empowering your teams to self-publish successfully is always the long-term best strategy for studio sustainability and IP sovereignty.

11:50 - 12:00 : Misc

We hope to see you there!

The event is in Koelnmesse West between Hall 2 and 4 in room Allegra:

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