Now in its 40th year, the 2026 Game Developers Conference (GDC) Festival of Gaming returns to the Moscone Center in San Francisco from March 9–13. A fleet of Dragons are descending on the conference, with DigiPen faculty, students, and alumni bringing their talents to a range of sessions, panels, and special events throughout the week. Between a trio of Ghost of Yōtei talks by Sucker Punch veterans, an IGF Best Student Game nomination, and award-winning presentations at the Game Narrative Review Competition, the DigiPen community will be out in full force. See where to catch all the Dragon action at GDC 2026 in our day-by-day guide.
Monday, March 9
Nicole Maiorano (BA in Game Design, Class of 2014), Senior Game Designer at Blizzard Entertainment
Presenter, “Welcome Back: Updating the Returning Player Experience in Diablo Immortal,” 11:50 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. | Room 3002, West Hall
Nicole Maiorano presents on design strategies for reengaging players in a live service game, sharing the data and decision-making behind Diablo Immortal’s returning player experience.
Tuesday, March 10
Lost Seraphim (Spirit & Steel game team), DigiPen students
Game demo table, GameDev Mixer (GDC affiliate event), 5:30–10 p.m. | Barbarossa Lounge, 714 Montgomery St.
Use your elemental fists to smash a robot army in the stylish DigiPen combat game Spirit & Steel, whose student developers will be showcasing a playable demo at this offsite industry mixer.
DigiPen Career and Alumni Relations
DigiPen Social, 7 p.m. | Level III Bar, JW Marriott Union Square Hotel, 515 Mason St.
Calling all DigiPen alumni, students, faculty, and friends attending GDC! Start your conference week with a casual gathering of fellow Dragons and the DigiPen community.
Wednesday, March 11
Cary Shin and Qi Ren Soo, DigiPen students
Game Narrative Review Competition Winners: Poster Analysis Session A and Session B, 10:30–11:30 a.m. and 4:30–5:30 p.m. | Indie & Education Stage, South Hall
Qi Ren Soo (BS in Computer Science and Game Design) and Cary Shin (BA in Game Design) respectively earned Platinum and Gold awards for their narrative analyses of Flower and Pokémon Black and White in the GDC Game Narrative Review Competition, and will present poster synopses of their work live on stage. Shin presents in Session A, and Soo in Session B.
Jo Cronk, Assistant Professor, DigiPen Department of Design
Panelist, “Teaching While Gamedev,” 1:50–2:50 p.m. | Room 3002, West Hall
Jo Cronk joins fellow game educators in a panel exploring how teaching while simultaneously working in the game industry can serve as a harmonious, mutually sustainable combination.
Theodore Fishman (MS in Computer Science, Class of 2010), Lead Combat Designer at Sucker Punch Productions
Presenter, “Honing the Blade: Evolving Combat for Ghost of Yōtei,” 4:30–5:30 p.m. | Room 2005, West Hall
Theodore Fishman leads this session on how Sucker Punch iterated and expanded on the existing combat system of Ghost of Tsushima to make Ghost of Yōtei feel fresh, yet familiar.
Syphon Software (Sip Fisher game team), DigiPen students
Best Student Game nominees, Independent Games Festival Awards, 6:30–8 p.m. | GDC Main Stage, North Hall
Sip Fisher, the “cozy incremental fishing game” made by a group DigiPen student developers, has hooked a nomination for Best Student Game at one of the industry’s most prestigious award ceremonies for indies.
Brian Schmidt, Adjunct Professor Emeritus, DigiPen Department of Music
Presenting host, 24th Annual Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.) Awards, 7–9 p.m. | Room 2006, West Hall
Brian Schmidt hosts the annual ceremony recognizing excellence in game audio, honoring composers, sound designers, and audio teams from across the industry.
Thursday, March 12
Eric Wohllaib (BS in Computer Science in Real-Time Interactive Simulation, Class of 2014), Graphics Programmer at Sucker Punch Productions
Presenter, “Ambient Diffuse Lighting in Ghost of Yōtei,” 1:50–2:50 p.m. | Room 2006, West Hall
Eric Wohllaib presents on Sucker Punch’s new approach to real-time global illumination leveraging PlayStation 5 ray tracing hardware, reducing the burden on artists while delivering more accurate lighting across Ghost of Yōtei’s expanded open world.
Steve Rabin, Adjunct Lecturer, DigiPen Department of Computer Science | Principal Software Engineer at Electronic Arts
Moderator, “Game AI Fireside Chat with Damian Isla and Jeff Orkin: Celebrating 20+ Years of Behavior Trees and Automated Planning Systems,” 4:30–5:30 p.m. | Room 3004, West Hall
Steve Rabin moderates a conversation between two pioneers of game AI as they reflect on their groundbreaking contributions to the field in Halo 2 and F.E.A.R., as well as the future of the craft.
Friday, March 13
Grey Davenport (BA in Music and Sound Design, Class of 2017), Technical Sound Designer at Sucker Punch Productions
Presenter, “How Ghost of Yōtei Was Pre-Mixed with the Help of a Sound Sensei,” 1:40–2:40 p.m. | Room 2003, West Hall
Grey Davenport walks through Sucker Punch’s “Sound Sensei” tool, custom made for Ghost of Yōtei, that helped the audio team shape the game’s final mix much earlier than usual in development.
Brian Schmidt, Adjunct Professor Emeritus, DigiPen Department of Music
Presenter, “G.A.N.G. Town Hall,” 1:10–2:10 p.m. | Room 2018, West Hall
Schmidt leads the Game Audio Network Guild’s open annual forum, where members of the game audio community gather to discuss the state of the industry, G.A.N.G.’s recent activities, and the direction of the organization.
Presenter, “Player Hearing Safety: Accessibility’s Close Cousin,” 3–3:30 p.m. | Room 3018, West Hall
Drawing on his work with the World Health Organization, Schmidt presents on the often-overlooked relationship between hearing health and accessibility in game audio design, making the case for why developers should treat player hearing safety as a core consideration.