The full schedule for Games Connect Asia Pacific 2026, which is taking place from 5 to 7 October in Melbourne, has now been announced, with a host of game developer talks, panels and keynote speakers confirmed for the annual industry conference.
Each year, GCAP provides fresh perspectives on the local and international games industry, with talks that provide game developers of all experience levels a chance to learn more about their chosen career or hobby, discuss their latest successes and challenges, and reckon with what it all means.
GCAP has become a particularly important event in the Australian games industry calendar over the last few years. As conditions in the industry have tightened through job losses and economic downturn, it’s become an event to inspire and re-inspire developers, as well as a space to understand industry pressures and how community may help connect those who feel alone.
As always, GCAP 2026 will conclude with the annual Australian Game Developer Awards ceremony, where the best of Australian game development will be celebrated on stage.
GCAP 2026 program – quick links
GCAP 2026 announces four major keynotes
In 2026, the conference will celebrate its 20th year in operation with an array of talks and presentations covering topics like resilience, technological change, what success looks like for independent studios, dealing with challenging sales results, sustainability, and more.
Here are the keynote speakers for the event.
Gregory Louden: My Lessons From STONE to SAROS – 5 October
The Creative Director for Housemarque (Saros), Gregory Louden will discuss his work across film and games, including time spent at Remedy Entertainment (Quantum Break, Control), 3rd Eye Studios, Convinct Games, Housemarque, and beyond.
‘Learn the lessons that Gregory Louden, Creative Director of Saros at PlayStation Studio’s Housemarque has learned over his impactful career in games and visual effects. Expect game direction, narrative direction, team work and more lessons from the successes and misses over his career.’
Samantha Low : The Asia Opportunity – 6 October
Samantha Low is Co-Founder of the Southeast Asian Games Showcase, Consultant at Goldpact Goblins and Publishing Director at Neon Noroshi/Yotsuba Interactive. At GCAP 2026, Low will talk about championing indie games and her career as a publishing director and narrative designer.
‘The Asian games market is fast becoming one of the most important regions globally, specifically Southeast Asia, Japan and China. But what exactly is the opportunity and how can Australian studios get future ready for their next generation of Asian gamers?’
Amanda Farough: Following the Multiclasser Path – 6 October
Amanda Farough, Director of Production at Causeway Studios and Executive Producer and Writer at Strange Scaffold, will discuss her career to date, unpacking her experiences with production, narrative, programming, design, business and operations across a near-two-decade period.
‘Game development has traditionally been a specialist’s dream – find your discipline, grow within it, climb the ranks, be the best. But as the number of those jobs shrink, we need to explore new avenues of our careers. We must not only grow within our core disciplines, but deepen our understanding across each of them.’
Beethoven & Dinosaur: Designing and Refining Mixtape – 7 October
Beethoven & Dinosaur is the studio behind the critically-acclaimed Mixtape. In this talk, key members of the team –which includes Creative Director Johnny Galvatron, Senior Programmer Geordie Hall, 3D/Environment Artist Harry Truman, Principal Animator Joe Toole, Animator Lily Pagalis-Jackson and Character Artist Mariska Harasymiw – will reveal insights into how the game was made.
‘Join some of the team from Beethoven & Dinosaur as they discuss and dissect their processes, work and ethos behind creating the critically acclaimed Mixtape.’
ScreenHub: Mixtape review – Aussie game is an ode to music and youth
More GCAP 2026 highlights
Beyond the keynote talks held throughout the event, there are also a range of other talks and panels worth attending. You’ll need to make some tough choices about your personal schedule, but here are a few highlights from the bunch.
Fear, opportunity and loathing in the age of AI – 5 October
‘AI has arrived and is changing our industry. With this change has come a massive debate about where it should be used, how it should be used, the ethics of using a technology trained on unpaid … IP, and whether or not this can help small studios or individual devs move faster. This roundtable brings together different perspectives on this, for a robust and informative conversation on this contentious issue.’
First Nations Co-Design in Games – 6 October
‘Despite Australia possessing some of the world’s oldest continuing cultures and richest storytelling traditions, Australian First Nations perspectives remain significantly underrepresented within video games. The talk will discuss common challenges surrounding representation, tokenism and extractive storytelling, while introducing early-stage principles for ethical and effective co-design in game development.’
Dave Oshry: Building a Brand That Can Survive the Apocalypse – 6 October
‘If Steam shut down tomorrow would your studio survive? If Discord, Bluesky, Instagram or TikTok vanished, would players still know you exist? Have you been building a brand that’s built to last?’
