devcom Developer Conference starts with Indie Awards

devcom Developer Conference starts with Indie Awards, Networking Dinner and Speaker Survey

– The best Indie Games were celebrated with the devcom Indie Award –

– Speaker and VIP Dinner took place in exclusive atmosphere at the Wolkenburg –

– devcom Speaker Survey results announced –

The devcom Developer Conference (#ddc2024) has officially begun, promising two days of unparalleled knowledge sharing by over 300 industry-leading speakers. The conference opened on Sunday with the prestigious Speaker & VIP Networking Dinner at historic Wolkenburg, setting the stage for an inspiring event. A key highlight of the evening was the devcom Indie Awards, which honored four standout indie games showcased at the conference. The atmosphere was charged with excitement as the winners were announced. In addition to celebrating indie innovation, devcom also unveiled the results of its highly anticipated Speaker Survey.

devcom Indie Awards: Celebrating Creativity

The devcom Indie Awards are celebrating the creativity and innovation that thrives within the indie game community. From a pool of 270+ submissions, 35 outstanding projects were selected, with 20 showcased onsite and 15 at the virtual expo. The awards were presented in four categories:

Mobile Marvels (Powered by G5 Entertainment)

Winner: Dungeons of Dreadrock, The Dead King’s Secret – Christoph Minnameier, Germany

Potion Punch Rivals – Monstronauts Inc., Philippines

The Horticulturists – Idun Studio, Denmark

Creative Overkill (Powered by Accelbyte)

Winner: SWAP/MEAT – One More Game, USA

Pieced Together – Glowfrog Games, UK

The Midnight Crimes – DeadlyCrow Games, Chile

Graphics Galore

Winner: Bahamut and the Waqwaq Tree – Starvania, Saudi Arabia

Replaceable – THE PACK, Belgium

Nightmare Circus – Fair Play Studios, Thailand

Blockbuster (Powered by astragon Entertainment)

Winner: Zombie Rollerz: The Last Ship – Zing Games Inc., USA

Holiday Party – Namson Digital, Thailand

Cozy Dungeons – Them Handsome Fellas, Chile

devcom Speaker Survey: Key Insights

Drawing on the insights of 100 distinguished speakers, devcom conducted a survey to address pressing topics such as the role of AI in game development, preferred business models for games, industry layoffs and more:

Best Use Cases for AI in Game Development:

A significant number of speakers prefer minimal AI usage (31%). However, there is considerable interest in leveraging AI for code and production (21%) as well as for marketing and communication (18%). A notable insight from the survey is the prediction that AI could replace human translations/localizations within the next 12-24 months.

Preferred Business Models for Games:

Digital and physical premium games emerged as the overwhelmingly favored business model, with 65% of respondents supporting it. In contrast, Free-to-Play with Ads was the least popular option, selected by only one respondent.

Top Challenges Facing the Game Development Industry:

Market saturation (55%) and increasing development costs (46%) were identified as the two biggest challenges currently impacting the industry. One participant highlighted the issue of “chasing the myth of infinite growth,” which can interfere with a studio’s ability to produce quality games consistently with experienced talent.

Financial Viability of AAA Games:

An overwhelming 89% of participants believe that AAA games can be financially successful purely through a Buy-to-Play model. Furthermore, 81% consider cross-platform play essential for the future of multiplayer games.

Relevance of 1st Party Platforms:

Despite the rise of subscription models, 62% of respondents do not foresee 1st party platforms becoming less relevant.

Industry Layoffs:

When asked about the future of industry layoffs, 57% of speakers anticipate that layoffs will continue at the same pace or accelerate over the next 12 months. Meanwhile, 43% believe layoffs will decrease, or that more people will be employed again.

Direct links for devcom Developer Conference:

All previously published information #ddc2024: https://www.devcom.global/ddc-2024

Link to the #ddc2024 Program: https://www.devcom.global/ddc-2024/program/

Link to the #ddc2024 Side-Events: https://www.devcom.global/ddc-2024/side-events/

Further information on the new Confex Center: https://koelncongress.de/en/locations/confex/

About devcom

devcom is host of the official developer conference of gamescom (devcom Developer Conference) and Europe’s largest community-based event for games industry professionals. Throughout the year, devcom provides content, events and services tailored to the games industry based on its core values of diversity, inclusion and sustainability.

devcom Developer Conference #ddc2024 took place on August 18-20 (Sunday to Tuesday) at the Confex on Koelnmesse fairgrounds in Cologne, followed by a presence at gamescom from August 21-23.

devcom Developer Conference and all devcom branded formats are developed & organized by game events GmbH, a subsidiary of game – Verband der deutschen Gamesbranche (the German Games Industry Association and owner of the gamescom & devcom brand).

Find devcom on:

linkedin | facebook | X | instagram | youtube | twitch | discord