Schedule
Mega Stage: Hall H
Time: 8:50 am - 9:10 am
NAGIS Powered By Xsolla Opening Ceremonies
The Opening Ceremonies of NAGIS Powered by Xsolla 2026 will kick off the summit with a warm welcome to all attendees. Andrew Knack will open the event by welcoming guests to the City of Edmonton, followed by brief remarks from Edmonton Screen and our title sponsor, Xsolla, setting the stage for an inspiring and impactful industry experience.

Barsun Unique Jones (YDB)
Recording Artist & Entertainment Entrepreneur

Toni Domenech
Co-Founder of ATFP Productions

Luke Azevedo
CEO Edmonton Screen
Mega Stage: Hall H
Time: 10:00 am - 11:00 am
The Intersection Between Film and Games
Taking place on the Mega Stage, this dynamic panel explores the powerful crossover between the film and gaming industries. YDB will share his experience working with Sega on Shinobi: Path of Vengeance, offering a unique perspective from music to game collaboration. Toni Domenech will provide insider knowledge from her career as a high-level Hollywood agent representing talent such as Harrison Ford, Chris Pratt, and Tom Hiddleston, including key tips for developers on navigating partnerships and avoiding common pitfalls when working with third-party agents. Rounding out the panel, Luke Azevedo will discuss his experience supporting and funding projects across film, gaming, and television through Edmonton Screen, highlighting opportunities for creators looking to bring their ideas to life across multiple mediums.
Mega Stage: Hall H
Time: 2:15 pm - 3:15 pm
Noland Bushnell: Keynote Address
Join Nolan Bushnell, the visionary co-founder of Atari, for an incredible journey through the origins and future of the video game industry. Widely credited with creating the industry in 1972 with the launch of Pong, Bushnell will reflect on his groundbreaking career and the philosophy that continues to shape game design today, that games should be “easy to learn and difficult to master.” A prolific entrepreneur who has founded more than 20 companies, including Chuck E. Cheese and Catalyst Technologies, Silicon Valley’s first incubator, Bushnell will also share stories from his career, including being the first to hire Steve Jobs. Looking ahead, he’ll explore the future of gaming through his latest ventures, including ModalVR and X2 Games, offering insight into emerging technologies like VR and blockchain that are shaping the next generation of interactive entertainment.

Casey Hudson
Game Director / CEO at Arcanaut Studios

Trent Oster
CEO of Beamdog

Gregory Zeschuk
Director of the Blind Enthusiasm Group

Mark Darrah
Industry Consultant

Mark Meer
Professional Voice Actor, Dungeon Master & Voice of Commander Shepard
Mega Stage: Hall H
Time: 4:00 pm - 5:20 pm
BioWare Reunion:The BioWare Secret Sauce: What Made Great RPG Teams Work (and What We’d Change Today)
Go behind the scenes of one of the most influential studios in gaming history as the original minds behind BioWare come together to share what truly made their RPG teams successful. This panel dives into the culture, leadership, creative processes, and hard-earned lessons that powered some of the industry’s most beloved titles, while also taking an honest look at what they would do differently today.
Featuring insights from founders and key leaders Trent Oster, Casey Hudson, Gregory Zeschuk, and Mark Darrah, this is a rare opportunity to learn directly from the team that helped define modern RPG development.
All moderated by Mark Meer, the voice of Commander Shepard.

Ruwan Fernando
Founder of Go Boldly Design
Panel Room #1: 107|107A
Time: 9:15 am - 10:00 am
Title: The Business of UX, Why Strategy Matters
Discover how a strong UX strategy can unlock massive ROI, improve player satisfaction, and prevent costly production mistakes. Drawing from over 20 years of experience across 35+ AAA titles, this session shares practical, real-world insights on how UX/UI can be leveraged to build more competitive, player-focused games in today’s attention-driven market.
Learn a simple and effective “Why, When, What” framework that teams of any size can apply immediately. Through proven case studies and hands-on examples, we’ll explore how better UX thinking can streamline development, improve feature prioritization, and create more engaging player experiences. Walk away with actionable ideas to strengthen your product, refine your process, and deliver games that truly connect with players.

Arka Ray
Co-founder, President and Technical Director

Jon Bankard
Co-founder, General Manager and Game Director

Richard Garfield
Co-founder, Game Design Director for Popularium and creator of Magic the Gathering.

Jon Bankard
Co-founder, General Manager and Game Director
Panel Room #1: 107|107A
Time: 11:00 am - 11:45 am
Title: Designing for Uniqueness: History, Plans, and Commercialization by Richard Garfield, Skaff Elias, Jon Bankard, Arka Ray
Explore the power of uniqueness in game design with industry legends as they break down how individuality shapes player experiences, drives engagement, and creates entirely new genres. From early inspirations in sports to groundbreaking innovations in games like Magic and KeyForge, this panel dives into the benefits and challenges of designing around uniqueness. The discussion will also introduce Chaos Agents, unpacking its vision, design philosophy, and approach to product and monetization in today’s evolving market. Concluding with a curated Q&A, this session offers valuable insights for developers, designers, and anyone passionate about the future of games.

Gem Johnson
CEO of Corvian Marketing

John Nguyen
Regional Vice President at Xsolla Canada

Caghan Bonnough
Director of Business & Marketing, Embersail Studios

Seth DeGrace
CEO and Co-Founder of Virtual Unreality

Luke Simms
Director @ Calgary Game Developers Association

Jon Bankard
Co-founder, General Manager and Game Director
Panel Room #1: 107|107A
Time: 3:15 pm - 4:00 pm
Title: Creating and Maintaining Your Greatest Marketing Asset as a Game Developer: Your Community
Your community is your most powerful and enduring marketing asset. In this session, discover how to build, grow, and sustain an engaged player base that champions your game long after launch. Learn the essential do’s and don’ts of community management, from fostering authentic connections to avoiding common pitfalls that can damage trust and momentum.
Don’t miss this incredible panel featuring insights from John Nguyen, Gem Johnson, Caghan Bonnough, Seth Degace, and Luke Simms, as they share real-world strategies and lessons learned from the front lines of game development.

Chris Tihor
Founder/Story and Narrative Design Consultant

Ann Lemay
Narrative Director at WB Games Montreal

Ben Gelinas
CEO of Copychaser Games

Ceri Young
Narrative Director

Mitch Dyer
Lead Writer @ That's No Moon
Panel Room #1: 107|107A
Time: 5:30 pm - 6:15 pm
Title: Every game has a story to tell
Chris Tihor believes every game has a story to tell. With over two decades of experience in writing, editing and narrative design, Chris has helped dozens of companies get their games story-perfect. The titles he has worked on include Nancy Drew: Mystery of the Seven Keys, BAFTA-winning Hercule Poirot: The First Cases, Destiny 2, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, and Life By You.

Alex Handziuk
PR Specialist at Evolve PR

Amanda Tuckey
Community Specialist at Evolve PR

Poe Chuang
Research Specialist at Evolve PR

Ceri Young
Game Writer
Panel Room Panel Room #2: 102|103
Time: 9:15 am - 10:00 am
Title: From Reveal to Launch: Timing Your Game’s Success
From Reveal to Launch: Timing Your Game’s Success – This panel explores the importance of timing key activities and highlights some of the most effective initiatives a game developer can pursue across PR, Community, Social, Insights, and video creation. This panel also discusses the major industry and best practice shifts that are occurring and have occurred in the last few years, and how developers and industry professionals can proactively navigate these ever-changing tides.

Kate Edwards
CEO & Founder of Geogrify
Panel Room #2: 102|103
Time: 11:00 am - 11:45 am
Title: Building the Cultural World of 'Indiana Jones and the Great Circle'

Gary Qian
Global Partnership Director at SoloGame
Panel Room #2: 102|103
Time: 3:15 pm - 4:00 pm
Title: Breaking into China’s massive PC gaming market isn’t easy, but it’s possible
China represents one of the largest PC gaming audiences in the world, yet for many Western developers it remains a complex and often misunderstood market. In this session, we will walk through how indie and mid-sized studios can realistically approach the Chinese market—from understanding how Chinese players discover games, to the marketing and community dynamics that drive visibility on platforms like Steam, Bilibili, and other Chinese content ecosystems. Drawing from real publishing and marketing cases our team has worked on, we will highlight practical lessons, common pitfalls, and the key factors that often determine whether a game gains traction with Chinese players or gets overlooked. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of how the Chinese market actually works in practice, what opportunities it offers for Western developers, and how to make more informed decisions when considering China as part of their global strategy. The session will conclude with an open Q&A for developers interested in discussing their own projects and market considerations.

William Su
Lawyer with Nicol Law
Panel Room #2: 102|103
Time: 5:30 pm - 6:15 pm
Title: A free basic overview of the changing law can avoid hiring a lawyer for problems later.
A summary review of some major lawsuits and potential findings that will affect the videogame industry, such as: IP ownership with AI, Palworld v Pokemon, and lootboxes. Attendees should be aware of the changing legal landscape, likely affecting game development, monetization, data collection, and marketing. A free basic overview of the changing law can avoid hiring a lawyer for problems later. Lawyers are expensive!

Claire Yang
Overseas Business Development at Kingsoft

Claire Yang
Overseas Business Development at Kingsoft
Panel Room #3: 105
Time: 11:00 am - 11:45 am
Title: How a mid-sized, established game company survives in a giant-dominated market
How a mid-sized, established game company survives in a giant-dominated market • Turning a single hit game into an evergreen IP • Using code-level cooperation (not shallow licensing) to unlock long-term value • Shifting from product operations → IP operations • Building a “game + content + offline” flywheel under budget constraints • Differentiation as a survival strategy in a saturated party-game market

Brent Bushnell
CEO & Co-Founder, Two Bit Circus

Bob Cooney
Founder of LEXRA
Panel Room #3: 105
Time: 3:15 am - 4:00pm
Title: New Opportunities for Game Studios in Location Based Entertainment
As the consumer games market gets harder, more studios are exploring new channels for growth. This panel looks at the opportunities opening up in location based entertainment and location based XR, where game developers can bring their worlds, mechanics, and creative capabilities into physical venues and shared experiences. We’ll explore the range of opportunities, the business models behind them, and what it takes to enter the market.

Pierre Moisan
Senior advisor-Creative Industries Montreal Business and Innovation Centre
Panel Room #3: 105
Time: 5:30 pm - 6:15 pm
Title: How to get noticed then negotiate your deal at fair value
Full description Coming Soon!

Anya Combs
Games Freelancer
Panel Room #3: 105
Time: 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Title: The New Crowdfunding Playbook: Platforms, Community, and What Actually Works
Crowdfunding has evolved since the Kickstarter boom of 2015. Three major platforms now exist to crowdfund your project, but which is right for you? With an ever changing social media landscape, how do you build a community either online, in person, or both? What are the right ways to crowdfund in 2026, and is it even right for me?

Garrett Fredley
Senior Build Engineer: IP Preservation at Playstation
Panel Room #2: 102|103
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Title:What's Your Legacy? - A Guide to Game Preservation
Full description Coming Soon!