Schedule

Thursday, June 18th: Speaker Schedule
Mega Stage

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.

Panel Room #1

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.

Panel Room #2

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'

While every game involves various degrees of world-building, the efforts required to authentically replicate real-world locations and cultures require an extra level of diligence and depth. When incorporating a historical aspect to that real-world game, it can expand the types of considerations and challenges; this is certainly no exception when it comes to creating the multicultural and diverse geographic milieu in the 1937-based world of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. With over 33 years of experience on over 320 games, Kate Edwards’ culturalization expertise was leveraged to help support the intense world creation process behind the hit game and build a user experience that truly immerses players into the cultural and historical landscape of the iconic character.
 

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!

Panel Room #3

Claire Yang

Overseas Business Development at Kingsoft

Panel Room #3: 105

Time: 9:15 am - 10:00 am

Title:Insert Coin

Description Coming Soon!

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!

Friday, June 19th: Speaker Schedule
Panel Room #3

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?

Panel Room #2

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!