Nearly 30,000 people attended GDC 2025

The organisers of this year’s Game Developers Conference have revealed that almost 30,000 people were in attendance.

This number matches 2024’s figure, but there was an increase in exhibitors at San Francisco’s Moscone Center from 325 to 400.

Over 1,000 speakers took part in the event, which hosted 750 sessions, workshops, roundtable discussions, and networking opportunities.

GDC 2025 also introduced the first annual GDC Nights after-hours event, which ran on March 17 and March 20, which welcomed more than 6,000 attendees.

“Seeing the engrossing lectures, the collective labour organising and the amazing performances at GDC Nights has been an affirming experience and helps reinforce the value of GDC’s mission to connect developers through their shared passion for game development,” said GDC event director Stephanie Hawkins.

“The past few years have seen increasing challenges for game developers the world over, but we’re proud to see GDC continue to serve as a beacon.

“We look forward to seeing our friends here again, and hope that the connections and insights they gained will carry through to their next amazing game projects.”

The week-long event also saw two awards ceremonies take place, including the Game Developers Choice Awards with Balatro taking home the most accolades including the Game of the Year Award.

As for the Independent Game Awards, Consume Me received the Seumas McNally Grand Prize for Best Independent Game, developed by Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thompson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P and Ken ‘coda’ Synder.

GDC is scheduled to take place from March 9, 2026 to March 13, 2026 at San Francisco’s Moscone Center.