Why successful CEOs need global games industry events
- Connecting with new regions, sectors and professionals is crucial to keep an advantage in the quickly evolving games industry.
- Global games industry events like Pocket Gamer Connects London on January 19th to 20th give industry leaders first-hand insight into industry trends and sentiments.
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In an era of digital content overflow, it’s not hard to come by powerful quotes from industry leaders summarising the key to great success.
One theme running like a thread through many of these anecdotes is continuous curiosity. Something that marks out companies consistently outperforming the market is their leaders never stop learning or shy away from adopting new and bigger perspectives. These are leaders who understand the wider system, not just the bubble they’re currently operating in.
“In my heart, I am a gamer”
About 20 years into his career, 20 years ago, the late Nintendo CEO, Satoru Iwata, stated that “On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer,” in a keynote talk at GDC. With that, he reinforced the idea of staying connected to your purpose, your vision, and being constantly curious.
Due to the sheer number of spontaneous conversations, curated networking opportunities and advanced talks and insight exchange, global industry events are an optimal channel for leaders looking to broaden their perceptions, challenge their preset views and top up their leadership skills.
CEOs, in particular, can more directly pick up crucial insight into emerging trends, gauging where the industry is heading and which direction funding is flowing. Spotting sentiments like uncertainty, optimism, desperation, and anticipation can turn out to be game-changing if early enough.
Focused industry events also tend to attract leaders and delegates eager to solve problems and share their solutions with other like-minded peers. Are you working on the same solution just in different ways? Are you behind or ahead of your competitors? It forces a healthy strategic examination.
Know the culture first-hand
Local market dynamics strongly influence the games industry. Culture, infrastructure, platform availability, regulation, and spending patterns are just some of the areas difficult to grasp without one-on-one interaction with locals and on-the-ground research.
Speaking face-to-face with developers, publishers, policymakers, and investors provides a more coherent view, laying the ground for better decisions and strategies.
To gain a thorough understanding of any new market, you need to be in that region in person, interacting with the people you’re hoping to reach, professionals already serving the area and getting an unfiltered view of cultural preferences and distinctions.
As Satoru Iwata also said in his talk: “One thing that has not changed – and will not change – is our nature as a form of entertainment. Like any other entertainment medium, we must create an emotional response in order to succeed. Laughter, fear, joy, affection, surprise, and – most of all – accomplishment. In the end, triggering these feelings from our players is the true judgment of our work. This is the bottom line measurement of success.”
Especially in today’s oversaturated games market, successful developers increasingly pinpoint the challenge of making games that stand out and resonate emotionally with players. Knowing your audience’s cultural triggers are key to reaching them.
Connect with local, regional and global game ecosystems
Pocket Gamer Connects is about to close out the most expansive year during its 12 year lifespan. In 2025, it reached four new locations, running eight events in total, and launched a new event format dedicated to connecting and supporting diverse game sectors in every corner of the world.
From familiar places such as London, San Francisco, Dubai and Helsinki to new locations like Barcelona, Shanghai, Korea and Aqaba, the events bridge global, regional and local game sectors one global b2b games event at a time.
As one CEO, Intelligent Solutions’ Denis Pertsev described PG Connects Helsinki 2025: “So many talented, creative people in one place. The energy was high and the ideas were flowing. I walked out with fresh perspectives and a longer list of people I want to learn from. Truly an eye-opening experience.”
Druids.ai CEO and co-founder Miguel Oliveira commented on the Dubai GameExpo 2025, powered by Pocket Gamer Connects: “Gaming in the MENA region is booming; not just in revenue, but in production quality, studio ambition, and homegrown talent. Dubai GameExpo is definitely an event worth attending, especially if looking for local talent or targeting the local market.”
Following the Investor Connector matchmaking event at PG Connects London 2024, Exedra Games CEO Oren Bennett said: “I was blown away with your Investor Connector program and honestly did not expect any meetings from it. Your calibre of gaming investors was the cream of the crop.”
At the same event, Geeklab CEO and co-founder Jesse Lempiäinen commented: “It was great to reconnect with so many friends in the industry, and I’m excited about the new friends made.”
“The event gave us a real pulse on where the industry is headed.”
So are you a games executive looking to raise the bar and widen your business horizons in 2026 and beyond? Get on board the Pocket Gamer Connects events tour in 2026, kicking off in London on January 19th and 20th.
Realise your untapped potential and satisfy your curiosity with keynotes, solo talks, and panels from experts all sharing crucial industry knowledge on how to lead your game company to success. Meet over 3,000 industry delegates for two days of focused conversations, curated networking and two additional partner events, taking you into the transmedia landscape and global apps market.
Tickets are available now, register yours today.
