The 2011 Game Developers Conference Europe Announces New Summits, Opens Call for Lectures Through April 8

BERLIN, March 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- UBM TechWeb Game Network, organizers of the industry-leading Game Developers Conference Europe™ (GDC Europe), have revealed a host of focused Summits for this year's show, also announcing the call for submissions for this August's conference in Cologne, Germany.

Taking place Monday through Wednesday, August 15-17, 2011 at the Cologne Congress-Centrum Ost, GDC Europe 2011 will again provide the essential pan-European perspective of game development and business trends happening throughout the continent today.

Now in its third iteration and taking place alongside the European-leading gamescom trade fair, GDC Europe will continue to serve the European game industry by gathering the world's leading speakers in areas specific to current game development across platforms and development disciplines.

The call for submissions for lectures will include main conference tracks in Business & Marketing, Game Design, Production, Programming, and Visual Arts. Organizers are looking for leading practitioners to propose lectures and panels with major practical takeaways for today's video game market.

In addition, GDC Europe 2011 also plans to expand the breadth of its conference by offering four Summits to be held concurrently with the main conference. Reflective of the growing development and activity within the continent, GDC Europe will introduce the Social Games Summit, Smartphone & Tablet Games Summit, Independent Games Summit, and Community Management Summit.

"It is our goal to support growth of the European games community by providing a venue for collaboration and business opportunity, as well as a valuable learning experience featuring leading industry tools and techniques," says Frank Sliwka, Vice President European Business Development and Event Director GDC Europe. "This year, the addition of Summits will provide strategic, dedicated content focused on emerging and innovation-driven topics in the industry. We are pleased GDC Europe is returning to Cologne, and are proud to continue providing the forum for innovation and networking for the European game development community"

The Call for Submissions for both the Main Conference tracks and all four GDC Europe Summits is now open through Friday, April 8, 2011. You can learn more about the submissions process and guidelines here: http://www.gdceurope.com/conference/c4p/

GDC Europe in 2010 hosted over 1500 attendees, 170 speakers, 40 exhibitors and more than 275 media representatives as well as a global lineup of keynote addresses from Warren Spector, Creative Director of Disney's Junction Point Studio; Hermen Hulst, Managing Director of Guerrilla Games; Bo Wang, Vice President of Tencent Games; and Heiko Hubertz, CEO and Founder of Bigpoint GmbH.  

During its inaugural year in 2009, GDC Europe hosted luminary pan-European speakers including David Cage, CEO & Founder, Quantic Dream; Cevat Yerli, CEO & President, Crytek; Matias Myllyrinne, Managing Director, Remedy; and Hilmar Petursson, Chief Executive Officer, CCP.

In 2011, in conjunction with its new conference content lineup, GDC Europe will offer even more business and networking opportunities for attendees, with a developer-focused Expo Floor area, a host of day and evening networking events, and the return of the GDC Europe Business Lounge within gamescom itself.  

For more information on GDC Europe and our advisory board please visit: www.gdceurope.com.

About the UBM TechWeb Game Network 

A core provider of essential information to the professional game industry, the UBM TechWeb Game Network – formerly known as the Think Services Game Group - offers market-defining content, and drives community through its award winning lineup of print, online, event and research products and services. These include the Game Developers Conference®, the Webby Award-winning Gamasutra.com and network of sites, the Game Advertising Online ad network, the Game Developers Conference® Online, the Game Developers Conference Europe™, the Game Developers Conference™ China, the Game Developers Conference™ Canada, Game Developer Magazine, Game Developer Research, the Game Career Seminars and GameCareerGuide.com, the Independent Games Festival and Summit, and the Game Developers Choice Awards. 

About UBM TechWeb, a division of United Business Media

UBM TechWeb, the global leader in technology media and professional information, enables people and organizations to harness the transformative power of technology.  Through its core businesses – media solutions, marketing services and professional information – UBM TechWeb produces the most respected and consumed brands, applications and services in the technology market. More than 14.5 million business and technology professionals (CIOs, IT and IT Support managers, Web & Digital professionals, Software and Game developers, Government decision makers, and Telecom providers) actively participate in UBM TechWeb's communities. UBM TechWeb brands includes: global face-to-face events such as Interop, Game Developers Conference (GDC), Web 2.0, Black Hat and VoiceCon; large-scale online networks such as InformationWeek,  Light Reading and Gamasutra; research, training, and certification services, including HDI, Pyramid Research, and InformationWeek Analytics; and market-leading magazines such as InformationWeek and Wall Street & Technology.  UBM TechWeb is part of UBM, a global provider of media and information services for professional B2B communities and markets.

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