GamesBeat panel spotlight: The rise of big indie game studios

The power of indies has never been greater. Small, independent game developers have driven the success of platforms such as the iPhone, iPad, and Android. And now those indies are being courted by the likes of Nintendo, Sony, Ouya, Amazon, Steam, Facebook, and Microsoft with developer programs that sweeten the pot if the developer will make a game for their platform.

And as a result, you can expect to see those small studios turn into big ones. Self-publishing and new platforms are giving them options they never had before, and some successful studios are becoming big players. What’s next in the evolution of the big indie? And what does it mean to be an indie?

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We’ll delve into this in a panel at our GamesBeat 2013 conference. The session will look at what it means to be an indie and become a big one, from a variety of perspectives. Steve Peterson, a writer at GamesIndustry.biz and [a]list Daily, will moderate a breakout session that will include Steven Allison, the senior vice president of publishing at Telltale Games; John Graham of Humble Bundle; Matthew Hannus, the chief executive officer of Sleepy Giant; and Craig Allen, the CEO of Spark Unlimited.

The event is Oct. 29-Oct. 30 at the Sofitel Hotel in Redwood City, Calif.

Here are more of the speakers we have announced for the proceedings:

• Mark DeLoura, senior digital media advisor for the White House office of science and technology
• Susan Choe, managing director of Visionnaire Ventures
• Andrew Pascal, CEO of Playstudios
• Kristian Segerstrale, co-founder of Initial Capital
• Maria Alegre, CEO of Chartboost
• Jude Gomila, co-founder of Heyzap
• Zach Phillips, vp of publisher development at PlayHaven
• Matt DiPietro, vice president of marketing at Twitch
• Chris Early, vice president of digital games at Ubisoft
• John Graham, COO of Humble Bundle
• Chethan Ramachandran, CEO of Playnomics
• Justin Saint Clair,Windows Games manager
• Kenny Rosenblatt, CEO of Arkadium
• John Smedley, the president of Sony Online Entertainment
• Geoff Keighley, the host of Spike TV’s GTTV
• Sean Ryan, the head of game partnerships at Facebook
• Mike Gallagher, president and CEO of the Entertainment Software Association
• Bing Gordon, a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
• Tim Chang, the managing director at Mayfield Fund
• Victor Kislyi, the CEO of Wargaming
• Julie Uhrman, the CEO of Ouya
• John Riccitiello, an active game investor and former CEO of Electronic Arts
• Tony Bartel, the president of GameStop
• Simon Khalaf, the CEO of Flurry
• Owen Mahoney, the chief financial officer and chief administrative officer at Nexon
• Brendan Iribe, the CEO of Oculus VR
• Robin Hunicke, the co-founder of Funomena
• Wim Stocks, the executive vice president at Virgin Gaming
• Mark Donovan, the president of Xfire
• Gabriel Leydon, the CEO of Machine Zone
• Adam Sessler, the executive producer of Revision3 Games
• Martin Rae, the president of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
• Clive Downie, the CEO of DeNA West
• Kevin Chou, the CEO of Kabam
• Tim Merel, the managing director at Digi-Capital
• Sunny Dhillon, an early stage investor at Signia Venture Partners
• Brock Pierce, the managing director of Clearstone Global Fund

We’ve entered the Battle Royal, an era where many firms are vying for gamers’ time. Apple and Google want to get in the living room and are waging war against Nintendo and Sony. Microsoft already has an edge in living room entertainment with its Xbox Live service, but it wants a piece of mobile as well. It’s a confusing time for gamemakers. Where should they take their titles? Which platforms will provide the best experiences? Who will make them the most money?

Register here.

We’ll have a steady drumbeat of speakers as we get closer to GamesBeat 2013′s October date. We expect to have more than 80 of the gaming industry’s best lined up for our fifth annual event.

Each year, GamesBeat follows a big trend. In 2009, we focused on how “All The World’s a Game,” with the explosion of games on the global stage. In 2010, GamesBeat@GDC focused on “Disruption 2.0.” In 2011, our theme was “Mobile Games Level Up,” investigating the busy intersection of games and mobile technology. In 2012, we explored “The Crossover Era,” the time when so many big game companies and startups were transforming themselves by expanding from one market to the next. Our judges, meanwhile, are already busy picking the finalists in the Who’s Got Game Innovation Showdown for the best game startup.

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As companies adapt to change, we’re witnessing disruption, adaptation, consolidation, innovation, and the arrival of big money. We’re talking billions of dollars that are at stake. We’re expecting 400 notables from throughout the game industry — social, mobile, online, and console. Please join us.

Sign up today!

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Thanks to the following industry leaders for supporting GamesBeat 2013 as sponsors: Ad2Games, AppLift, GamesAnalytics, NativeX, Renren Games, and Tapjoy as Gold Sponsors; Flurry, Animoca, GameHouse, Kontagent, Playnomics, Storm8, and LifeStreet Media as Silver Sponsors; AppFlood, Twitch, Slashdot, Sleepy Giant, and Visionnaire Ventures as Event Sponsors; Akamon Entertainment, Arkadium, YoYo Games, OnLive, P4RC, and Virtuix as contributing sponsors. If you’d like to become a sponsor, please send a message to sponsors@venturebeat.com.