Course Fee

$999 (approx. £750) per student.

Seating is limited to ensure each student has time with the instructor, and registration for these courses will be closed when capacity is reached. Purchasing a GDC Masterclass pass also gives you full access to the AI Summit at Tobacco Dock London during London Tech Week.

Course Description

This masterclass will focus on pitching and scoring publishing deals for premium PC and console games. From creating your target list of viable publishing partners, to researching your key competition, and how best to manage the introduction and follow-up process, we’ll cover everything you need to know. Additionally, as part of the class, each attendee will have the opportunity to pitch their current game and receive direct feedback and advice for improving their pitch. Participants opting to do a practice pitch will need to prepare a draft pitch deck PRIOR to the masterclass. Instructions for preparing a pitch deck will be sent upon registration for the course.

This class is NOT suitable if your goal is mainly to pitch your game studio to venture capitalists (VCs) and other equity investors. If you want to learn how pitch to VCs or angel investors, check out the Funding Your Studio course.

Course Type

Virtual two-day course: This is a single course that takes place completely virtually over Zoom for two four-hour days with limited breaks.

Intended Audience

Developers who have a commercially viable game they are actively (or will soon be) pitching to premium publishers.

Key Takeaways

• Learn overall deal-making strategy and mindset.
• Learn how to research and track publishing targets.
• Develop skills in pitch deck construction and fine-tuning, including competitive analysis.
• Discover publisher introduction processes and meeting tactics.
• Walk away ready to pitch your game to premium publishers.

Prerequisites

Participants opting to do a practice pitch will need to prepare a draft pitch deck PRIOR to the masterclass. Instructions for preparing a pitch deck will be sent upon registration for the course.

Instructor Bio

Jason Della Rocca is a game industry entrepreneur, funding advisor, and cluster expert. He specializes in business/partnership development, pitching/funding, and ecosystem/cluster development. As the co-founder of Executions Labs, he was a hands-on early stage investor to over 20 independent game studios from North America and Europe. Between 2000-09 he served as the executive director of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), and was honored for his industry building efforts with the inaugural Ambassador Award at the Game Developers Conference. In 2009, Jason was named to Game Developer Magazine's "Power50," a list which profiles 50 of the most important contributors to the state of the game industry. As a sought after expert on the game industry, Jason has lectured at conferences and universities worldwide.