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Welcome to the Core Concepts Phase II Resources page for the 2025 Game Developers Conference (GDC)! This webpage provides important information and helpful resources for submitters whose proposals have advanced to Phase II of the GDC submission process. GDC 2025 takes place March 17-21, 2025 at Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, CA.

Please add [email protected] to your contacts/safe sender list to ensure you receive important updates and information from the conference team. Thank you for your work thus far. We appreciate your interest in speaking at GDC 2025!

What is Phase II?

Phase II means that the GDC Advisory Board is interested in your submission as a potential talk, but needs additional detail or clarification in order to accurately evaluate your proposal and determine its status. Please reach out to the GDC Advisor copied on your Phase II notification email for next steps and be ready to prepare a short video demonstrating presentation delivery.

As mentioned in your proposal status email, a GDC Advisor has offered to guide you through the Phase II process, communicating the GDC Advisory Board’s feedback and recommendations. Phase II is intended to help fine tune and identify the core takeaways of your presentation content, and ultimately set the speaker(s) up for success on the GDC stage. 

The goal of this step is to get a "substantially complete presentation", meaning the advisors are not focused on appealing slides or transitions. They are trying to make sure the presentation is comprehensive and that it builds to a set of identifiable takeaways. The end result is more than an outline, but less than a showable deck. There will be plenty of time for the polish in Phase III and beyond.

Core Concepts Presentation Timeline

  • Mid-September 2024: Proposal status notification email sent from GDC.
  • October 15, 2024: Phase II revisions and requests sent to GDC Advisor.
  • Early-October – Early-November 2024: GDC Advisors review Phase II presentations. Further feedback may be provided during this time (Phase III)
  • December 2024: Final presentation status determined. Accepted presentations can be finalized leading up to GDC 2025.
  • Mid-February 2025: GDC 2025 session schedule details announced.
  • March 17-21, 2025: GDC week! All Core Concepts presentations take place Wednesday, March 19 – Friday, March 21, 2025.

Summits Presentation Timeline

  • Early November 2024: Proposal status notification email sent from GDC.
  • November 22, 2024: Phase II revisions and requests sent to GDC Advisor.
  • Late November – Early December 2024: GDC Advisors review Phase II presentations. Further feedback may be provided during this time (i.e. Phase III)
  • Early January 2025: Final presentation status determined. Accepted presentations can be finalized leading up to GDC 2025.
  • Mid-February 2025: GDC 2025 session schedule details announced.
  • March 17-21, 2025: GDC week! All Summits presentations take place Monday, March 17 – Tuesday, March 18, 2025.

GDC Presentation Templates

During Phase II, the GDC Advisor working with you will typically ask to see an outline of your presentation in a slide deck.

We ask that speakers use the official GDC Template below for their presentation to provide consistency throughout the event, however, should the presentation's content benefit from a different template, feel free to use what works best (slides must use 16:9 aspect ratio at 1080p native resolution).

Official GDC 2025 Templates: Download Here

Final Acceptance Tips & Guidelines

Final Acceptance Tips & Guidelines

In addition to fine-tuning your presentation content, Phase II is also an opportunity to prepare your session and speaker information for publication on the GDC website and promotion leading up to the event.

While specific feedback and criteria for acceptance from the GDC Advisory Board vary from session to session, there are some best practices when preparing your session for acceptance and the live presentation itself. Please see below for GDC presentation tips and guidelines:

Session title

  • Should clearly and concisely describe the content.
  • If based on a game, should reference that game.
  • Should be designed to draw an audience.
  • If humor is used, should not make the content difficult to understand.
  • The first word and major words are capitalized, such as in APA capitalization style.

Descriptive text (description, intended audience, and attendee takeaway)

  • Major points of the talk itself should be clear.
  • Should reflect any revisions made in Phase II.
  • If a specific game is the focus of the talk, it should be mentioned.
  • Should either present a clear, actionable takeaway or make clear it’s mostly an inspirational talk.
  • Overall set attendee expectations. 
  • Make sure everything is in the 3rd Person—using “he/she/they instead of “I.”
  • Avoid using “you,” instead use the term “attendees”.
  • Write everything in present tense. Eg. “In this session, Simone teaches the basics of game design” instead of “In this session, Simone will teach the basics of game design.”

2nd topic/track

  • If you and your advisor have determined a 2nd track is appropriate, confirm it has been added to your submission/proposal.

Session duration  

  • During Phase II, you and your GDC Advisor will have determined the appropriate duration based on your presentation content. Double check that it’s listed as the correct duration (60 or 30 minutes).  

Presentation

  • The quantity and content should match your speaking pace so it doesn’t feel like there are too many slides, or too few. 
  • *Slides shouldn’t be text heavy. Instead, text should be moved to notes for you to reference during the talk.           
    • *For EAL (English as an additional language) speakers, the big takeaways of each slide should be clearly written, so that even if there are some verbal comprehension issues on the part of the audience, they will still finish the talk understanding the throughlines. See EAL section below for more tips for EAL speakers.
  • If you are not using the GDC slide template, make sure the text/images don’t blend into the background color. 
  • Slide content should be large enough to be seen from the back of a large room. 
  • Double check that the images/videos used don’t violate the GDC code of conduct
  • Videos should be embedded into the slides. Do not rely on a direct connection or wifi on stage. 
  • If the talk has multiple speakers, the presentation should be in one file. 

Speaker information

  • Confirm your name, job title, company and bio are accurate, as they will be published on the website.
  • Since your job title will be printed on your GDC Speaker badge, please limit your job title to two titles maximum.
  • Make sure your bio is written in the 3rd Person—using “he/she/they instead of “I.”
  • Make sure your email is accurate and belongs to you. If the session has multiple speakers, each speaker must have a unique email. GDC uses this email to register speakers for the conference and send important information related to speaker logistics, etc. PR and additional contacts can be added to a speaker's profile, once created.
  • You may add your headshot, pronouns, twitter/X username, facebook URL, and/or linkedin URL.
  • Your contact information, such as email, address and phone number, will be transferred over to your profile/account for the GDC mobile app, however they will remain private unless you choose to share them with a connection.

Speaker delivery 

  • Practice, practice, practice! Rehearse in front of friends/family/colleagues, or record yourself presenting. Your GDC Advisor may ask you to share a recording of a rehearsal, or you can also ask your GDC Advisor to help you rehearse.
  • Content should fit within the assigned duration naturally.
  • Q&A at the end is optional, but there should be enough time left at the end to accommodate it. We suggest leaving 5-10-minutes for Q&A at the end.
  • If you have a 30-min talk and need more time for the meat of the talk, Q&A can be taken in a nearby Wrap Up Area.
  • If multiple speakers, the transition between speakers should be well rehearsed/planned out. 

EAL (English as an Additional Language) speakers

  • If you do not have experience presenting in English, your GDC Advisor is there to help! They may ask you to submit a 2-5-min video of them giving a portion of your talk so they can give you feedback on keyword pronunciation, pacing, and memorizing the talk.
  • Compared to speakers with experience presenting in English, having a script to reference is ok!

Speaker Support Program

Every year, the Game Developers Conference accepts over 800 speakers for the non-sponsored program. GDC organizers have established a Speaker Support Program to provide financial and/or hotel assistance. *Please fill out the form below to request support for the 2025 Game Developers Conference.

To request support, please fill out this form as soon as possible: Speaker Support Request Form

Speakers will be notified of their support offer starting in December 2024 or upon official acceptance into the program.

*Due to limited funds and hotel availability, GDC organizers ask that requests only be made by those in need of support to attend the conference. Support is provided to as many speakers as possible. Final support offers are determined on a case-by-case basis and all requests are subject to follow-up evaluation.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does Phase II typically last?

Phase II typically lasts 3-4 weeks. Please see the timeline above for specific deadlines and timeframes.

Where can I find my GDC Advisor’s contact information?

Your GDC Advisor’s contact information can be found in copy on your Phase II status notification email. Depending on which program you are moving to Phase II for, the subject of your Phase II email will begin with:

Core Concepts:

  • “GDC 2025: Phase 2 Submission DUE: October 15th & GDC Advisory Board Connection”

Summits:

  • "GDC 2025 Summits: Phase 2 [Summit name] Submission DUE: November 22nd & Advisory Board Connection"

 

What should I do if I haven’t heard from my GDC Advisor after a week of receiving my Phase II email?  

If you have not heard back from your advisor after about a week of receiving your Phase II notification, please contact [email protected] (Core Concepts & Game Career Seminar) or [email protected] (Summits & Workshops) to help you get in contact with the advisor. If needed, deadline extensions can be provided.

What happens after I send my GDC Advisor/upload the information requested in Phase II? 

Once you’ve shared your Phase II work with your GDC Advisor, they will review it and provide an update within a few weeks. Please keep in mind that your GDC Advisor is working on multiple sessions and needs some time to comprehensively review and provide feedback.  

If they have additional feedback, your proposal moves into Phase III before a final decision is made. If you have any questions during this review stage or would like to check-in, feel free to email [email protected] (Core Concepts & Game Career Seminar) or [email protected] (Summits & Workshops).  

What happens in Phase III and does it mean my talk has been accepted?

Phase III is the period between Phase II and the final status of your submission. During this time, the GDC Advisor reviews your Phase II revisions/presentation and may provide additional feedback before official acceptance into the program.

How do I obtain a letter of invitation for a visa?

GDC can only provide a letter of invitation to apply for a visa to confirmed speakers. If you are at risk of not being able to attend because you are still in phase II during the time you need to apply for a visa, please contact [email protected] (Core Concepts & Game Career Seminar) or [email protected] (Summits & Workshops).  

Does requesting speaker support affect my chances of being accepted as a speaker?

No, applying for speaker support does not have any impact on final decisions for official acceptance into the program. Support stipends and hotel assistance are arranged independently of content programming.

Who can I contact on the GDC team if I still have questions?

You may contact [email protected] (Core Concepts & Game Career Seminar), [email protected] (Summits & Workshops), and/or [email protected] (speaker support & submission form help).

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