Eager for your game to become the next big thing? GDC Pitch is the answer! GDC 2025 is once again hosting the popular game pitch-off event that could elevate your studio to new heights. This is your chance to showcase your product in front of a live audience and receive game-changing feedback from industry experts.
What Is GDC Pitch?
GDC Pitch is a fun, interactive experience that gives developers the chance to refine and perfect their game-pitching prowess. Five studios present their games to a expert panel of game industry professionals (along with our live audience, of course!). Following each pitch, participants engage in a Q&A session and receive feedback. Here's a look at one of last year's pitches, to see how it's done.
Each day, the judges award one of the games "Best in Play," a title that comes with two complimentary All Access passes for GDC 2026.
This event has helped careers and changed lives—with participants becoming "household names" on the GDC floor, seeing a swarm of attendees visiting their GDC Play booths, and sometimes even securing publishing deals. Don't just take our word for it: Here's a testimonial from Mac n Cheese Games' Maaroof Fakhri after presenting at GDC Pitch in 2024.
"Several publishers and investors approached the booth after seeing the pitch, eager to connect. Attendees visited the booth to try the demo and express their excitement after watching the pitch. Throughout the event, many people recognized [us] from the session and stopped to compliment both the pitch and the game!"
GDC Play: Your Ticket to GDC Pitch
Participants for GDC Pitch are selected exclusively from GDC Play, our interactive and dynamic GDC Expo center for indie developers to demonstrate their innovative games and creative projects, connect with industry professionals, and gain visibility and recognition from their peers.
It’s a space to celebrate the diverse and imaginative vision that indie developers bring to the game community. If your studio is ready to be one of them, inquire about GDC Play.
And remember: Participating in GDC Play is the only way to qualify for GDC Pitch.
Meet the Judges and Host
GDC Pitch will be hosted by advisor Jason Della Rocca, a leader in fundraising and achieving financial success in the game industry. Jason will be providing one-on-one pitch coaching for all GDC Pitch participants.
Here are the industry leaders who will be judging this year's event.
Day 1: Wednesday, March 19
David Martinez (Raw Fury)
Twitter says David is: "Witty, Happy, Telepathic, Talkative, Horticulturist, Under-appreciated, Kool-Aid." "That publisher guy who wears really cool hats." "Delightful human being. A+ drinking buddy." "Multiple-time DDR champion and SF Giants fan from a farm town." (He's also a founding member of Raw Fury, the raddest game publisher)
Snow Rui (Hooded Horse)
Snow leads the business, operations, and financial aspects of Hooded Horse. She helps shape Hooded Horse’s non-traditional approach to indie game publishing, namely, helping every game find its audience, forgoing standard 100% recoup terms, and fostering an environment of mutual cooperation. She started her career as a transactional lawyer and holds a JD and MBA from Yale.
Victoria Tran (Innersloth)
Victoria Tran is the Communications Director at Innersloth, creators of Among Us, and co-runs their indie game fund Outersloth. Her work in community and social strategy include Venba, Unpacking, and was once the Community Manager at Kitfox Games for projects like Boyfriend Dungeon, Dwarf Fortress, and more. She is also on the GDC Advisory Board, an organizer for Wholesome Games, and publishes a monthly Community Dev newsletter with games marketing tips and resources.
Day 2: Thursday, March 20
Anlu Liu (Kowloon Nights)
Blending her investment background with a love for gaming, Anlu has been a Business Manager at Kowloon Nights/Kepler for the past five years. She mainly scouts and evaluates games, and helps studios find opportunities in Asia. Her goal is to help studios bring awesome games to the community.
Rebekah Saltsman (Finji)
Rebekah is the CEO and co-founder of Finji, an independent development studio and publisher. Finji has published several award-winning indie games including Canabalt, Night in the Woods, Wilmot's Warehouse, Overland, and Chicory: A Colorful Tale, and are currently hard at work supporting Andrew Shouldice's TUNIC, Sarah Northway's I Was a Teenage Exocolonist, and the unannounced title from The Glory Society. Rebekah is a co-designer on Finji's original game development projects and manages all of the console and storefront relationships and marketing initiatives for Finji's internal and partner publishing projects. Rebekah's career began in media relations before working as a technical writer and product manager in the photography software industry. She moved into games in 2008 with the support of her husband and Finji co-founder, Adam, and she managed the finances and porting partnerships for Semi Secret Software. Rebekah loves to write, run long distances, and spend as much time as possible at Lake Michigan every summer with her and Adam's two beautiful chaotic boys.
Justin Woodward (MIX+Humble)
With a mixture of over 12 years of independent and AAA development and production experience and a master's in Game Production and Management, Justin Woodward Co-founded and directs an independent game studio, Interabang Entertainment as well as The Media Indie Exchange (The MIX) which is an organization that helps to elevate indie developers' visibility and business opportunities through exclusive indie showcases online and in-person worldwide. Being involved in the development scene has also led him into the role as a lead advisor with Humble Bundle on the Black Game Developer Fund as well as a consultant for the investment/crowdfunding platform Fig, IGN Prime, and has helped organize the IGN Indie Open House and Double Fine Indie spaces.
Don't miss this extraordinary chance to elevate your game, refine your pitching skills, and potentially secure the future of your studio. GDC Pitch at GDC 2025 could be the turning point in your game development journey!
GDC returns in March 2025, and registration is open! For more information, be sure to visit our website and follow the #GDC2025 hashtag on social media.
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