This site is part of the Informa Connect Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 3099067.

Game Developers Conference
March 9-13, 2026
Moscone CenterSan Francisco, CA

Programming Track

Code Smarter, Build Better

GDC Core Concepts is where game development expertise meets real-world impact, running from Wednesday to Friday. Curated by GDC’s Advisory Board — an esteemed group of industry veterans and innovators — these sessions and roundtables are designed to offer expert, relevant, and timely insights that will empower you to stay ahead in an ever-evolving industry.

You’ll explore six key pillars of game development: Audio, Business & Marketing, Design, Production & Team Leadership, Programming and Visual Arts, plus critical conversations on Advocacy. Whether you're after tried-and-true techniques, cutting-edge innovations or insights into new creative approaches, Core Concepts delivers invaluable takeaways that you can immediately apply to your projects.

[track intro]

Three Days
Pass Access: All Access, Core

Core Concepts Programming Track

At the GDC Core Concepts Programming Track, you’ll dive deep into the nuts and bolts of game development. From groundbreaking techniques to battle-tested coding strategies, we’re bringing together the brightest minds in game programming. You’ll explore topics like optimizing game performance, tackling complex algorithms and creating dynamic gameplay systems that enhance player experience.

Together, we’ll unlock new levels of creativity through code, all while building a stronger, more innovative game development community.

[details]

Who Attends

Game programmers at all levels, from novice coders to experienced engineers, will find invaluable content tailored to their needs. If you're driven by the pursuit of optimizing game engines, streamlining complex workflows, mastering cross-platform development or simply coding smarter and faster, this track is for you.

Programming Sessions

Get ready to sharpen your programming skills with sessions that deliver the latest techniques, tools and workflows shaping the future of game development. You'll dive into practical talks that cover a wide array of topics such as rendering techniques, AI advancements and game optimization.

Programming Roundtables

Join peer-to-peer discussions led by expert moderators where you can explore emerging trends, tackle shared challenges and debate innovative solutions in an open, collaborative environment. From debugging challenges to the future of programming languages — this is your chance to voice your thoughts, ask questions and learn from others.

2025 Session Highlights

'Apex Legends': Preventing Exploits and Shipping Risky Features Using... Navmesh??

Ian Holstead
Sr. Software Engineer, Respawn Entertainment

Capabilities: Coding ALL the Gameplay for 'Split Fiction'

Ylva Werner
Senior Gameplay Programmer, Hazelight Studios

Rendering 'Assassin's Creed Shadows'

Nicolas Lopez
Technical Architect, Ubisoft

Connecting the Global Game Development Community