GDC confirms return to San Francisco in 2027

GDC will be returning to San Francisco in 2027, despite ongoing concerns over the cost of attendance and widespread anxiety from international visitors over visiting the USA.

Signage at this year’s event announces that GDC Festival of Gaming, as the event is now branded, will return from March 1-5th 2027. The new-look format, which opened its doors a few hours ago, has spread beyond the Moscone Center to other venues in downtown San Francisco, a change that attracted a mixed response from the industry.

This year saw renewed speculation that the event would move from San Francisco after well-established complaints about the cost of attendance were joined by concerns from overseas visitors about staff safety, following widely-publicised immigration crackdowns by the US government. GDC organiser Informa previously told GamesIndustry.biz that overseas attendance was “tracking in line with expectations”. Several of the firms either not attending, or sending fewer staff than previous years, have redeployed their budgets to other events including Develop Brighton and Tokyo Game Show, sources have told GamesIndustry.biz.

Concerns about the cost of attending GDC, which have persisted for many years, have lead US-based figures to argue for relocating to a more affordable location like Las Vegas or Texas, or even Canada. The sustained industry layoffs of the last few years have overwhelmingly impacted workers in California, diminishing the state’s position as a key hub in the North American games industry.

The opening day of this year’s show was nevertheless busy, with attendees thronging the Moscone Centre and the local hotels doing a brisk trade in offsite meetings. GamesIndustry.biz will be reporting from the event all week.