Seven sessions featuring more than 40 professionals discussing opportunities created by the gaming industry transformation

On November 24, 2021, the 5th annual Tencent Game Developers Conference (TGDC) organized by the Tencent Institute of Games concluded the three-day online event, where more than 40 leading industry professionals and scholars discussed their working experience, insights about cutting-edge technologies, and perspectives on the latest industry trends. 

Themed “Five by Five”, this year’s conference explored key dimensions driving the gaming industry, including product development, research and technology, artistic creation, games marketing, indie games and social value of games. The conference facilitated collaboration, communication and knowledge sharing among industry practitioners and scholars, who discussed the various benefits of gaming.

Games are spurring creativity and innovative thinking around the world, against a backdrop of rapid technological advancement. “The global gaming industry is undergoing significant changes propelled by users’ aesthetic standards, next-gen platforms and publishing channels,” said Sammi Xia, Vice President of Tencent Games and Head of Tencent Institute of Games, in her opening speech. “This has paved the way for the industry to develop higher quality, more diversified and globalized games. The gaming industry in China has also demonstrated a clear trend towards innovation and integration.”

The Tencent Institute of Games, the conference organizer, shared its initiatives over the past year promoting collaboration with higher education institutions to cultivate new talent, sharing ideas with the gaming industry, including thoughts and practices to build gaming ecosystems.

Tencent Institute of Games has collaborated with 16 higher education institutions globally to publish 30 research papers, 8 national patents and 5 reports. The Interactive Media Design and Technology Master’s Program, the country’s first, co-developed by Tsinghua University and Tencent Institute of Games, entered into its second academic year in 2021. A student of this program commented, “Here we can learn game production systematically and meet like-minded peers. This program has a strong academic atmosphere and can provide access to the most advanced knowledge in the industry.”

Tencent Institute of Games has also launched a variety of free content, including in-depth explanations of game production, research and development experiences, behind-the-scenes stories, character interviews and industry insights. The Institute increased its efforts to cultivate innovation and creativity by establishing the Tencent Indie Game Incubator. The Incubator - comprising an expert group of more than 200 professionals in game design, artistic creation, client interfacing, server, UI/UE, audio production, project management, operation and maintenance - provides independent game developers with funds, expert guidance, publicity and operation support. Currently, the expert team is involved in the research and development of the gaming title Chimeraland. Tencent Institute of Games also held the Game Without Borders (GWB) independent game grand prix, providing developers and award-winning products with bonuses and publicity.

At this year’s Tencent Games Annual Conference, Steven Ma, Senior Vice President of Tencent, said, “In the process of transforming games into a Hyper Digital Reality, Tencent Games will leverage technology, talent and social responsibility to realize diversified values of games through different products, fostering a harmonious ecosystem in the gaming industry with all players and professionals, and exploring more collaboration opportunities in our future development.”

About Tencent Game Developers Conference:

Tencent Game Developers Conference (TGDC) is an annual event organized by Tencent Institute of Games to promote the construction of an industry ecosystem and enhance its development. It aims to build an open communications platform with industry professionals and scholars from China and abroad to share the latest experience in game research and development, as well as industry and academic development trends, to promote the development of a harmonious industry ecosystem. 

About Tencent Institute of Games:

Tencent Institute of Games was founded in December 2016 and aims to become a platform to facilitate exchange and promote communications within the industry. Its mission includes cultivating professional talent, encouraging game studies and creating an ecosystem for game developers. Tencent Institute of Games is committed to creating more possibilities for the gaming industry through collaborations with international higher education institutions, organizing academic events, competitions and industrial conference, and providing professional courses related to games.