GCAP 2026: Alanah Pearce, Housemarque and Mixtape developers to headline Melbourne conference
Games Connect Asia Pacific (GCAP) will return to Melbourne from 5–7 October 2026, marking the conference’s 20th anniversary. Organized by the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (IGEA), the event will bring together game developers, studios, publishers and other interactive entertainment professionals from Australia and around the world during Melbourne International Games Week.
GCAP is Australia’s longest-running professional development conference for game developers and interactive entertainment professionals. The 2026 program will focus on knowledge sharing, technical skills, creative practices and business opportunities, with talks, roundtables, keynotes and networking sessions aimed primarily at mid- to senior-level industry professionals.
Who’s speaking at GCAP 2026?
Alanah Pearce, video game writer, narrative director and YouTuber, has been announced as the conference’s final keynote speaker, completing the lineup first unveiled in August.
Other keynote speakers include Gregory Louden, Creative Director at Housemarque, who directed SAROS and previously served as Narrative and Cinematic Director on Returnal; Samantha Low, co-founder of the Southeast Asian Games Showcase and a publishing director and narrative designer known for championing independent games from Southeast Asia and Japan; and Amanda Farough, Director of Production at Causeway Studios and Executive Producer and Writer at Strange Scaffold.
The program will also feature “High Fidelity: Designing and Refining Mixtape,” a session with members of the Beethoven & Dinosaur team. Hosted by Creative Director Johnny Galvatron, the session will bring together Senior Programmer Geordie Hall, 3D/Environment Artist Harry Truman, Principal Animator Joe Toole, Animator Lily Pagalis-Jackson and Character Artist Mariska Harasymiw to discuss the processes behind Mixtape, including tools, tech art, lighting and animation.
The wider program will explore how developers can prepare for industry changes over the next one to five years, find their niche, navigate opportunities in independent development and make better use of analytics. Structured networking sessions will also give developers and other industry specialists an opportunity to connect and discuss current challenges.
Australian Game Developer Awards to be held at GCAP
The Australian Game Developer Awards (AGDAs) will take place at GCAP on Wednesday, October 7, with networking and catering planned around the ceremony.
The finalists, announced on September 9, include four nominees for Game of the Year:
- Aether & Iron — Chaos Theory Games with Seismic Squirrel;
- Go-Go Town! — Prideful Sloth;
- Mixtape — Beethoven & Dinosaur;
- Momento — Fat Alien Cat & Nomo Studio with Screen Queensland & Silver Lining Interactive.
Bits & Bops and Mixtape each received five nominations. Other awards recognize achievements in gameplay, narrative, visual art, sound, music, accessibility and more. Jordan Raskopoulos and Lee Naimo will return to host the ceremony.
Tickets and the full conference program are available on the official GCAP website. The complete list of AGDA finalists is available on the AGDA website.