WN Istanbul'26 is coming up soon—June 18-19

At the beginning of summer, the doors will open on the banks of the Bosphorus for WN Istanbul’26. This will be a jubilee — the tenth Istanbul event for game developers and publishers organized by WN Media Group.

WN Istanbul’26 will last for two days — June 18 and 19 — focusing on networking rather than classic lectures. Event attendees can expect extensive group work and roundtable discussions, allowing them to establish contacts, dive deeply into topics of interest, and exchange viewpoints.

The format of the event will differ on the first and second days. June 18 will be themed Explore & Connect. Participants will have the opportunity to get acquainted, explore games from teams present at WN Istanbul’26, and schedule meetings. Meanwhile, the next day, which can be tentatively themed as Focus & Exchange, will be more intimate. On June 19, guests will split into small groups for closed discussions — all roundtable discussions will take place on this day.

The full program of WN Istanbul’26 is still taking shape, and we will certainly provide detailed information closer to the date. However, it is already known that the event will also feature:

an indie game exhibition;
an expo zone with sponsor booths;
an indie pitch — presentation of games from independent developers to experts;
a closed investment breakfast with the GameXCap investment syndicate;
a networking dinner by the pool at the end of the first day, where participants can continue discussions in an informal setting.

As a reminder, developers participating in both the exhibition and the indie pitch can attend the event for free. They must submit an application in advance — the deadline is June 11. Note: projects for the indie pitch will be selected separately from the showcase.

Other guests will need to pay an admission fee. Ticket prices for WN Istanbul’26 start from 399 euros for developers and publishers, and 999 euros for service providers. These are the prices for a standard ticket, excluding the networking dinner. Please note, tickets are currently being sold at a discounted price, and the price will increase later.

WN Istanbul’26 will take place at the Radisson Blu Hotel, located in the Şişli district, which is essentially the business center of Istanbul. Organizers expect more than 500 guests to attend the event.

The event’s sponsors will include Xsolla, ByteDance, «Yandex.Games», Yandex Ads, Playhop, Greencode, ReklamUp, RoasUp, Brightika, Verve Group, Appier, Malpa Games, among others.

All information about other specifics of the upcoming event can be found on the WN Istanbul’26 website.