GDC Europe to provide "bridge" to other markets

Think Services' VP for European business development, Frank Sliwka, has told GamesIndustry.biz that he wants to establish this year's new GDC Europe event as a "bridge" to other markets.

The conference, taking place alongside gamescom in Cologne next month, should be a place to showcase the region's "best games, our best companies, our best speakers, our best services," he said.

"So we want to install a brand that stands for international business, that's established for years in the games industry and create a European hub that has a bridge to the US market - not just from the US, but back to it as well," he explained.

"That means we have one brand that has other conferences on other continents, so we can have a better exchange of meetings, topics, business and so on. This we've already got with GDC - maybe we can expand it in the next few years to Asia, and then we have a model that I would like to see, so that you'd have, in Cologne for Europe, visitors from North America and Asia... but you also have the opportunity to go back to them with other events.

"I've always told people that we want to show the European perspective, create a European event, and have the opportunity to generate better connections with other regions. That's one point.

"The other is that we want to create a showcase for Europe - it means we can present our best games, our best companies, our best speakers, our best services."

The event has established partnerships with several important European organisations to facilitate this, including the EGDF and Nordic Game Program.

The full interview with Frank Sliwka is available now.