Pocket Gamer Connects Returns to Helsinki

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Pocket Gamer Connects returns to Helsinki on October 7–8, 2025, at Wanha Satama. This two-day event is a cornerstone of Finnish Games Week, and one of the most important international gatherings in our industry calendar.

Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki will bring together 1,500+ games industry professionals for unmatched networking, expert insights, and meaningful collaboration. The event boasts a high-quality crowd, with 70% of attendees being game developers and half of them founders or C-level leaders. The powerful MeetToMatch platform ensures you can schedule meetings with key decision-makers in advance.

The conference features 150+ speakers covering a wide range of topics, from mobile and PC/console development to XR, web3, and AI. True to the spirit of our global games community, the event blends professional depth with a friendly, informal atmosphere.

Attendees can also take part in curated side events like Investor Connector, Publisher SpeedMatch, The Very Big Indie Pitch, and the legendary Global Connects Party—all designed to support new connections and business opportunities.

Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki is part of Finnish Games Week 2025, a week-long series of industry events in Helsinki, with the Leadership Day by IGDA Finland and W Love Games, alongside our Big Screen Gaming Summit, forming its core.

Learn more about Finnish Games Week here:
https://www.pgconnects.com/helsinki/finnish-games-week/

Register for Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki:
https://www.pgconnects.com/helsinki/registration/

IGDA Finland members get 20% when using promo code: IGDAFinland20 (automatically applied in this link)

IGDA Finland June meetups around Finland

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Are you still wondering what to do this Summer? The IGDA Finland hubs are organizing events all around Finland; from sauna to grilling!

4.6 Kuopio

What: Gameskipiknik
When: 4.6, 18:00-21:00
Where: Valkeisenlammen puisto
More info: Event page

5.6 Kymenlaakso (Kouvola)

What: Picnic
When: 5.6, 18:00
Where: Urheilupuisto Kouvola
Event can be found and followed:
Discord or Instagram

26.6 Kymenlaakso (Kotka)

What: BBQ and hangout
When: 26.6, 18:00
Where: Jokipuisto, Kotka
More info: Kymenlaakso Linktree

27.6 Oulu

What: Sauna w/ BusinessOulu and IGDA Oulu.
When: 27.6, 17:30-23:00
Featuring: Resistance Games post-mortem and Silver Legend enters the stage, other speakers TBD
Where: Technopolis Ydinkeskusta Oulu
More info:
IGDA Finland Discord
Role under bot-commands: ?oulu

27.6 Lahti

What: BBQ
When: 4.7, 17:00-20:00
Where: Pikku Vesijärvi
More info: Lahti Discord

Other meetups to keep an eye out for 👇

  • Tampere Picnic TBD (June)

  • Kajaani (July)

  • Oulu Summer Party (July 11.07)

DevGAMM Awards returns with a $130K prize pool

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The DevGAMM Awards are back with its annual edition in Lisbon to support indie devs and small studios. The prize pool is currently $130k and growing. Plus, enjoy additional sponsor nominations and invaluable feedback from industry pros on the jury. 

Participation is free, and all you need to have is a playable build. The main criteria: your game must be unreleased or launched after November 2024. 

Nominees will be invited to the final ceremony at DevGAMM Lisbon on November 7, where winners in 11 categories will be revealed. Let’s support the future game legends! 🌟

⏰ Apply by September 30 and explore other game activities at the conference in Lisbon: https://devgamm.fillout.com/games2025

Learn more: https://devgamm.com/awards2025/

GG Summer Conference in Odesa

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Games Gathering has announced that their annual summer conference will take place on June 28, 2025 in Odesa.

This one-day conference aims to offer a cozy networking. This event will be entirely offline. So all the presentations will be given locally.

🎮 lectures from top gamedev experts 
🤝 networking 
🎯 activities, job offers, and competitions 
💛 charity initiatives 
🎉 a closing party to wrap it all up

Speaker applications are open until June 15.

Visit the conference website for more information and register to attend.

devcom Scholarship Application

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IGDA has partnered for a second year with devcom to aid in their Scholarship program! This initiative is dedicated to enhancing inclusivity and diversity within the video game industry by reducing some of the barriers and helping them make the most of their time in Cologne, Germany.

We are accepting applications for both an in-person program, as well as a virtual program. For in person, please note that the individual will be responsible for their own travel and accommodation costs to attend the event. Please note we have limited spots available, so we recommend you are as descriptive as possible in your answers!

Applications will close Friday, 6 June, 2025 at 11:59pm PT.

💥Apply now: https://loom.ly/HL0U8tY

NOTE: Finnish members can look up their membership numbers by going to https://emmi.igda.fi/card/ and entering their e-mail address. EMMI will e-mail a link to where you can view it. If you have any questions contact us at members (at) igda (dot) fi.