2026 San Francisco Agenda
- Day 1Monday 26 October
- Day 2Tuesday 27 October
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09.00 - Badge Pickup & Coffee
Mike Delaet, President, Ares InteractiveMike DelaetPresidentAres Interactive
Josh Chandley, President & COO, WildCard GamesJosh ChandleyPresident & COOWildCard Games08.55
Gamesforum Unfiltered: San Francisco Edition
No recording and no holding back. Our flagship off the record panel comes to San Francisco, with industry leaders giving their unvarnished take on the state of mobile gaming and what needs to change.
Aki Sano, CEO, DeNA NAAki SanoCEODeNA NA10.30
Momentum Before Efficiency: What Global Publishers Miss in Japan
Global publishers bring performance playbooks to Japan and stall. Japanese marketing builds momentum and shared empathy first, then harvests it efficiently. Using real creative examples, this session shows why that first stage stays invisible from outside Japan, and what entry demands.
11.00 - Morning Networking Break
Tomas Jenneborg , CEO, Reactional MusicTomas JenneborgCEOReactional Music11.55
Walking on Sunshine: How Hit Music Is Fast Becoming the New Performance Engine for UA
Reactional Music CEO Tomas Jenneborg leads the company’s pioneering work bringing global hit music to UA. Tomas will share the first look at new performance data from live campaigns - what happens when hit music stops being a vibe and starts being a measurable UA lever.
Music that reacts to gameplay outperforms the same track played as a static backing layer. Powered by Reactional’s real-time music engine, publishers are re-skinning playable ads and video with commercial hit music at scale - and why that’s changing how UA creative gets built.
Erkay Uzun, Co-founder, Unico StudioErkay UzunCo-founderUnico StudioTomas Jenneborg , CEO, Reactional MusicTomas JenneborgCEOReactional Music
David Jumper, CMO, ARB InteractiveDavid JumperCMOARB Interactive12.10
Cutting Through Creative Noise
Ad creative has never been more saturated or more important. Senior leaders from across the industry share how they are building creative strategies that stand out, perform at scale and stay ahead of the curve.
13.00 - Networking Lunch
Josh Vowles, Head of Product, GamesforumJosh VowlesHead of ProductGamesforum
Daniel Helmhold, Head of Product Marketing, Mobile, EADaniel HelmholdHead of Product Marketing, MobileEA
Agnes Liou, Head of Marketing, SupercellAgnes LiouHead of MarketingSupercell14.00
Balancing the Mix: Aligning Performance, Brand and Product Marketing
Create cohesive strategies that drive sustainable growth, stronger player engagement, and long-term revenue impact by aligning your marketing mix across performance, brand and product marketing.
Taya Franchville, Foudner, LowTideTaya FranchvilleFoudnerLowTide15.00
Tested AI Workflows for ASO
This talk will cover how to incorporate AI into creative briefing and keyword research, showing exactly where AI speeds things up and where it doesn't. Expect concrete examples on how creative feedback gets sharper, how assets get more polished, how keyword research scales across regions, and where human judgment still has to do the heavy lifting. If you're tired of hearing, "AI will change everything," with no actual workflow or results behind it, this one's for you.
15.30 - Afternoon Networking Drinks
Jordan Blackman, Principal Consultant, Bright BlackJordan BlackmanPrincipal ConsultantBright Black16.00
Squeeze Less: Mobile Monetization for 2027
The core idea is that the best games are moving away from pure whale-hunting and high-friction monetization, and toward healthier long-term LTV: less player squeezing, more value-driven spending, and monetization that supports retention instead of undermining it.
Charlie Castell, Founder, PubRev+Charlie CastellFounderPubRev+Charlie Castell is the CEO and co-founder of PubRev+, a publisher, monetization consultancy and CTV demand partner. PubRev+ has a strong record of increasing publishers’ revenue, through adops, business development and technical services. Their first app, Rebuild Ukraine, built in Cherkasy, Ukraine, raises money for World Kitchen and Save the Children, by gamifying charitable giving. Charlie has consulted for a number of political campaigns, including Adam Schiff, been shortlisted for a student academy award, and previously led the ads business at Warner Bros TV, Scopely and TextNow.
Phil Suh, SVP, Ad Monetization, ZyngaPhil SuhSVP, Ad MonetizationZyngaPhil Suh Vice President of Ad Monetization, ZyngaPhilSuhis the Vice President of Ad Monetization at Zynga, a wholly owned publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. In his role, Suh leadsteams that manage the company’s Ads business and provide platform products and services to its portfolio of game studios and advertisers. He previously was a Lead Product manager for Zynga’s studio developing Farmville mobile games.
With 10 years of experience in Ad Tech, Gaming, and Financial Products, Suh combines analytical rigor with a customer-focused mindset to drive innovation and growth across Ad Tech, Product, User Experience, and Monetization.
Suh holds a Masters’ degree from MIT and Harvard, and as a West Point graduate, also served as a US Army Signal officer in Germany and Iraq.
Ammar Banatwala, Director, Analytics & Revenue, Ads, ScopelyAmmar BanatwalaDirector, Analytics & Revenue, AdsScopelyI've worked in the Ad Mon industry for over 5 years now and in that time, we've all witnessed unprecedented change with widespread consolidation through M&A and evolution of the ad stack towards bidding. Having worked on some of the top grossing F2P mobile games, there's always the expectation of growth despite external circumstances. With my background in Economics and Statistics, it has led me to a highly data driven approach to Ad Mon with a huge emphasis placed on things like Segmentation to maximize the value of every single cohort within our games.
17.00
Short-Term Revenue vs Long-Term Retention: Rethinking Ad Monetization Balance
An unfiltered discussion on balancing short-term revenue with long-term retention, exploring best practices across ad and IAP monetisation to better engage players, maximise lifetime value, and build more sustainable, player-first growth strategies.
18.00 - Networking Drinks
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08.00 - Networking Breakfast & CoffeeJosh Vowles, Head of Product, GamesforumJosh VowlesHead of ProductGamesforum
08.55
Welcome Back to Gamesforum San Francisco!
Josh Vowles, Head of Product, GamesforumJosh VowlesHead of ProductGamesforum
Heather Gainer, Senior Marketing Manager, Ares InteractiveHeather GainerSenior Marketing ManagerAres InteractiveHeather has been in the gaming industry for 11 years and education for 6. She has worked primarily in mobile user acquisition, but has had the pleasure of getting to try a little of everything in game marketing, including but not limited to: mobile and web paid user acquisition, email marketing, cross promotion, ASO, trade show organization, social media strategy, sweepstakes and influencer marketing. Currently she works for Series Entertainment.
09.00
State of Rewarded UA: Retaining Over Time
Explore how studios are building rewarded UA strategies that go beyond payback period, selecting the right rewarded channels and maximizing the impact of quality installs.
Mike Hay, Marketing Effectiveness & Analytics ConsultantMike HayMarketing Effectiveness & Analytics Consultant10.30
Attribution Is Solved. Differentiation Isn't.
AI has leveled the playing field on attribution and lower-funnel optimization: predictive LTV, automated bidding, and creative testing are now accessible to studios of any size, not just AAA. So the old edge (out-measuring the competition) isn't much of an edge anymore. What's left to differentiate on is what feeds the funnel in the first place: real qualitative insight that gives creative something distinctive to say, since AI-generated creative tends to converge toward "what's already worked."
11.00 - Morning Networking Break
Arturo Ruiz Valdes, CPO, PerBlueArturo Ruiz ValdesCPOPerBlue11.30
Old Game, New Revenue: How We Scaled D2C to 22% on a Legacy Live Title
How an 8-year-old mobile game scaled D2C from 2% to 22% of revenue and what building for direct monetization from day one actually looks like.
Ted Verani, VP of Global Business Development, WappierTed VeraniVP of Global Business DevelopmentWappierTed Verani is responsible for business development for wappier, a leader in monetization solutions for games.
Prior to joining wappier, Ted was VP of Business Development for Scientific Revenue, a pioneer of dynamic pricing for mobile games. For nearly 20 years, Ted has held leadership roles with innovative technology companies like modl.ai, Trilibis, Enpocket (Nokia) and Vodafone.
Ted holds a M.B.A. from the University of Southern California, and a B.A. in Economics and International Relations from University of California, Davis.
12.00
Pricing in an Inflationary World
12.30
Maximize D2C Revenue: Choices, Conversions & User Behaviour
Apple and Google take their cut but D2C doesn't have to. This panel explores the choices, conversion strategies and user behaviour insights helping studios build direct revenue streams that actually stick.
13.00 - Networking Lunch
Adam Inferrera, Product & Monetization ConsultantAdam InferreraProduct & Monetization Consultant14.00
Unlocking Brand Budgets: The Case for Brand Advertising Inventory in Mobile Gaming
Brand advertising is one of mobile gaming's biggest untapped revenue opportunities. This panel makes the case for why it matters, what it does for ad quality, and how teams without a direct deals function can start making it work.
Elizaveta Savenkova, CBDO, ZiMADElizaveta SavenkovaCBDOZiMAD15.00
Beyond Ads: How Disney, Marvel & National Geographic Drive Brand Growth Through Mobile Games
In a world of declining attention and rising acquisition costs, some of the world’s most recognizable brands are choosing an unexpected growth channel: mobile games.
This session breaks down how Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Sony Pictures, and National Geographic embedded their branded content into Magic Jigsaw Puzzles a mobile game with 15 years of sustained global success to drive brand engagement, extend IP relevance, and reach new audiences beyond traditional advertising.15.30 - Afternoon Networking Break
Meric Atesalp, Senior Product Manager, RobloxMeric AtesalpSenior Product ManagerRoblox16.00
Cross-Platform KPIs: Lessons in Innovation & Retention
More information coming soon...
Joel White, VP of Product , Kingsisle Entertainment, Gamigo GroupJoel WhiteVP of ProductKingsisle Entertainment, Gamigo GroupJoel White is a 24-year professional in the games industry and currently VP of Product for KingsIsle Entertainment.
Brittany Channer, Game Production Manager, Sago MiniBrittany ChannerGame Production ManagerSago Mini16.30
Building Player Experiences: Retention, LiveOps & Communities
Keeping players is no longer just a product challenge. This panel explores how studios are building retention strategies, running ambitious LiveOps programmes and fostering communities that turn casual players into long-term advocates, and what separates the games that last from the ones that do not.
17.30 - End of Conference
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