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By Nazmul Roosevelt
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There's panic hanging over 2026's Game Developers Conference; not a loud, frantic panic, but a low, persistent hum that settles into the corners of hallways that were once known for celebration and reflection. Tens of thousands of people still pour into San Francisco’s Moscone Center: developers, business assessors, media, students; but the directions are unsteady, and the mood is unmistakably despondent. Conversations drift toward the same uneasy conclusion: the video game industry is no longer sustainable in America, and the international figures who once defined GDC’s global identity are simply not here. And why? There are two main reasons: a higher barrier of cost for restructuring the conference into a "gaming festival," while many also don’t feel safe traveling to the USA.
The absences are indeed not theoretical. They're personal, recognizably leaving a crater. Ars Technica published a report on the first day of GDC proclaiming, "Many international game developers plan to skip GDC in US."
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“I honestly don’t know anyone who is not from the US who is planning on going to... GDC,” said Emilio Coppola, executive director of the Godot Foundation, speaking to the publication. “We never felt super safe, but now we are not willing to risk it.” His sentiment echoes across continents; developers from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and even Canada describe a climate that is openly hostile to foreign visitors, and troublingly; those who are outspoken, gender‑diverse, or visibly part of minority communities.
This shift steadily began years ago, but it was the 2025 conference held during President Donald Trump’s second term; that was a breaking point. Reports of detainments, interrogations, and device searches spread quickly and became a knowing fear. “citizens getting arrested by border control over their views on the US is not something I would like to test for myself,” said French‑Lebanese creative director Nazih Fares. Others described the border as unpredictable and aggressive. “The agent at the border was very intrusive, more than the usual 'Ah, brown people' racism; I lied and said that I did not have American clients,” expressed audio director Neha Patel.
“I was too scared.”
Studios tried to prepare their teams. One developer from a major AAA company recalled to Ars Technica that “every studio representative got an additional safety briefing; and legal paperwork for everyone in case they got in trouble with ICE or immigration.” Many individuals have taken their own precautions; you can easily find people who scrubbed their social media, others who felt the need sent travel itineraries and passport scans to friends with instructions to contact their consulate if they didn’t check in. “I felt compelled to send copies of my itinerary; with the instructions that if I didn’t contact them, they should take my information to the Australian consulate,” said senior producer JC Lau.
For transgender developers, the fear is sharper still. “I’m a visible trans man… but my ID still says ‘female,’” said Toronto‑based producer Felix Kramer. “I’m not worried about visiting America—I’m worried about what happens if something goes wrong while I visit America.” Montreal art director Erica Lahaie put it: “There is no specific policy that says ‘detain any trans person,’ but the political environment… makes us far more subject to profiling.”
Even those who once traveled freely now hesitate. “I work for Xbox, and I am white, so it shouldn’t be a problem for me. Until it is,” said an international Microsoft employee.
“You can’t seem to be safe.”
TechCrunch's reporting reinforces this portrait. In January, the outlet had documented a wave of international developers going public on their LinkedIn that they would be skipping GDC 2026. What's mostly cited are immigration enforcement, but also the cost of SF and the conference pricing a lot of people out of the city.
San Francisco itself is indeed very expensive. The city’s ongoing struggles with gentrification, open drug use, and rising reports of harassment have become part of the decisions for many to leave GDC behind. “Coming from Scandinavian luxury communism, the apparent refusal to deal with social issues is mesmerizing,” said Danish developer Martin Pichlmair.
“It is hard to describe how alienating that feels.”
GDC organizers have responded to mobilegamer.biz on how they planned to remediate these concerns; that means a 24/7 safety hotline, visible security escorts, and assurances that they’re monitoring the climate. These measures feel like too many attending, like triage. The conference is, in many ways, a parallel with the industry it celebrates; fractured, anxious, and caught in the crosswinds of tariffs, recession, and political strife. So, with not just studios, but consumers second‑guessing every investment, alongside workers who seem unendingly bracing for layoffs; international partners are reconsidering their ties to the U.S. market.
The hope is with the people, not the product
Beneath all the tension, there's still the tangible passion that built this industry. Still flickers with the same rebellious screams that have solidified it as the punk rock of the technological industry. At GDC, there is still a collection of people whose drive to wake up every morning, is because they love making video games; that devotion is tangible on the show floor, it's seen in the small reunions between colleagues, in the late‑night conversations about design, business risks; there is storytelling happening between the lights of the eyes of creatives pushing the boundaries of what can be possible. But even still:
“It sucks since it’s where I find community and the one time a year I see a lot of friends,”
This is a quote from Canadian designer Alexei Peters. And it's the most important sentiment, since it overwhelms all the politics and talks of financial burdens.
The halls are loud with panic, with the echoing grief of losing a space that once defined not just your career but your connection with the community.
GDC may seem unsteady, especially from the outside looking in. But there is indeed that spark of community for those here. With decisions still being made for video games being brought into existence, and their developments reflecting on; this is what it looks like when an industry is surviving in a moment when everything around it feels uncertain. The question now is whether the United States can ever become the home for connecting this global industry again, when so many of its important voices no longer feel safe.
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