Austin Game Conference returns

The Austin Game Conference rides again. Christopher Sherman, the original founder of the show, today announced that the game developer's meeting will convene in the Texas capital this year for the first time since 2012.

Set for September 21 and 22, the Austin Game Conference will take place at the Austin Convention Center with Electronic Arts as presenting sponsor. As had been standard, the AGC will feature a show floor and various panels and sessions split into a variety of conference tracks. Organizers are expecting around 1,000 attendees.

"With the help of a cross-section of the development community, we're off to a tremendous start in programming Austin Game Conference 2016 as the preeminent event for professionals in all phases of live, online game development," Sherman said. "Whether you're already pushing the envelope or eager to begin engineering, programming and designing leading-edge games - particularly always-on, run-live, play-live games - and crave new ideas from innovators, technology vanguard and creative masters, the Austin Game Conference is for you."

Sherman isn't the only familiar name involved with the AGC. Its co-chairs are Art & Craft Entertainment president Gordon Walton and BattleCry Studios president Rich Vogel. There are also numerous figureheads of the Austin development scene serving on the new show's advisory board, which follows below:

• Kathy Astromoff, VP of Developer Success, Twitch
• J. Allen Brack, Executive Producer and SVP, Blizzard Entertainment
• Raph Koster, Independent Designer and Consultant
• Chris Mancil, Director, Global Community & Influencers, Electronic Arts
• Finn Staber, Programmer/Designer, Portalarium
• Paul Stephanouk, Design Director, Boss Fight Entertainment
• Gordon Walton, President, Art & Craft Entertainment, Inc.
• Rich Weil, SVP Global Operations, ModSquad
• Rich Vogel, Executive Producer/President, BattleCry Studios, a division of Bethesda Softworks

The inaugural Austin Game Conference took place in 2003. After a handful of outings, it was sold to Game Developers Conference organizer UBM in 2006. UBM renamed the show twice, first to Austin GDC, then GDC Online. The 2012 installment was the final one until this year, with UBM scrapping the show in favor of the LA-based GDC Next, which only lasted two iterations.

Sherman told GamesIndustry.biz there was no need to re-aquire rights to the show or license the name as it was abandoned shortly after the original sale in 2006. A representative with Game Developers Conference organizer UBM Game Network said the group was aware of the Austin Game Conference's return and wishes it all the best.