In this presentation, we tell the story of how Liquid Development, with the support of its Keywords sister studios, helped Gearbox create Borderlands 3, one of 2019’s most popular games. What made the partnership so successful was a shared mentality: that great games come from great people working together– regardless which company employs them.

As we explore the timeline of the Borderlands franchise, we’ll unpack the subtle art of relationship-building in game production, the lessons learned from giving up control, the growth opportunity of pain points, and the importance of checking your ego at the door.

This session is recorded and will therefore not include live Q&A with the audience

As someone who has made the jump from vendor sales to external development purchasing, I have an uncommon perspective on pitching at XDS from both sides of the table.

This presentation is primer for service providers who are new to XDS (or just want a refresher) on how to get the most out of their client meetings. Simple, actionable steps to communicate clearly with devs/buyers, build relationships, and win business. This session is recorded and will therefore not include live Q&A with the audience.

As someone who has made the jump from vendor sales to external development purchasing, I have an uncommon perspective on pitching at XDS from both sides of the table.

This presentation is primer for service providers who are new to XDS (or just want a refresher) on how to get the most out of their client meetings. Simple, actionable steps to communicate clearly with devs/buyers, build relationships, and win business.

This session is recorded and will therefore not include live Q&A with the audience.

Join us alongisde Victor Lucas at the Technicolor Mainstage, to kick off the 8th annual External Development Summit (XDS)

Join our fireside chat with Amy to explore her varied career as a game maker and leader. Hear her thoughts on the importance of distributed development, and get insights on where she believes the industry is headed.

This session will include a live audience Q&A in the final 30 minutes.

Key takeaways:
-Publisher & developer perspective of getting a work-for-hire relationship started, and building trust and understanding over time
-A developer’s approach to flexibly managing resources
-A publisher’s experiences maximising opportunities with a reliable partner.

Please note that the first 30 min will be a presentation followed by a live 30 min Q&A. We encourage audience questions and participation!

The demand for Technical Art resources has only increased in recent years. Especially now with the wide adoption of realtime solutions across industries, and the increased complexity of technical content required for certain projects. Having a way to centralize knowledge sharing and innovation is needed to address the growing needs in the industry. But this comes with certain challenges:

This goal of this session is to explore all of the different aspects of possible offerings to provide technical art services, and discuss what is already happening today.

Recommended attendees: All are welcome

[Technicolor Mainstage] When Gearbox Software needed a solution for scaling-up art production, they turned to their longstanding outsourcing partner, Liquid Development, and the results were game-changing.

In this presentation, we tell the story of how Liquid Development, with the support of its Keywords sister studios, helped Gearbox create Borderlands 3, one of 2019’s most popular games. What made the partnership so successful was a shared mentality: that great games come from great people working together regardless which company employs them.

As we explore the timeline of the Borderlands franchise, we’ll unpack the subtle art of relationship-building in game production, the lessons learned from giving up control, the growth opportunity of pain points, and the importance of checking your ego at the door.
When Gearbox Software needed a solution for scaling-up art production, they turned to their longstanding outsourcing partner, Liquid Development and the results were game-changing.

Please note that the first 30 min will be a presentation followed by a live 30 min Q&A. We encourage audience questions and participation!

A Developer/Publisher and Supplier friendly panel for attendees interested in data collection on an international scale. In this roundtable we will discuss whether multi-studio worldwide anonymous data collection could help inform decisions, gain greater visibility on the industry, and evolve our processes. We’ll brainstorm questions such as:

-Areas of decreased visibility that could be enlightened with new data
-What data can be collected, no matter the focus, location or size of the studio
-How the industry could evolve and improve with the collection of new data

By the end of the discussion we will come to consensus on the most impactful outcomes for international industry KPI collection and put actions into place for potential implementation.

Recommended attendees: All are welcome

Please note that the first 30 minutes will be a presentation followed by a live 30 min Q&A. We encourage audience questions and participation!

#RepresentationMatters now more than ever. This table topic is designed to give development teams clear and actionable ways to increase representation both behind the scenes and on-screen.
This is not a discussion on why we SHOULD be more inclusive or why we NEED more representation, those times have passed. The IGDA found in the 2019 edition of its annual survey that among game developers worldwide:
81% identify as “white/Caucasian/European”
7% identify as “Hispanic/Latinx”
2% identify as”Black/African-American/African/Afro-Caribbean”

We only have NOW to take action and to elevate underrepresented voices.

A few of the actionable items we’ll be covering include:

Get Specific!
Allow BIPOC & LGBTQ+ folx to lead
Engage Partners
Equity in Rates
Create with Intention
Think Globally
Create Safe Communities for your Community

Please note that the first 30 min will be a presentation followed by a live 30 min Q&A. We encourage audience questions and participation!

Wrap up the first official XDS20 Adapt day with us on the Technocolor Mainstage!

Join our fireside chat with Amy to explore her varied career as a game maker and leader. Hear her thoughts on the importance of distributed development, and get insights on where she believes the industry is headed.

This session is recorded and will therefore not include live Q&A with the audience.

Last year Curtis shared a framework for successfully negotiating contracts, rates, or changes to existing engagements, that provided a basic toolset to ensure a win/win scenario for both vendor and publisher. This year he will be leveling up your negotiation skills by sharing specific techniques, surprise strategies and an empowering mindset that will power you to your next level of success in this uncertain world. In this presentation, Curtis Cherrington, Worldwide External Development Senior Manager for Electronic Arts, will share lessons of negotiation that have enabled him to successfully negotiate more than $200 million worth of successful contracts and engagements.

This session is pre-recorded and will therefore not include a live Q&A with the audience.

More than ever, we could use an ally. More than ever, we could be an ally. It’s not an easy conversation. Many of us struggle with the anxiety around”how”. How to say or do the right thing. What not to do. How to make a difference. The answer is to not be comfortable and to confront the discomfort. This will be an open and honest conversation about diversity and inclusion and how you, as a person or as a company, can start with your internal messages.

This session is pre-recorded and will therefore not include a live Q&A with the audience.

Overseas expansion is a common step on the journey of businesses working with international clients. UK-based visual development studio Atomhawk made this jump by opening a second studio in Vancouver in mid-2017.

This session will provide an honest insight into Atomhawk’s story of expansion into a new continent, including advice on practical challenges and cultural considerations. The table discussion will focus on sharing insights between those in the external development community who have expanded or are looking to do so.

Recommended attendees: Service Providers

Key takeaways:
– Publisher & developer perspective of getting a work-for-hire relationship started, and building trust and understanding over time
– A developer’s approach to flexibly managing resources
– A publisher’s experiences maximising opportunities with a reliable partner.

This session is pre-recorded and will therefore not include a live Q&A with the audience.

Join us in the Virtuos Cafe where our local barista, Griffin Reichl, will bring you through his process for making the perfect cup of coffee. Using a Kalita Wave Dripper, he’ll be brewing a natural processed coffee from the Carmo de Minas Region of Brazil and you’ll be taken through the steps of brewing this coffee at home. He will go over materials, techniques, and common questions that come with making pour-over coffee at home.

Please have at hand:
– Virtuos Coffee Mug
– Timbertrain Coffee
– French Press or any other drip coffee maker

Join us alongside Victor Lucas to open the second day of XDS20 Adapt on the Technicolor Mainstage

This session will include a live audience Q&A in the final 30 minutes.

Overseas expansion is a common step on the journey of businesses working with international clients. UK-based visual development studio Atomhawk made this jump by opening a second studio in Vancouver in mid-2017.

This session will provide an honest insight into Atomhawk’s story of expansion into a new continent, including advice on practical challenges and cultural considerations. The table discussion will focus on sharing insights between those in the external development community who have expanded or are looking to do so.

Recommended attendees: Service Providers

Using several recent case studies and relatable examples, such as the animated commercials for SuperCell’s, Brawl Stars, the Season story trailers for EA’s Apex Legends and other unannounced titles, Andrew will present and explore the Production departments approach to the beginning, middle and end stages of a visualisation project. Take a look behind the curtain and see how THE THIRD FLOOR sets up, manages and gets successful projects over the line, nurturing long term client relationships and securing our place at the forefront of our respective industry.

Please note that the first 30 mins will be a presentation followed by a live 30 min Q&A. We encourage audience questions and participation!

Break up your day with our surprise sessions. What will it be? Join us to find out!

How do you find balance in life while working in the games industry in our new reality of WFH? A year ago Mikael moved to LA and started Red Pipe Sound Co, branching out from Stockholm, Sweden. He has five kids and burned out five years ago. He never thought it could happen to him.

What is work life balance and is it possible to find with family, crunch times and a burning passion for what we do in our day to day? As employers and leaders, what can we do to ensure teams and individuals feel appreciated and in balance? What can you do to make the daily lives of these people as good as possible?

Whatever business you work in, these questions are relevant and will be explored in this session.

Recommended attendees: All are welcome

Please note that the first 30 min will be a presentation followed by a live 30 min Q&A. We encourage audience questions and participation!

Please note that the first 30 min will be a presentation followed by a live 30 min Q&A. We encourage audience questions and participation!

For this vendor focused Table-Topic, we will discuss the challenges that we experience as service providers, potential pitfalls to avoid, and share successful tools + techniques which will make us more effective at achieving the creative goals of our projects and expectations of our partners.

Together, we’ll cover topics such as: How to maintain schedules against the world clock, Managing multiple channels of communications, Managing upwards – how to help organize projects which may not have a set of established processes, and Collaborating with your client through feedback loops.

Having managed small conference roundtables in the past, we’ll have a selection of pre-seeded questions to keep dialogue moving, but, as a working session, topics may shift organically during the hour. Participants will be expected to share experiences and be active. As a follow-up, a summary of points will be published for the XDS community.

Recommended attendees: Service Providers

Film synopsis: Seamour is a lonely old man with a passion for training seahorses. Desperate to have his most prized seahorse perform an ambitious trick, the final day of training has come and he must see the stunt come to life. But when the hourglass turns, Seamour realizes he needs to overcome something from his troubled past to achieve his magnum opus.

This session is pre-recorded and will not include audience Q&A. However, the speakers will be online in XDS Connect during the session for your to connect with.

Wrap up the second day of XDS20 Adapt with our MC, Victor Lucas, on the Technicolor Mainstage!

This session is recorded and will therefore not include live Q&A with the audience.

Film synopsis: Seamour is a lonely old man with a passion for training seahorses. Desperate to have his most prized seahorse perform an ambitious trick, the final day of training has come and he must see the stunt come to life. But when the hourglass turns, Seamour realizes he needs to overcome something from his troubled past to achieve his magnum opus.

This session is pre-recorded and will not include audience Q&A.

Behind every iconic feature film, TV series or game title, is a perfectly executed project plan. Drawing from 15 years of THE THIRD FLOOR supporting visualization of in game and marketing cinematics across numerous and varied game titles, Andrew highlights some of the best practices and production techniques used across short term and long term project deliveries.

Using several recent case studies and relatable examples, such as the animated commercials for SuperCell’s, Brawl Stars, the Season story trailers for EA’s Apex Legends and other unannounced titles, Andrew will present and explore the Production departments approach to the beginning, middle and end stages of a visualisation project. Take a look behind the curtain and see how THE THIRD FLOOR sets up, manages and gets successful projects over the line, nurturing long term client relationships and securing our place at the forefront of our respective industry.

Behind every iconic feature film, TV series or game title, is a perfectly executed project plan. Drawing from 15 years of THE THIRD FLOOR supporting visualization of in game and marketing cinematics across numerous and varied game titles, Andrew highlights some of the best practices and production techniques used across short term and long term project deliveries.

Using several recent case studies and relatable examples, such as the animated commercials for SuperCell’s, Brawl Stars, the Season story trailers for EA’s Apex Legends and other unannounced titles, Andrew will present and explore the Production departments approach to the beginning, middle and end stages of a visualisation project. Take a look behind the curtain and see how THE THIRD FLOOR sets up, manages and gets successful projects over the line, nurturing long term client relationships and securing our place at the forefront of our respective industry.

Please note that the first 30 mins will be a presentation followed by a live 30 min Q&A. We encourage audience questions and participation!

Break up your day with our surprise sessions. What will it be? Join us to find out!

An exploration of our industry as we catch our breath for a moment, having successfully deployed work-from-home during the lockdown crisis; as we now start to look at how we re-imagine our business in the long term. What does company culture look like with a remote work force, and what best practices can we put in place to ensure retention and high morale? What successes and failures can we learn from?

Recommended attendees: All are welcome

This session is recorded and therefore will not include a live Q&A with the audience.

This session is recorded and will therefore not include live Q&A with the audience.

Join us alongside Victor Lucas to open the third day of XDS20 Adapt on the Technicolor Mainstage

Prior to founding Respawn, Vince co-created Infinity Ward – a studio specializing in military action shooters. Infinity Ward’s creation, Call of Duty, was first published in 2003 by Activision and quickly became one of the industry’s most prolific video game franchises.

Join us for this in-depth discussion into Vince’s career, current projects and a look at how Respawn and DICE LA is leveraging external development to support AAA titles.

This session will include a live audience Q&A in the final 30 minutes.

This session will include a live audience Q&A in the final 30 minutes

AMC’s relationship with Wargaming began in 2014 as a small asset based collaboration, and by 2017 grew to a full-time collaboration that retained a large number of our artists. Since then the partnership steadily grew, with Wargaming trusting our team with increasingly complex tasks and bigger contributions to their ongoing and future titles.

Please note that the first 30 min will be a presentation followed by a live 30 min Q&A. We encourage audience questions and participation!

An exploration of our industry as we catch our breath for a moment, having successfully deployed work-from-home during the lockdown crisis; as we now start to look at how we re-imagine our business in the long term. What does company culture look like with a remote work force, and what best practices can we put in place to ensure retention and high morale? What successes and failures can we learn from?

Recommended attendees: All are welcome

Growing demand on external studios is higher than ever to deliver more content better and faster. The surge of higher fidelity new consoles and new platforms will continue to increase complexity. The industry is asking for expanding distributed development and content creation. Driving cost down is a factor but not always. As an industry we must have the ability to turn our external partners from capable to extraordinary. We need to transform our vendors to partners across the world. Outsource partners that operate, produce, and grow as an extension of the overall project will deliver better results with less friction.

In this session we will discuss the obstacles and challenges that get in our way of achieving our mutual objectives and supporting healthy, growing external partners. Main areas of discussion will focus on; methods to know your teams on both sides, understanding different working styles, and how to allow your vendor to grow with you.

This Table-Topic will reference points addressed in the earlier presentation from Ryan Faraji on”Revolutionize Vendor Growth & Opportunities:

Recommended attendees: All are welcome

Growth of Core Content
When starting with a small company, they usually have a focus area or specialization. We will utilize for that core function and put additional resources in place to help grow the skills to adapt to a more advanced workflow.

Domain Piloting
The core content is a high starting point, but what other content areas can be expanded? Taking some pilot content and using the same supporting resources to explore areas for expanded growth.

Pressure Testing
Now that we have genuinely mastered top quality content production, what pressure levels can we scale too? How do we work with the vendor on building a training plan for talent growth and retention?

Please note that the first 30 min will be a presentation followed by a live 30 min Q&A. We encourage audience questions and participation!

Break up your day with our surprise sessions. What will it be? Join us to find out!

For the first time ever genuine remote game development isn’t just for indies and freelancers, but studios of all shapes and sizes as well. The question is no longer if remote development outside the office is possible, but if developers are ever actually going to go back? ? What started out as a fire drill full of technical and communication hurdles has swiftly become the”new norm”, with reports indicating the vast majority of developers want to maintain an in-studio/remote time split even after it is safe to return to an office setting.

So then, what does it mean to be a truly distributed workforce? We’re not talking about Studio A in Seattle, Partner A in Malaysia, and Partner B in Belarus – we’re talking 100-500+ people comprised of both internal and external teams around the world all working remotely long-term (post Covid). What are the concerns/risks? How do we collectively overcome them and adapt production pipelines? What are the benefits? How does breaking down the need for punching in/out of a physical location un-gate talent utilization, efficiency gains, and work/life balance for everyone involved shipping a product?

It’s time to stop thinking about things in terms of”what we do now” and start talking about how we all embrace the next chapter in how games are developed.

Recommended attendees: All are welcome

Please note that the first 30 min will be a presentation followed by a live 30 min Q&A. We encourage audience questions and participation!

Join us for a virtual happy hour with our resident mixologist, Andrew Fletcher, who will teach you how to craft your Moscow Mule using the Glass Egg Cocktail Kit. While connecting with your peers over cheeers, Andrew will review the history of the Moscow Mule and share some fun tips and tricks with you such as unique garnishing options, how to make syrups at home, spirit substitutions and more. Andrew will also be available for a live Q&A session following the happy hour so come prepared with your most creative cocktail questions!

Please have at hand:
– Glass Egg Cocktail Kit
– Vodka
– Soda
– Ice Cubes
– Copper Mug or similar

Wrap up the third day of XDS20 Adapt with our MC, Victor Lucas

Japan is a major contributor to the games industry, but working with Japaneses developers and publishers remains elusive to many service providers. This table topic will focus on tools and communication advice, as well as ways to manage your expectations when working with Japanese game developers. Those with experience are welcome to join and share their strategies.

Recommended attendees: All are welcome

This session is recorded and will therefore not include live Q&A with the audience.

This session is recorded and will therefore not include live Q&A with the audience.

AMC’s relationship with Wargaming began in 2014 as a small asset based collaboration, and by 2017 grew to a full-time collaboration that retained a large number of our artists. Since then the partnership steadily grew, with Wargaming trusting our team with increasingly complex tasks and bigger contributions to their ongoing and future titles.

This session is recorded and will therefore not include a live Q&A with the audience.

Japan is a major contributor to the games industry, but working with Japaneses developers and publishers remains elusive to many service providers. This table topic will focus on tools and communication advice, as well as ways to manage your expectations when working with Japanese game developers. Those with experience are welcome to join and share their strategies.

Recommended attendees: All are welcome

Prior to founding Respawn, Vince co-created Infinity Ward – a studio specializing in military action shooters. Infinity Ward’s creation, Call of Duty, was first published in 2003 by Activision and quickly became one of the industry’s most prolific video game franchises.

Join us for this in-depth discussion into Vince’s career, current projects and a look at how Respawn and DICE LA is leveraging external development to support AAA titles.

This session is pre-recorded and will not include live Q&A with the audience.

This session will include a live audience Q&A in the final 30 minutes

Following the sale of my business, Atomhawk to Sumo back in 2017, I am frequently asked by service company owners: how does selling your business work? How do you market a business and structure a deal? What were the deciding factors? Do you regret selling? I also receive a lot of queries from people in buyer companies wanting to understand the pain points of the process so they can improve their own proposition and deliver a smoother, more satisfactory acquisition.

If you do decide to sell, find the right buyer and deal to fulfill your needs and the goals of the company going forwards. Take your time to get it right as it is a once in a lifetime opportunity for most.

This session is pre-recorded and will therefore not include a live Q&A with the audience.

Break up your day with our surprise sessions. What will it be? Join us to find out!

Growth of Core Content
When starting with a small company, they usually have a focus area or specialization. We will utilize for that core function and put additional resources in place to help grow the skills to adapt to a more advanced workflow.

Domain Piloting
The core content is a high starting point, but what other content areas can be expanded? Taking some pilot content and using the same supporting resources to explore areas for expanded growth.

Pressure Testing
Now that we have genuinely mastered top quality content production, what pressure levels can we scale too? How do we work with the vendor on building a training plan for talent growth and retention?

This session is recorded and will therefore not include a live Q&A with the audience.

Join us alongside Victor Lucas to open the final day of XDS20 Adapt on the Technicolor Mainstage

Join this fireside chat as we discuss his varied leadership roles at Codemasters, Midway Games, Sumo Digital and Rare. Craig is an advocate for external development and has helped to shepherd distributed content and co-development in the engineering space whilst nurturing smaller dev studios. This is a discussion you don’t want to miss.

This session will include a live audience Q&A in the final 30 minutes.

Following the sale of my business, Atomhawk to Sumo back in 2017, I am frequently asked by service company owners: how does selling your business work? How do you market a business and structure a deal? What were the deciding factors? Do you regret selling? I also receive a lot of queries from people in buyer companies wanting to understand the pain points of the process so they can improve their own proposition and deliver a smoother, more satisfactory acquisition.

If you do decide to sell, find the right buyer and deal to fulfill your needs and the goals of the company going forwards. Take your time to get it right as it is a once in a lifetime opportunity for most.

Please note that the first 30 min will be a presentation followed by a live 30 min Q&A. We encourage audience questions and participation!

Join us for the XDS Wrap Show & Awards, presented by Airship Images! Enjoy some entertainment while reminiscing on the past four days at XDS. This is the perfect opportunity to say farewell, and find out who will go home with one of the XDS20 Adapt Gary awards!

List of Awards:
– Most Innovative Presentation
– XDS Unsung Hero
– Best Virtual Exhibitor Booth
– Best Table-Topic
– Most Enganged Attendee
– Best Attendee Wardrobe

Re-watch the XDS20 Adapt top speaker(s) receive the Most Innovative Presentation Award!