This collaborative, audience-driven workshop is about sharing candid stories of mistakes made and lessons learned – and levelling each other up in the process.  Hosted by Dave Sanderson in his 10th year at XDS and 5th year on the XDS Advisory Committee, the session will kick off with ten insights he has learned the hard way over the last ten years.

Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or completely new to ExDev, Service Provider or Developer, this workshop is for anyone at XDS interested in learning from their peers.  Covering everything from relationship management to scaling ExDev teams to building better pipelines, this workshop is about improving at our craft and connecting with other people who care about External Development.  It’s not a list of best practices; it’s a collection of stories, stumbles, and wins that help shape our approach to the craft.

For those who are passionate about knowledge-sharing and championing a human-first approach to game development, this workshop will spark conversations, new ideas, and gather some knowing nods from others who’ve been there too.  While these lessons reflect on the past ten years, they’re really about building momentum for the ten to follow. Attendees of this session can expect to leave it feeling more confident, more connected, and more inspired to lead with empathy and clarity.