Interplay Productions

GDC 2026 Keynote - An Odyssey in Building Games That Last

Enduring success in the modern gaming industry is not a product of rigid top-down mandates or formulaic pitch decks, but rather the result of an iterative, non-linear odyssey.

• The most reliable indicator of a game's potential for success is when the development team becomes so obsessed with the core experience that they must be forced to stop playing to return to work.
• Game development is rarely a linear process; teams must be prepared to pivot, cancel, or fundamentally restructure projects—such as the transition from the failed 'Titan' project to the development of 'Overwatch'—when the core vision fails to resonate.
• At Bonfire Studios, the team identifies viable projects by having staff from all disciplines pitch 'seeds' (early concepts), which are then evaluated through mood boards and stack-ranked by the entire team to ensure collective buy-in.