XDS 2017 Event Retrospective september 6 - 8, 2017 | the westin bayshore | vancouver, canada | xdsummit.com

advancing external development for the games industry XDS17 sponsors & exhibitors

presenting

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exhibitors

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2 about XDS

External Development Summit (XDS) is the only annual, international games industry event with a primary focus on external development for art, animation, audio, software engineering, QA and localization. XDS brings together a niche community of game developers and publishers, service providers, middleware providers, and country representatives each year in beautiful Vancouver, Canada. Our aim is to advance the games industry through collaboration, networking, and the delivery of a high-caliber, educational program.

XDS continued to exceed expectations this year by repeating multiple event milestones seen in 2016. These include: the release of our second Insights on External Development report, our second SOLD OUT event, and our partnership with Ladies Learning Code – a not-for-profit organization that aims to be the leading resource for women and youth to become passionate builders of technology by learning technical skills.

“XDS has quickly become THE must attend event if you’re involved with external development. VIEW VIEW The XDS staff creates new and fun ways to network and deepen relationships industry highlight with existing and potential new partners. There is no greater opportunity to report photos connect with likeminded colleagues.” Toby Ow, Production Supervisor, Interactive Entertainment

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3 XDS17 ACHIEVEMENTS

500+ 2200+ 38 Attendees B2B Countries 150% increase Meetings +6% YOY since year 1

248 4.9/5 39 2,829 Unique Attendee Exhibitors & Database Companies Satisfaction Sponsors Contacts Score +13% YOY +12% YOY

88% 5,879 50+ of attendees Social Media High-Caliber would return Followers Speakers in 2018 +9% YOY

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4 5 YEARS OF XDS!

Highlighting our achievements from 2013 to 2017

76% 2,829 2,111 Growth in Attendees Database Attendance Contacts

5,879 18,455 $42K 9,600+ Social Media YouTube Donated B2B Followers Views to Charity Meetings Initiatives

100+ MULTIPLE 40+ Presentations SOLD-OUT Countries and Panels EVENTS Represented

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5 speakers & sessions

“I was delighted to have the chance to sit on an exec panel at XDS and engage with our development partners about trends, issues, and opportunities in external development. I was delighted to see senior execs from other important companies on the stage with me." Mike Verdu, Senior VP,

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6 audience satisfaction speakers & sessions score

4.1/5 Presenters at XDS are experts in their field and offer innovative insights into various disciplines including art, animation, audio, software engineering, QA and localization.

This year, XDS welcomed 52 speakers to the stage to deliver high impact and engaging sessions taking place on the Technicolor Mainstage and in the Collaboration Space presented by Room 8 Studio.

“The conference is always well run, with great knowledge sharing and networking opportunities.” Philip Knowles, Art Production Manager, ArenaNet

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7 the Hub – sponsors and exhibitors

“A very inspiring show with lot of knowledge and best practice sharing, business opportunities and fun.” Laurent Leriche, Marketing Manager, Virtuos

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8 the Hub – sponsors and exhibitors

A big thank you to the sponsors and exhibitors, both new and returning to XDS 2017!

The Hub The Hub featured the Central Bar presented by Glass, 16 exhibitor booths, our main XDS Connect Meeting Zone, and a centralized area for attendees to socialize and connect in between XDS presentations and panels.

Located outside the Hub, attendees could find our second XDS Connect Meeting Zone and winner of the “Most Engaging Exhibitor Booth” award three years running, NXA Studios.

“Since 2013 XDS has been delivering on its promises, and the 2017 edition was a great milestone. Its focus on external development makes it a must attend event which attracts a core group of industry professionals from all over the world. Can’t wait for XDS 2018!” Geoffroy de Nanteuil, VP Business Development, Original Force

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9 XDS speed dating

“XDS is the perfect size and format. Intimate, intelligent, informative and insightful, this conference seems to be a favorite amongst the global external development community.” Sean Murch, Senior Partner, Interactive Studio Management (ISM)

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10 participant satisfaction XDS speed dating score

XDS Speed Dating presents an equal opportunity for buyers and 4.5/5 sellers to network in a fast-paced meeting environment. This event optimized potential partnerships by giving buyers and sellers the unique opportunity of participating in speed dates where sellers present their pitch and swap business cards before moving onto the next round. The increased interest of attendees and great feedback of Speed Dating has made it a recurring agenda item at XDS!

“XDS is THE gaming industry event where business gets done and you can't help but learn something new.” Jimmy Corvan, Business Development Manager, House of Moves

“If you're making games, then you're 99% certain to be working with external vendors. And if you're working with external vendors, you 50/50 800 need to be at XDS.” split between speed Owen Hurley, Creative Director, Technicolor buyers & sellers dates 110% increase YOY

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11 evening special events

“It's the only event where you can dance with the top gaming industry professionals!” Tiago Melo, Owner, Lumentech

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12 attendee satisfaction evening special events score

4.2/5 The evening social events at XDS provide an opportunity to network with industry peers in a casual and collaborative setting. Including everything from airbrush tattoos to mo-cap stunt experiences, XDS attendees were invited to attend the following social events this year: Speakers Dinner hosted by Virtuos Welcome Reception presented by Keywords Studios Industry Pub Crawl presented by Volta Daily Happy Hour hosted by Sprung Studios Wrap Party and Awards

“XDS is now the first date to go in my calendar and has superseded GDC as my must attend event.” Sam Carlisle, Senior Director, External Partner Relations, EMEA Regions

“XDS is the premiere go-to event for meeting with sellers and buyers. Definitely a must for companies looking to go big!” Josh Bautista, Special Projects Manager, Synergy88 Digital

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13 XDS Connect application and meeting zone

“XDS is an exceptionally considered and planned-out event for all areas of distributed development for video games. If distributed development is part of your pipeline, you'd be crazy to miss out!” Carla Rylance, Outsource Manager, The Coalition

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14 user satisfaction XDS Connect meeting application score

4.0/5

Our B2B meeting application, XDS Connect, was the go-to networking tool before and during the event. The development of our proprietary meeting system enabled us to create an application with our attendee’s needs at the forefront. XDS Connect allows industry professionals (buyers) to filter and search for service providers (sellers) based on specific business needs, and vice versa. When a match is found, a request is sent to have a meeting during XDS.

Among other enhancements, team pages and a main business interests field for Industry Professionals were the top used feature additions added to the application for 2017.

“XDS is absolutely essential if you are in the external TOP CHOICE OF 1400+ developer field.” ATTENDEES FOR Jeffrey Arriola, Lead Artist, SCHEDULING scheduled Toronto MEETINGS meetings

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15 XDS Connect meeting zones

This year’s event featured two different meeting zones offering attendees a designated area to meet with new and existing business partners. Complete with a meeting concierge for on- site assistance and a stop clock to keep meetings running on schedule, the XDS Connect Meeting Zones provided a seamless B2B networking experience for attendees.

“XDS is THE event you must attend to easily connect with decision makers in the industry. The format is great and the XDS Connect application makes it easy to book productive meetings.” #1 Denis Huot, Director, Business Development, Squeeze Studio preferred Animation meeting location by attendees

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16 XDS mobile application

72% engaged users

“XDS is an exceptional experience - a professional, organized event that seamlessly connects clients and services together. This is a must-attend event for our team every year!” Paul Lipson, VP of Creative Services, Formosa Interactive

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17 user satisfaction XDS mobile application score

3.8/5 Powered by Virtuos, the industry leading XDS Mobile App ensures attendees are well informed and prepared to make the most out of the event. Our exclusive Mobile App has become an attendee favourite, and is integral to the event as it allows people to: u View the detailed event program and create a personalized agenda u View roster of ALL attendees, filtered by industry type u Climb to the top of the leaderboard that awards in-app actions u View all sponsors and exhibitors u Participate in live polling to engage with speakers and attendees during sessions u Rate sessions and take notes u View all speaker profiles and their sessions

“Everyone works in a similar area of expertise, so it's easy 529 429 71% registered status engaged to talk shop without having to users updates users explain what you do.” Miguel Corti, Localization Manager, Capcom Japan 2553 676 likes bookmarks

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18 XDS advisory committee

The XDS Advisory Committee is made up of industry leaders who are interested in supporting cooperative advancement of external development within the games (and entertainment) industry. These professionals volunteer their time to ensure the program is excellent in content and educational value.

ALEX STEIN DAVID LAM ISABELLE BISMUTH CHRIS WREN KASSI O’CONNOR COLBY ACREE GRAYSON CHALMERS Lead Artist/Outsourcing Senior Art Manager Project Manager - Chair, XDS Advisory Outside Services Director Outsource Manager Outsourcing Director, Art Manager Bioware Codev & Outsourcing Committee Glu Mobile WB Games Riot Games Treyarch/ Ubisoft Electronic Arts

TOBY OW SAM CARLISLE LOIS WANG ANTON WIEGERT MATT REGNIER DILBER MANN Learn more Production Supervisor, Product Senior Director - Art Outsourcing Manager Art Outsourcing Innovator Sr. Producer about the Dev Service Group, Visual Arts External Partner Relations Crystal Dynamics Riot Games Apple The Coalition Sony Interactive Entertainment EMEA regions Advisory Microsoft Committee HERE

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19 community partners

“On behalf of the XDS Team, we would like to thank our community partners for their support.” Gary, Brand Ambassador, XDS

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20 Interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at XDS 2018?

Contact Partnerships Manager Rachel Orris now as space is filling up already!

For more info on XDS visit: xdsummit.com or reach us at [email protected]