Connecting the people, ideas, and opportunities that drive game business success.
XP Game Connect Vancouver
XP Game Connect Vancouver is a one-day B2B event connecting game studios with publishers, investors, and industry partners to build stronger game businesses and explore emerging opportunities in Asia-Pacific markets.
Attend XP Game Connect Vancouver to:
- Meet publishers, investors, and partners
- Learn strategies for studio growth and sustainability
- Position your studio and your projects
- Create opportunities that move your business forward
Overview
Date: Oct 2, 2026
Time: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Venue: Kabam Studios – Vancouver Centre II, 733 Seymour St, Vancouver, BC
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Create Opportunities That Move Your Business Forward
Develop relationships that can lead to partnerships, publishing opportunities, investment conversations, future growth, and new opportunities for studios interested in expanding into Asia-Pacific markets.
Meet Publishers, Investors, and Partners
Build relationships with the people and organizations that can help support your studio’s growth.
Build Business Expertise
Discover strategies for funding, publishing, studio growth, and building a sustainable game business.
Position Your Studio and Your Projects
Share your work, increase your visibility, and build awareness among key industry stakeholders.
Expect a day of expert-led sessions, industry discussions, networking opportunities, scheduled meetings, and Indie Game Showcase activities. Select sessions will explore emerging opportunities in Asia-Pacific markets and strategies for studios looking to expand internationally.
Janine Steele
Director, Interactive, Digital, and Emerging MediaCanada Media Fund at Canada Media Fund
| Time | Atrium |
|---|---|
| 8:30 am | Registration Opens |
| 9:20 am | Welcome & Opening Remarks
Jason Lepine
CEO & Founder, XP Gaming Inc.
Sam Fisher
Chief Executive Officer, Hyper Hippo Entertainment
Simon Sim
CEO, Kabam & Jam City
|
| 9:30 am | A Chat with Kabam’s CEO – What’s Next: Navigating Games in 2027
Simon Sim
CEO, Kabam & Jam City
Jason Lepine
CEO & Founder, XP Gaming Inc.
|
| 10:15 am | 20 Legal Hacks You Would Know If You Were A Lawyer
Ryan Black
Partner; Global Lead, Video Games, DLA Piper (Canada) LLP
Tyson Gratton
Partner, DLA Piper
Jason Lin
Associate, DLA Piper (Canada) LLP
|
| 11:15 am | Canada ↔ Asia: Finding Opportunity Across Markets
John Kavvouras
Managing Director, Huqiao Games
Morgan Hodkinson
Game Director, Kabam
Sam Fisher
Chief Executive Officer, Hyper Hippo Entertainment
Jason Lepine
CEO & Founder, XP Gaming Inc.
|
| 1:00 pm | Growing Our Audience with AI
Jordan Dinning
VP, Marketing, HyperHippo
|
| 1:35 pm | Indies on Top: A Dive Into the Top 100 Steam Games from 2025
Kristian Roberts
CEO, Nordicity
|
| 2:35 pm | Built to Last: The Long Dark, Hinterland, and 15 Years of Change
Raphael van Lierop
Founder & Creative Director, Hinterland
Jason Lepine
CEO & Founder, XP Gaming Inc.
|
| 3:15 pm | Great Games Aren’t Enough: What Indie Studios Can Learn From the Businesses That Outlast Their Hits
John Nguyen
Regional Vice President - Canada, Xsolla
|
| 4:00 pm |
| Time | Pride Rock |
|---|---|
| 10:15 am | A Multiplayer Conversation
Bill Newton
Actor, UBCP/ACTRA
Jonathan Ostonal
Voice Actor, UBCP-ACTRA
Asia Mattu
Actor/Voice Actor, UBCP/ACTRA
|
| 2:35 pm | Funding Your Game: Building the Right Financing Strategy
Leonard Itskov
Senior Manager, SR&ED, Ryan CPA
Janine Steele
Director, Interactive, Digital, and Emerging MediaCanada Media Fund, Canada Media Fund
|
Pitch Review
| Time | Game Room |
|---|---|
| 3:00 pm | 1-1 Pitch Deck Reviews
Carina Kom
CPO / Co-Founder, Simply Sweet Games
|
Speakers
Janine Steele
Director, Interactive, Digital, and Emerging MediaCanada Media Fund at Canada Media Fund
panels
| Time | Red Stage | Green Stage |
|---|---|---|
| 9:40 am | If You Can Make It Here
Jade Yhap
President, InteractiveNB
Kate Edwards
CEO, Geogrify
Manny Hachey
Senior Director of Developer Success, Xsolla
Amir Satvat
Business Development Director, Tencent Games
| |
| 10:40 am | The Experience and Practice of Pitching to Third Parties
Marcelo Careaga
Studio Manager
| Building A Cooperative Game Studio
George Greer
Cofounder, besszong
eileen mary holowka
Co-Executive Director, Baby Ghosts Studio Development Fund
|
| 11:40 am | Rise and Shine: Why I’m Still Betting on Nova Scotia Gaming
Darryl Wright
CEO, Punk Science Studios Inc.
| Building an OP Cashflow Strategy for your Studio to Thrive
Muddassir Mahmood
Co-Founder, Insert Coin
Matthew Walach
Co-Founder, Insert Coin
|
| 1:25 pm | From Indie Startup to Scale: How We Grew Beyond $1 Million
Grace Collins
CEO, Red Diamond Interactive
| |
| 2:00 pm | Full Picture to Fast Lane: Xsolla Ecosystem Overview & Live SDK 3 Integration
Ted DiNola
Developer Evangelist, Xsolla
| Getting Started in NS: What You Need to Succeed
Ryan Sno-Wood
Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, XP Gaming Inc.
George Greer
Cofounder, besszong
Jonathan Huffman
Co-founder and President, Phantom Rowboat Ltd.
Chinara Adhofer
General Manager, Gamemode One
|
| 3:00 pm | Leveraging the Rising Tide: Creating Sustainable Indie Game Studios in 2026
Kristian Roberts
CEO, Nordicity
| Building a Business Inside Minecraft
Tian Figg
Executive Producer, Gamemode One
|
| 6:30 pm | ||
Roundtables
| Time | |
|---|---|
| 9:40 am | |
| 10:40 am | |
| 11:40 am | |
| 1:25 pm | |
| 2:00 pm | |
| 3:00 pm | |
| 6:30 pm |
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