The new appointees are Amir Satvat, a general partner at 1Up Ventures and former business‑development director at Tencent Games; narrative writer Alexa Ray Corriea, who works at Gearbox Software and previously reported on games as a journalist; Lucien Parsons, fractional COO of Dragon Snacks Games and a GDCA Jury member for Debut Games; and Perrin Kaplan, a marketing and public‑relations veteran who most recently served as vice president of marketing and corporate affairs at Nintendo of America.
With these additions, the Festival of Gaming’s advisory board now numbers more than 50 members, all of whom are active professionals tasked with influencing the conference’s content and structure.
The appointments come as GDC prepares for its 2027 edition, which Vice President of Content Strategy Mark DeLoura revealed last month will feature a new Business Hall at Moscone West, three new ticket passes, dedicated tracks for indie developers and start‑ups, and an
DeLoura told GamesIndustry.biz that the changes are a direct response to industry feedback, emphasizing GDC’s commitment to “greater flexibility” and to “listen closely to what worked, what could work better, and how people want to participate.”
He added that the 2027 conference is designed to be more accessible, making it easier for attendees to forge meaningful connections and achieve their goals at the show.