March 13, 2026

The Vibe at GDC 2026

by Ravi Vijh, Managing Director

To measure the mood at GDC this week depends on whether you are a glass half full or half empty type of person.

There is no doubting that numbers are down. The hotel lobbies are quieter than previous years and that is not just because the St. Regis was charging a $75 per head per hour charge to sit at a table.While some may have stayed away, nearly every major company in the industry has had some kind of presence in San Francisco. You may not find many of them on the show floor, but across the various dinners, mixers and occasionally in a karaoke bar, you can still find the movers and shakers driving the industry forward.

The doom and gloom of previous years is clearing. There is cautious optimism in the air. Teams are starting to figure out how to operate in this new chapter for the industry. The biggest challenge now is building market confidence back to where it was.

Those positive vibes have been evident in our first outing with Bastion America. The reaction to our new agency and our vision for the future of marcomms in the video games industry has resonated.

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Both developers and publishers are looking for experts to challenge and guide their plans. Discoverability has never been harder and budgets have never been tighter, but with a focused strategy, expert execution and a service to match, Bastion’s offering across the globe is built to help companies grow and thrive in this new ear.

While the numbers might be down, it feels like there are a lot of reason to feel positive about the future. I choosing to see my glass as half full.

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Some more insights

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Games people still really like other games people

The games industry may still be cautious in a lot of spaces, but it’s increasingly getting out and about again.

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I’m fascinated by a game that will never be

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AI is here to stay, but where does it belong?

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Has the time finally come to say goodbye to mass marketing in games?

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Mario on prescription?

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Bastion Weekly News Digest

For more expert insight and analysis of all the latest news in the games industry, subscribe to the Bastion Weekly News Digest on Substack.

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