Mark your calendars—the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco is just around the corner! And today, we’re excited to share that customers, partners, and developers can join Niantic for a week of informative, interactive, and inspiring content and hands-on experiences.
From March 17-21, here’s what to expect from Niantic:
Three speaker sessions where you’ll hear from Niantic game producers and player experience experts to connect, learn, and get inspired about real-world AR
Two hands-on demos featuring Niantic geospatial experience for MR headsets: real-world pet sim experience Peridot Beyond, and Into the Scaniverse, our VR world viewer.
Dive in below to get details about our speaker sessions and demo experiences, and start planning your week at GDC 2025!
Attend our Expert Talks:
Session 1: Community Clubhouse Developer Summit: Magic Potion Games: A Club Penguin for the Next Generation
- When: March 18, 10:50 am - 11:50 am PT
- Where: Esplanade 158, South Hall
- Speaker: Anna Wright, Senior Director of Player Experience, Niantic
What You Need to Know: This session is for Game Executives, Publishers, Developers, Trust & Safety Professionals and Community Managers seeking to understand how game vision and design deliver safe play and safe communities. The content is accessible to a wide range of professionals and offers invaluable insights to manage these challenges.
Session 2: Meta Developer Summit: Merge Realities, Multiply Wonder: Expert Guidance on Mixed Reality Development:
- When: March 18, 1:20 pm - 1:50 pm
- Where: Room 2011, West Hall
- Speaker: Alicia Berry, Executive Producer of Peridot, Niantic
What you need to know: Join our experts as they share their hands-on experience and insights from developing and launching Spaceship Home, a groundbreaking Mixed Reality experience on Meta Quest. You’ll gain valuable guidance on designing immersive MR experiences that captivate and inspire.
Session 3: Less Coding, More Booty Shakes: A New Peridot Animation System
- When: March 19, 11:30am - 12:00pm
- Where: Room 2018, West Hall
- Speaker: Ashley Rosenbaum, Peridot Lead Animator, Niantic
What you need to know: In this not-to-be-missed session, Niantic Lead Animator Ashley Rosenbaum will reveal the creative and technical journey behind the company’s groundbreaking patented animation system for AR/MR gaming, showcasing how Peridot is pushing boundaries in creature interaction.
Get Hands-On with Niantic Geospatial Experiences
Into the Scaniverse Outdoor Experience: Taking AR beyond conference walls, Niantic will bring “Into the Scaniverse” to life with an engaging pop-up demo experience in Yerba Buena, inviting attendees to step into a world where digital and physical realities seamlessly merge.
- When: March 20, 9:00 - 5:00 pm PT
- Where: Stone Stage on the Yerba Buena lawn
Peridot Beyond Multiplayer for Snap Spectacles: In an exciting collaboration, Snap will showcase Niantic’s Peridot Beyond as a featured experience for their Spectacles outdoor glasses, demonstrating the compelling possibilities of AR gaming in wearable technology.
- When: March 17-18, 9:00 - 5:00 pm PT
- Where: Moscone Center. Check the GDC conference program for more information.
Check In for News and Updates
Be sure to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter for live updates and session details. If you’re interested in attending GDC and haven’t registered, check out the website. We can’t wait to see you at GDC 2025!