New York's $5 Billion Game Industry Takes Center Stage at Premier Industry Event
Meet New York's Game Development Community at the Expo Floor Booth 1349
New York State Debuts NYS LVL: An Official GDC Affiliate Off-Site Hub for Networking and Business Development
Empire State Development (ESD) today announced that New York State will participate in the 2026 Game Developers Conference (GDC), taking place March 9–13 in San Francisco, California. This year marks an expanded New York State presence at GDC, with the return of the New York State Pavilion on the expo floor and the debut of the New York State LVL — a brand-new official GDC affiliate off-site hub located just steps from the Moscone Center. Together, these two activations connect industry professionals with New York's diverse resources spanning government, higher education, and the gaming industry, and provide dedicated space for the business development that define GDC week.
Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said, "New York State's continued presence at the Game Developers Conference reflects our enduring commitment to one of the most dynamic and fast-growing industries in the Empire State. The launch of the New York State LVL gives our community a true home base at GDC: a place to connect and collaborate just steps from the Moscone Center. Combined with our pavilion on the expo floor, New York is showing the world that when it comes to game development, we are all in."
New York State Pavilion and GDC Week Programming
Attendees can visit the New York State Pavilion at Booth 1349 on the expo floor Wednesday through Friday to meet state officials, New York-based game developers, and educational institutions, and learn about the state's Digital Game Development Tax Credit Program. ESD will also host a dedicated breakfast networking event on Monday, March 9, to kick off the week and celebrate New York's game development community.
Introducing the New York State LVL
New this year, the New York State LVL is an official GDC affiliate off-site hub located at 149 New Montgomery St., 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105 — just around the corner from the Moscone Center. Designed entirely for business development, networking and coworking, the NYS LVL serves as the ultimate home base for New York State game developers throughout the conference week. Whether attendees are looking to connect with industry peers, explore new partnerships, or simply recharge between sessions, the space offers coworking space, coffee, New York-inspired snacks, and live demos from local developers.
The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is the industry's premier professional event, bringing together the world's largest community of game creators for five days of education, inspiration, and networking. New York's expanded GDC footprint this year — spanning both the expo floor and a dedicated off-site hub — reflects the continued growth and ambition of the state's game development community.
New York State Pavilion partners include:
- AloArch
- NYU Game Center
- NYU Tandon School of Engineering
- On the March
- Polyhedron Productions
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- Rochester Institute of Technology
- Rocket Science
- Vibe XP
- Work Dog Studios
From Education to Employment: New York's Complete Game Development Ecosystem
New York State's $5 billion digital game development industry continues on a strong growth trajectory, supported by strategic incentives and investments in:
Workforce Excellence: Home to more than 13,000 direct and indirect digital game development jobs with an average industry salary of over $168,000.
Educational Leadership: Five New York schools ranked in The Princeton Review's top undergraduate programs for game design: New York University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York Film Academy, and Cornell University.
Advanced Education: Home to three top digital game development graduate programs at New York University, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Comprehensive Training Pipeline: Twenty-nine colleges and universities across the state offer degrees in game development programming, with additional institutions offering specialized courses.
Company Diversity: Home to hundreds of game developers ranging from major studios to innovative independents, including Rockstar Games, Blizzard Entertainment, WB Games, Atlantic Games, Velan Studios, Second Avenue Learning, Playmatics, Workinman Interactive, Wolfjaw Studios, Rushdown Studios, 1st Playable, Computer Lunch, and Everyrealm.
About the New York State Digital Game Development Program
The New York State Digital Game Development Program is a $25 million tax credit fund for digital game development projects produced in New York State. One of the only dedicated digital game tax credit programs in the United States, the program is designed to accelerate economic development by offsetting production costs associated with developing digital games in New York. For more information, visit esd.ny.gov/digitalgamedev.
About Empire State Development
Empire State Development is New York's chief economic development agency, and promotes business growth, job creation, and greater economic opportunity throughout the state. With offices in each of the state's 10 regions, ESD oversees the Regional Economic Development Councils, supports broadband equity through the ConnectALL office, and is growing the workforce of tomorrow through the Office of Strategic Workforce Development. The agency engages with emerging and next generation industries like clean energy and semiconductor manufacturing looking to grow in New York State, operates a network of assistance centers to help small businesses grow and succeed, and promotes the state's world class tourism destinations through I LOVE NY. For more information, please visit esd.ny.gov, and connect with ESD on LinkedIn, Facebook and X.
Contact:
ESD Press Office | [email protected] | (800) 260-7313
Emily Mijatovic | [email protected] | (212) 803-3692