Krakow Technology Park has announced that the Digital Dragons Conference 2023 has concluded with amazing results as it was the biggest event in its history. To attend the event, Krakow was visited by 2,500 guests, representing 870 companies from 51 countries all over the world. The event is organized by Krakow Technology Park for years now and it has become one of the biggest business conferences for the games industry in the whole of Europe however this year, the event managed to break Digital Dragons’ attendance record.
Anna Krampus-Sepielak, head of Digital Dragons commented:
We want the Polish industry to take an increasingly important spot on Europe’s and the world’s gamedev map. This is why we try to ensure that the conference brings together communities from all over the world, the makers of the biggest games and independent titles, people specializing in business and creative – all so this exchange of knowledge, information, and experience is as comprehensive as possible. We are happy with the increasing popularity of the Digital Dragons brand because it proves that all the activities undertaken by the Krakow Technology Park for the gaming sector are hitting their mark and receiving acclaim from our audiences. But we do not forget to listen to the industry, scan for its needs and develop the most important elements.
Digital Dragons is a business event aimed at B2B meetings and conferences. This year almost 3,000 meetings were scheduled through the conference app and like every year, the organizers had prepared a special space for these meetings. This allowed the participants to conduct their meetings in an orderly fashion and book a table in advance. In the conference’s expo zone, more than 30 of the conference’s partners prepared their booths which includes the main sponsor of Digital Dragons 2023, Techland, along with many other Polish and foreign studios.
Both conference days featured lectures and discussion panels. There were 114 lectures conducted within 9 thematical tracks by 136 lecturers. Different celebrities like Inon Zur, composer of the soundtracks for games such as Dragon Age, Prince of Persia, and Fallout 4 were part of these lectures. The ICE Congress Centre was filled with different indie studios as well which were present at the Digital Dragons conference looking for investors, publishers, feedback, inspiration, and new contacts. The Indie Showcase also reviewed over 160 titles and announced three winners which are:
- 1st place: SacriFire (Pixelated Milk)
- 2nd place: Tarnished Blood (Juggler Games)
- 3rd place: The Wandering Village (Stray Fawn Studio)
- Community Vote: Backpack Hero (Jaspel)
Apart from the main event, there was also an unplanned award given by Techland, creators of Dying Light 2: Stay Human, to the indie developers. During the previous day of the Indie Showcase, Techland managed to win an award from AMD, the technical partner of the conference, who funded a desktop PC worth over 60,000 PLN. This very desktop was later given by Techland to an indie studio of their choosing. The prize was given to SandmanTeam who are the makers of Through the Nightmares. In addition, the jury also gave special recognition to the game Hank: Drowning On Dry Land by My Next Games.
Krakow Technology Park’s own support programs the Digital Dragons Accelerator and Incubator were also present at the Indie Zone and on the showcase were representatives of four national game developers associations and five graduate companies. Separately, 29 companies from six countries, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Lithuania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Ukraine, formed together the CEE Showcase, a special exhibition space for creators from Central Eastern Europe. All guests from Ukraine were given free access to the conference on behalf of Krakow Technology Park. Tadeusz Zaremba, president of the board at the Krakow Technology Park also adds:
Last year I joined KTP’s board during the Digital Dragons conference and it was the first event I took part in. I am very happy that a year later I can witness another grand success of this initiative. I would like to thank all partners, sponsors, the Małopolska Voivodeship for the many years of cooperation and for their understanding of the importance of this industry for the continued development of our region, and to the City of Kraków for their support in organizing this event. I would also like to extend my incredible gratitude to everyone preparing Digital Dragons – it’s their passion, energy, and professionalism that ensure this event’s success.
This year it was also the second edition of Digital Dragons Arena which is a platform joining indie creators with potential publishers and investors. 30 studios had the chance to present their projects to audiences both on-site and remotely during this year. Apart from lectures, business dealings, awards ceremonies, and others, there were also a series of events that were aimed at allowing participants to form new connections and nurture old ones. A total of 17 networking events were organized which provided all participants with an opportunity to meet new and old friends in the industry.
Additional details about the Digital Dragons Conference 2023 are available on the official website.
