What obstacles are there in creating superfans?

Thank you. Yeah, you know, I think the obstacles of creating super fans in the gaming industry today really start with decisions from the publisher Studio around the commitment to the players. There's always a commitment when you're developing a game that it's for the players, but it's downstream from that how all the pieces come together. So you could argue that the way organizations are structured, the way that you collaborate within the organization, so it's really the decision-making at the very beginning of if the game is really for the players, what about the other services that go along and how do they collaborate?

Why is it important for QA, localisation and player community professionals to come together in one unique forum?

Yeah, you know, the functions like QA, localization, and player support coming together in an event and environment like this is critical. If you think about the gaming development life cycle, games go from development to QA to localization to player support. But because most of the games these days are live services, that cycle continues. So bringing those organizations, those functions together in events like this really creates natural collaboration. We learn from one another, and then we start to know and expect what others are doing in that life cycle. So it makes things much more streamlined and creates a better experience for the players at the end of the day.

What are some of your highlights from GQF 2023?

Ah, that's so tough. I will tell you, like one of the highlights for us at Arise Gaming was that we got to host the community track, and so the collaboration in there was fantastic. But one of the big themes that I've heard throughout the event was automation, and I think it's great to know that automation is not the future; it's the now. So hearing how organizations are using it, whether it be in localization, whether it be in community, or whether it be in QA, it's good to know that we're building and driving that now. But one thing that really stood out in the whole event was last night's evening event. It was a great venue outdoors, and it allowed the community to come together and just participate and network with one another.

Describe GQF in three words or less!

Three words or less, I would say amazing gaming community.