Dev.Play 2026 changes the guard of Romanian gaming
How the new generation of game developers in Romania is formed: universities, studios and students prepare the future of the industry at Dev.Play 2026
Dev.Play, the conference dedicated to video game developers from Romania and Eastern Europe, returns on 8 and 9 June in Bucharest, with an edition that creates opportunities for collaboration between studios, developers, publishers, investors and students.
This year, the event brings together all Romanian universities offering game development programmes, giving students interested in a career in the industry the opportunity to meet their representatives. The event gathers renowned specialists from the local and international game development industry. The Dev.Play conference takes place at the Novotel Hotel, located on Calea Victoriei, in the centre of the capital. Participation is based on registration at www.dev-play.ro.
Focus on education and the future of the industry
Over the last 10 years, the academic environment in Romania has introduced game development study programmes, recognising video games not only as a form of entertainment, but also as a cultural expression and a relevant field of study, contributing to the shaping of a solid educational infrastructure. Currently, prestigious institutions offer Bachelor's and Master's programmes in game development, attended by hundreds of students who will become future industry specialists.
“The game development industry in Romania currently employs almost 6,700 people, and the growth rate has plateaued in recent years. There is even a slight decrease. In this context, one of the key questions for the industry is how the next stage of development will be supported and how the new generation of specialists will be prepared. An answer comes from the educational sector, where, in the last decade, there has been a significant development of programmes dedicated to game development. Therefore, we facilitate the participation of students at Dev.Play, to get in touch with prestigious faculties in Romania,” said Cătălin Butnariu, a member of the RGDA (Romanian Game Developers Association) board.
The conference brings together the main technical and art universities in Romania, offering students and future professionals the opportunity to directly explore educational options in the field. Participating universities are Politehnica University of Timișoara, University Politehnica of Bucharest, "I.L. Caragiale" National University of Theatre and Film, West University of Timișoara, National University of Arts Bucharest, "Ion Mincu" University of Architecture and Urbanism and Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca, as well as private initiatives such as Echo School, which offers the first Bachelor's programmes in game development in Romania.
Dev.Play 2026 will also host a round table dedicated to the future of game development education, which will bring together representatives of Romanian universities, local studios and the public sector. The discussion aims to create a framework for dialogue between academia, industry and authorities, to identify concrete solutions for training the new generation of specialists and aligning educational programmes with the real needs of the market.
“In 2018, the Art of Game Design programme was established at UNATC, the first Master's programme dedicated to game development, a courageous initiative for the academic environment, in a still unknown context. Over time, both the team and the students grew together, constantly benefiting from industry support. The joy is even greater when you observe that more and more graduates have found their place in both AAA development and indie. We come to Dev.Play to meet new students interested in the industry and our courses,” said Diana Dragomir, lecturer at UNATC.
Renowned industry guests and business opportunities
The Dev.Play 2026 agenda includes panels dedicated to several relevant industry topics, such as External Development, Indies and AAA Development. In parallel, industry professionals and students will be able to participate in dedicated workshops.
Guests from the region and the international industry will take the stage at Dev.Play:
Adam Boyes, founder and CEO of the consulting firm Vivrato, will be present at Dev.Play 2026 to share his experience accumulated over 30 years of operational leadership in the video game industry. Throughout his career, Adam has collaborated with some of the most important companies in the industry, and through Vivrato he helps studios, publishers, platforms and investors make strategic decisions at key development moments.
Philip Martin, born and raised in Sweden to Romanian parents, began his career in film and television before entering the games industry at Hazelight, where he worked on A Way Out as a Junior Cinematic Artist and motion capture actor. After the success of It Takes Two, he became Cinematic Lead at Hangar 13, contributing to projects such as Mafia: The Old Country and TopSpin. He is currently Senior Cinematic Editor at Hazelight, where he is working on the game Split Fiction.
Fawzi Mesmar, Creative Director at Ubisoft, returns as a special guest at Dev.Play. With experience at companies such as DICE, King, Atlus and Gameloft, he has contributed to the development of over 20 games from well-known franchises, such as Mario + Rabbids, Battlefield and Star Wars.
Igor Sobolev, Senior Cinematic Artist at Hangar 13, has extensive experience in live-action directing and has coordinated the creation of cinematic sequences for the game Mafia: The Old Country in recent years.
Rami Ismail is a Dutch-Egyptian independent developer, with over 20 award-winning titles released on PC, consoles, web and mobile. He is known for advocating for diversity in the industry and supporting developers from emerging markets.
Other industry professionals will also take the stage at Dev.Play, such as Alex Pădure (Assist Software), Cristian Dina (Amber), Răzvan Safta (Funcom), Andrei Nae (Industry advisor), Diego Ricchiuti (Focus Home and Caracal Games), Dragos Liche (Ubisoft) and many others.
“We are delighted to be partners of Dev.Play again this year. It is the most important event that brings together the game developer community in Romania and facilitates the exchange of knowledge between companies, individual developers, academia or simply those passionate about this creative sector. Ubisoft Romania practically wrote the first chapter of the local gaming industry and remains one of its main engines, being today the largest employer in the field. And this year is a very special one for us – we are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the company's founding – so we look forward to seeing as many participants as possible at our stand, for information about us, behind-the-scenes stories and even a few surprises,” said Radu Necula, Managing Director Ubisoft Romania.
More information and tickets are available at www.dev-play.ro .
ABOUT DEV.PLAY
Dev.Play is an annual conference held in Bucharest, organised by the Romanian Game Developers Association (RGDA). Dev.Play is the only major game developers conference held in Romania. Dev.Play's mission is to promote the game development industry in Romania and Eastern Europe, both locally and internationally, and to offer its participants the opportunity to connect with other industry professionals.
www.dev-play.ro // info@dev-play.ro
ABOUT RGDA
The Romanian Game Developers Association (RGDA) is a non-profit organisation founded in 2013 with the mission of developing and promoting the game development industry in Romania. RGDA members currently cover over 90% of local professionals in the game development industry.