8th of November 2025 | JOIST Innovation Park, Larissa
Pack your bags and get ready for one of the most important events of 2025. IGDA is hosting its third Game Developer Meetup (GDM), once more in the JOIST innovation park in Larissa. If you thought last year’s event was big, you will be even more surprised by the size of this year’s event.
This year’s event includes some very famous names from the gaming community, while also offering the chance to try out some games that are still in development and speak to the creators in person.
Moreover, this year marks a new era for the Greek gaming industry because 3 companies will present their projects to Electronic Arts (EA), one of the biggest production companies in the world. What makes this event special is that it manages to bring together game creators, indie studios, publishers, investors, and gamers, creating a good opportunity for collaboration.
GDM 2025 – What Are We Going To See
Butterfly Project
At the event, more than 20 demo versions of games will be available for the audience. You will also have the opportunity to talk to the creators themselves, give feedback, find out about the future of the game, and the ambitions of the creators. Moreover, EA will present the Butterfly Project, an opportunity for Greek developers to present their game and get international recognition.
At the same time, an important representative from the largest crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter, Elina Roinioti, will attend and share her knowledge and experience. This means a great deal for the Greek gaming industry because it will be the first time a Greek game has managed to break the wall and get international recognition.
Speech Panels – Workshops
From 11:00 to 21:00, there are going to be multiple lectures and talks from important people in the industry, like Mehdi Benkirane (Zenith Pirates), Espen Sogn (Jotun Games), and many more. They are gonna talk about the struggles and problems they faced during the production, while also offering advice and useful tips, and tricks. There are also gonna be influencers in one of the panels. More specifically, NinjaCakeAssasin, LegitGamingGr, and Kafrogamer are gonna join us to talk about gaming.
This year, there are gonna be 2 workshops you can enroll to join. The first one is Serious Games 101 – How to Build and Publish a training game in 60 minutes, by Manos Kalaitzoglou (Arcweave) and Georgia Tslamanta (Arcweave). The second workshop is Accessibility design for video games by Mariam Kiouri (UXP). Both are very interesting for new developers who are creating a game or have already created one and want to add more features to their game.
Pitch Sessions
If you are a hobbyist or an experienced developer looking for funding for your next video game, now is your chance. In the business room, there are gonna be 2 pitching sessions, for both types of developers that are gonna be attended by publishers looking for a good idea to fund.
Networking
One of the most important parts of the gaming industry is networking. Don’t be shy, talk to the fellow gamers and developers, share ideas, and make friends at GDM. Collaboration is very important and a key feature of this industry, and also what makes it so special. There’s no better ice breaker than cracking a cold beer and grabbing a slice of pizza with someone, courtesy of Heineken and Pizza Fan.
Game Developer Meetup is a free event. You do not need a ticket or pre-registration. Everyone interested in this industry can join. So, gamers, grab your friends and join us on this day to learn new things, meet new people, and play some games. You can sign up here.