4 conferences in 10 days…..Â
After a weekend of rest, I have taken a moment to reflect on what has been an intense yet rewarding few weeks, attending four different conferences back-to-back across two countries: IndieDevDay in Barcelona, Leadership Day by IGDA Finland, Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki, and W Love Games.
This year was especially significant as W Love Games had a booth at IndieDevDay, shared with IGDA, where we introduced the WLG Indie Alliance and upcoming programs for indie developers. The energy was absolutely incredible with three days of insightful talks, countless indie games on display, and valuable discussions with peers from across the industry. I was honoured to host a panel featuring amazing women in the industry - Anna Guxens, Elena Flores and Suzanne Freyjadis, and participate in another panel alongside Carolina Bonnin, Eulalia GarcĂa and Alexandra Vo.
With little time to catch our breath, we headed back to Helsinki to prepare for Finnish Games Week—a brand-new event in the Finnish gaming scene that has been years in the making. But what exactly is Finnish Games Week?
Finnish Games Week: A Milestone for the Nordic Games Industry
As the Chairperson of W Love Games and Lead Organizer of this event, I am incredibly proud of our team initiating the first-ever Finnish Games Week. Our vision was to create an event that would provide a variety of opportunities for game developers, whether they were looking to advance their businesses or grow individually within their careers. To achieve this, we collaborated with IGDA Finland and Steel Media, merging three of Finland's major gaming events into a single, impactful week.
The result? A carefully curated, five-day program designed to meet the diverse needs of developers, creators, and professionals across the gaming industry. Finnish Games Week kicked off with Leadership Day by IGDA Finland, aimed at industry professionals and future leaders. It was here that many meaningful connections were made, laying the foundation for what would be an incredibly successful week. Following that, Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki took the spotlight for the next two days, offering a business-centric focus with networking opportunities for companies looking to grow in the global market. Finally, we wrapped up the week with W Love Games—a hybrid event that saw over 1k participants worldwide. This final event was all about a dev-to-dev approach, offering talks, workshops, and mentorship designed to provide practical knowledge in a safe and inclusive space for developers to share their stories and expertise.
What is next?
I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved with Finnish Games Week, and we would not be able to do so without our team of volunteers, speakers, workshop facilitators, mentors, partners and sponsors. Big shoutout to Supercell, MiTale, Suomen pelinkehittäjät ry, Metaplay, Fingersoft, Game Makers of Finland, IGDA Finland, Brazil Embassy in Helsinki.  The response has been overwhelming, and we are already starting the preparations for Finnish Games Week 2025. If you would like to get involved or host a side event, don’t hesitate to reach out—we are open to new ideas and collaborations!
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped make this week a success. Finnish Games Week is just the beginning, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds as we continue to grow this incredible community. Stay tuned for the 2025 announcements and upcoming plans! (These awesome friendship-bracelets were made at W Love Games party hosted by Supercell, big thanks to their team for making such a memorable evening! đź’ś)
