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Game Developers Conference (GDC)

The annual Game Developers Conference unites game makers around the world for a week of panels, awards, and demos in San Francisco. Digital Trends is on the ground at this year’s show, where we’ll be catching up with developers about their upcoming projects, and reflecting on the current state of the video-game industry. Get ready for a week of previews and exclusive interviews from some of the industry’s rising stars.

Giovanni Colantonio
Giovanni Colantonio
Senior Gaming Editor
A couple kisses on camera in The Crush House.

The Crush House is a wacky reality TV simulator with a dark secret

Devolver Digital's next game is The Crush House, a butt-filled reality TV simulator from the creators of Reigns.
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Giovanni Colantonio
Key art for Flint: Treasure of Oblivion shows a crew of pirates.

Flint: Treasure of Oblivion turns Treasure Island into a tactical RPG

Gaming
Giovanni Colantonio
Gaming
Giovanni Colantonio
A mech stands near a round structure in MechWarrior 5: Clans.

MechWarrior 5: Clans will humanize its mechas

Gaming
Giovanni Colantonio
Gaming
Giovanni Colantonio
Barbie rides in a pink car with Candy Crush Saga characters.

AI is making your Candy Crush Saga sessions less frustrating

As criticism against the use of AI in games mounts, developer King tells us how Candy Crush Saga uses the tech to assist developers, not replace them.
Gaming
Giovanni Colantonio
cataclismo preview 4

This upcoming PC game brings Lego building to the real-time strategy genre

Gaming
Jess Reyes
Gaming
Jess Reyes
An illustration from Replay shows a princess next to an hourglass.

Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner spills details on the series’ two lost games

Gaming
Giovanni Colantonio
Gaming
Giovanni Colantonio
A colony of ants wanders in Empire of the Ants.

This strategy game about photorealistic ants will have you bugging out

Empire of the Ants is a real-time strategy game starring photorealistic ants, and it's just as wild as that premise sounds.
Giovanni Colantonio
Mecha Break robot head with glowing blue eyes

Mecha Break’s robot customization shakes up the battle royale formula

Based on what we've played so far, Mecha Break's battle royale mode might have what it takes to stand with the best of them.
Jess Reyes
Link looking shocked holding rice.

This beloved feature almost ruined Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

At a GDC panel, the Nintendo developers of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom gave a rare peek at the difficulty of creating the game's physics system.
Jacob Roach
Nor holds a gun in Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn.

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is pioneering the ‘Soulslite’ genre

We got a closer look at Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, showing off its more approachable stab at the Soulslike genre.
Giovanni Colantonio
The Moscone Center's North Hall is covered in GDC signage.

As the internet raged, game developers at GDC screamed for change

This year's Game Developers Conference acted as a forum for frustrated game makers dealing with layoffs, harassment, and a collapsing industry.
Giovanni Colantonio
Person standing on octagon grass tiles

BitCraft is a fully editable survival-crafting MMORPG

Clockwork Labs encourages you to build your own civilization in BitCraft, an MMORPG featuring a fully editable sandbox world. Here's what that world looks like.
Jess Reyes
A banner with GDC on it outside a conference center.

GDC 2024 in review: Path tracing, upscaling, and CPU-killing tech

After spending the week at GDC, here are my big takeaways from advancements in the world of PC graphics and tech.
Jacob Roach
A cutscene from Sopa.

We played tons of games at GDC 2024. Put these ones on your wish list

We played a ton of bold, weird, and wonderful games at this year’s GDC. These ones are worth adding to your wish list.
Giovanni Colantonio
A conversation with Bloom in Ubisoft's AI tech demo.

Ubisoft’s impressive smart NPC demo reveals AI’s quiet gender bias problem

Ubisoft showed off an impressive AI demo at GDC filled with smart NPCs. But the company has one problem to fix: AI’s inherent biases.
Giovanni Colantonio
Hermit crab holding up pitchfork

Another Crab’s Treasure is an approachable Soulslike with a comedic twist

Another Crab's Treasure is an approachable Soulslike with a sense of humor. Here's what you should expect from Aggro Crab Games' latest gem.
Jess Reyes
A character in an AI-driven dialogue tree by Nvidia.

I was wrong — Nvidia’s AI NPCs could be a game changer

I was disappointed by the first demo of Nvidia's AI-based dialogue in games. But after a recent demo, I walked away impressed.
Jacob Roach
Key art for Epic Mickey Rebrushed.

Epic Mickey: Rebrushed’s control tweaks reinvigorate a Wii classic

We played Epic Mickey: Rebrushed at GDC and got a much better idea of what’s been redone in the Wii remake.
Giovanni Colantonio
A built structure in World of Goo 2.

World of Goo 2 might just be the Nintendo Switch’s next must-own co-op game

World of Goo 2 is shaping up to be the last hurrah for chaotic co-op games on Nintendo Switch.
Giovanni Colantonio
Gameplay from Call of Duty: Warzone mobile

Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile is out to eliminate mobile gaming’s stigma

Activision believes that Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile will be the shooter that changes people's minds about mobile gaming. Here's why.
Giovanni Colantonio
Captain America and Black Panther face off in a screenshot from a Marvel game.

Unreal Engine just demoed ‘film-quality’ visuals running in real time

At the State of Unreal 2024, Unreal Engine revealed how its latest iteration will create densely detailed environments in real time.
Monica J. White
epic games store ios android 2024 egs mobile

Epic still plans to bring its Games Store to iOS and Android this year

Epic Games is committing to getting the Epic Games Store on both iOS and Android by the end of 2024.
Tomas Franzese
The main character of Dungeons of Hinterberg blows into a giant horn.

Dungeons of Hinterberg is the breakout indie to watch this year

The stylish Dungeons of Hinterberg already has us impressed thanks to a strong GDC demo that showcases its satisfyingly fluid adventuring.
Giovanni Colantonio
Captain America and Black Panther clash in Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra footage.

Amy Hennig’s Captain America and Black Panther video game finally has a title

Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra is the name of the Captain America and Black Panther video game from former Uncharted creative director Amy Hennig.
Tomas Franzese
Key art for Lunar Lander Beyond.

Lunar Lander Beyond makes a classic Atari game even more stressful

Atari classic Lunar Lander is making a comeback, and it’s bringing a stress system that calls back to GameCube cult hit Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem.
Giovanni Colantonio
A demo of AMD GPU work graphs featuring in-game scenery including a castle and a town.

AMD is making the CPU more and more obsolete in gaming

AMD just shared a demo of Work Graphs with the additions of draw calls and mesh nodes, and the results are impressive.
Monica J. White
An enemy in Hyper Light Breaker.

Hyper Light Breaker is a colorful mix between Risk of Rain and Dark Souls

We tried Heart Machine’s latest game, Hyper Light Breaker, at GDC and left with our butts firmly kicked.
Giovanni Colantonio
Apple Arcade characters stand on a chess board.

The method to Apple Arcade’s madness? ‘Bring us an incredible game’

With Apple Arcade's five-year anniversary approaching, Apple sheds some light on how its mobile gaming service continues to thrive.
Giovanni Colantonio
AI-generated NPCs sit at a bar.

As the use of AI rises in games, SAG-AFTRA is fighting to make the tech ethical

As this year's GDC brings more AI gaming projects, SAG-AFTRA explains why its fighting for an ethical use of the tech.
Giovanni Colantonio
Three characters shoot at a boss in Remnant 2.

I tried 3 of Remnant 2’s classes and already have a clear favorite

We tried out three of Remnant 2's new character archetypes and we have a clear favorite: the machine-gun-toting Handler and their canine pal.
Giovanni Colantonio
A plaza in Escape Academy.

Escape Academy’s competitive escape room mode is the Mario Kart of puzzle games

We tried our hands at Escape Academy’s Tournament of Puzzles mode at GDC, which turns its escape rooms into PVP battles.
Giovanni Colantonio
A top down view of the Framework Laptop 16 against a blue backdrop.

The Framework Laptop 16 is officially my most anticipated laptop

Framework has announced the fully modular Framework Laptop 16, and it's got me excited about the possibilities.
Luke Larsen
El Paso, Elsewhere's main character leans on the hood of a car.

El Paso, Elsewhere pays tribute to Max Payne with style and substance

El Paso Elsewhere turns Max Payne into a vampire-filled neo-noir, and there’s a lot of substance under all that style.
Giovanni Colantonio
ra boom preview gdc mvc beat em up key art

Ra Ra Boom looks to fix the beat ‘em up genre’s biggest problem

Ra Ra Boom bends all the rules of the beat ‘em up genre to create a side-scrolling brawler that feels like Marvel vs Capcom.
Giovanni Colantonio
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Giovanni Colantonio
Giovanni Colantonio
Senior Gaming Editor

As Digital Trends’ Senior Gaming Editor, Giovanni Colantonio oversees all things video games at Digital Trends. As a veteran of the industry who first began writing about games professionally as a teenager, Giovanni brings a wealth of knowledge and historical context to Digital Trends’ gaming coverage. He brings that expertise to everything he writes, from interview features to reviews. His specialty is criticism and he’s committed to raising the bar for video game reviews. Just read his ambitious UFO 50 review as proof!

Giovanni majored in Film and Photography at Ithaca College, and that skill set had intersected with his games writing through his career. He previously worked as a Segment Producer on Polygon’s daily gaming show, Speedrun, and has contributed video content for sites like Prima Games and Hard Drive. He’s always willing to experiment with new media, whether that be via podcasts or creating videos for Digital Trends’ YouTube channel. He has previously written for Inverse, Fanbyte, The Inventory, and more. He began working with Digital Trends in 2019 as a Destiny 2 guides contributor before moving into his current role as Senior Editor.

His love of gaming dates back decades. Giovanni grew up in Massachusetts with his mother’s hand-me-down Atari 2600. He was hooked from that point on, spending his childhood obsessively playing Sega Genesis or Super Smash Bros. Melee with his friends. He carried that passion into college, where he hosted and produced Ithaca College’s own studio format video game news show. Since then, he has been committed to giving back to the video game industry that raised him by providing honest criticism, sharp analysis, and thorough coverage.

Giovanni is currently based in Brooklyn, New York where he works alongside his cat, Mirah. On weekends, you can find him birdwatching in local parks or watching professional wrestling, his second love behind gaming.