iicon Programming
iicon Programming
iicon Programming
April 27–29, 2026 | Fontainebleau Resort, Las Vegas
April 27–29, 2026 | Fontainebleau Resort, Las Vegas
April 27–29, 2026 | Fontainebleau Resort, Las Vegas
April 27–29, 2026 | Fontainebleau Resort, Las Vegas
April 27–29, 2026 | Fontainebleau Resort, Las Vegas
April 27–29, 2026 | Fontainebleau Resort, Las Vegas
April 27–29, 2026 | Fontainebleau Resort, Las Vegas
Agenda
iicon is the only event bringing together business executives and senior decision-makers from across industries to explore the growth and expansion opportunities originating in interactive entertainment.
Join us for two days of main stage conversations and keynotes, curated breakout sessions, and private networking moments designed to uncover practical insights, create partnerships, and unlock revenue-driving ideas.
Join us for two days of main stage conversations and keynotes, curated breakout sessions, and private networking moments designed to uncover practical insights, create partnerships, and unlock revenue-driving ideas.
April 27
Arrival Day
5pm – 8pm
Welcome Reception
April 28
Day One
8am – 9am
Breakfast Reception
9am – 12:30pm
Main Stage Programming
12:30pm – 1:30pm
Networking Lunch
1:30pm – 3:15pm
Main Stage Programming
3:35pm – 4:30pm
Breakout Programming
4:30pm – 6pm
Networking Reception
April 29
Day Two
8am – 9am
Breakfast Reception
9am – 12:30pm
Main Stage Programming
12:30pm – 1:30pm
Networking Lunch
1:30pm – 3pm
Main Stage Programming
3:35pm – 4:30pm
Breakout Programming
4:30pm – 6pm
Networking Reception
6pm – 9pm
Evening Entertainment
Explore the Sessions
iicon programming is intentionally designed for senior business leaders. Expect candid conversations and direct access to peers who are actively shaping the future of brand growth and market direction.
Confirmed sessions are outlined below; the full agenda will be released soon.
Confirmed sessions are outlined below; the full agenda will be released soon.
9:10 am
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9:40 am
The Future of Entertainment with Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson
Main Stage
Entertainment is evolving. As technology expands what’s possible, engagement is becoming more interactive, more social, and more connected—changing how people participate and how value is created. Andrew Wilson and Liz Claman discuss what’s driving that shift and what it means for the future of entertainment.
9:40 am
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10:10 am
Game Changers: A Candid Conversation on the Future of Play
Main Stage
Interactive entertainment has evolved from a niche category into a global force, shaped by leaders who have guided the industry through decades of transformation.
This session will explore the future of publishing, platform strategy, and IP development, as well as how a global publisher navigates the balance between innovation and long-term stability in an increasingly complex market landscape. As interactive entertainment continues to scale across industries, this session offers a rare window into the leadership decisions shaping what comes next.
10:10 am
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10:40 am
The Business of Interactive Entertainment: Market Forces Shaping the Transmedia Leader
Main Stage
The market forces driving the next era of interactive entertainment.
Drawing on decades of advisory work across leading publishers, platforms, and studios, Osaki offers a data-driven perspective of how shifts in platform economics, monetization models, and global investment are reshaping how companies build, finance, and scale interactive entertainment worldwide.
11:00 am
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11:30 am
Infinite Scale: Powering Creator Platforms in the Age of Cloud and AI
Main Stage
As user-generated ecosystems expand, infrastructure becomes a strategic advantage.
Creator platforms generate constant, unpredictable demand-driven by user-created worlds, live events, and cultural moments. Scaling those ecosystems requires more than traditional infrastructure. This conversation explores how cloud architecture and AI systems power massive creator economies in real time, enabling global scale without sacrificing safety, performance, or innovation.
11:30 am
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12:00 pm
Fueling Fandom: Expanding the Entertainment Ecosystem through Interactive Play
Main Stage
The lines between watching and playing are disappearing.
As audiences seek deeper engagement, entertainment companies are expanding beyond traditional formats to create more interactive, always-on experiences. In this fireside conversation, Alain Tascan shares how Netflix is approaching interactive entertainment as part of its long-term strategy, using interactive experiences to deepen engagement, extend storytelling, and evolve how audiences connect with content.
12:00 pm
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12:30 pm
Built From Within: Turning Talent Into Cultural Engines
Main Stage
Global platforms are transforming how talent builds lasting fan communities.
From larger-than-life personas to playable characters in global gaming franchises, talent today connects with audiences far beyond the main stage. Featuring WWE Superstar Montez Ford and Ronnie 2K, this conversation explores how WWE builds worldwide fan communities across live events, social media, and gaming—and how talent, storytelling, and interactive platforms turn fandom into lasting engagement.
1:30 pm
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2:15 pm
Mortal Kombat Konquers Every Realm of Entertainment
Main Stage
From arcade sensation to multimedia powerhouse, the Mortal Kombat franchise is legendary.
Together, they’ll share insights into the creative vision, strategic decisions, and long-term thinking required to build a franchise that thrives across generations and platforms. If you’re interested in how iconic IP is transformed into a lasting, multi-format entertainment universe, this is a session you’ll want to experience live.
2:15 pm
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2:45 pm
Build Where They Already Live: How Game Publishers Are Winning With Community-Led Growth
Main Stage
The games that win long-term aren't just well-marketed; they're sustained by the communities that surround them.
This session brings together leaders from Discord, YouTube, and Zeno Group to explore how community platforms have become essential for growth, engagement, and monetization. Together they will unpack how publishers build and activate communities where players already spend their time, turning conversation into retention, creators into growth engines, and engagement into sustained business impact.
2:45 pm
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3:15 pm
Policy at the Pace of Innovation: Governing Emerging Technologies in Real Time
Main Stage
When is government good for industry? And what happens when it gets in the way?
Policy is no longer just reacting to innovation; it is actively influencing where and how that innovation develops, scales, and competes.
The gap between technological advancement and regulatory response is no longer theoretical—it directly impacts investment decisions, global competitiveness, and how quickly new technologies reach market. This session offers a timely look at how the United States can better align policy with innovation, highlighting where current approaches are enabling progress, where they are falling short, and what it will take to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving global landscape.
3:35 pm
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4:00 pm
Safe from the Start: Lessons from the Video Game Industry on Protecting Players Online
Breakout 1
Best practices that can help keep online experiences safe and positive.
Leaders explore how the industry identifies potential risks and continually innovates to keep players safe while preserving the experiences that make video games the most popular form of entertainment in the world today. The discussion underscores the importance of collaborative, informed approaches that strengthen safety across all online experiences.
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Building Worlds That Think: What Happens When AI Serves the Creative Vision
Breakout 2
Putting AI at the service of human creativity.
From characters with memory and emotional depth to stories that respond in real time, intelligent systems are giving creators the means to build experiences that did not exist before. This conversation explores how intelligent systems are giving creators the means to build unprecedented experiences and what it takes to do this responsibly.
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Designed for Impact: How Interactive Entertainment Drives Real-World Change
Breakout 3
Interactive platforms are being intentionally designed to improve lives.
As audiences increasingly expect brands and platforms to demonstrate purpose, this session examines how interactive entertainment offers uniquely powerful tools for youth and veteran empowerment, engagement, empathy, and measurable impact.
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Generations in Play: Decoding the Generational Operating System
Breakout 4
Age is a demographic. Behavior is a strategy.
Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X may love the same content, but they discover, validate, and commit to it through entirely different attention systems. This session brings together leaders across media, agency, and publishing to decode what that means for brands navigating an algorithm-first entertainment economy.
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Global Impact: How Japan Continues to Shape the Future of Video Games
Breakout 5
Where iconic franchises become global entertainment ecosystems.
Japan remains one of the most influential forces in interactive entertainment, built on their legacy as pioneers of the medium and a history of creating IP that endures through expert franchise stewardship. In this session, leaders from Capcom USA and Bandai Namco Entertainment America explore how iconic properties are scaled for global audiences—extending across games, anime, film, esports, and digital platforms while maintaining creative continuity and relevance.
As audiences engage more deeply with interconnected worlds, the conversation highlights how Japanese publishers are evolving their strategies to ensure long-term cultural and commercial relevance in a rapidly converging global market.
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4:05 pm
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4:30 pm
The Future Belongs to Ecosystems, Not Formats: Building Stronger Brands Across Every Medium
Breakout 1
The most successful franchises are no longer built for a single medium. They are designed to operate as ecosystems from the outset.
As audiences move fluidly between comics, video games, film, television, and live experiences, franchises must be designed to meet them across platforms. This conversation will explore how a cross-media approach can expand intellectual property while preserving creative integrity and fan trust.
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From Editorial to Influence: How Media and Community Shape the Games Business
Breakout 2
Coverage is evolving alongside the business.
This session brings together leading voices in games and tech media to unpack evolving editorial priorities in an era defined by AI and consolidation, and how strategic engagement with media impacts credibility, market perception, and long-term narrative.
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Designing for Humanity: How Immersive Technology Builds Empathy, Judgment, and Resilience
Breakout 3
Immersive simulations are changing how people train for high-pressure environments.
Featuring the International Committee of the Red Cross, American Red Cross, and the Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab, this session explores how simulation-based learning can intentionally, safely, and ethically strengthen empathy, ethical judgment, and cognitive resilience.
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Preserving Legacy: Reimagining History Through Interactive Worlds
Breakout 4
Interactive technology is transforming how cultural heritage is preserved and experienced.
From historically grounded worldbuilding in major franchises to partnerships across education, nonprofits, and cultural initiatives, this session explores how digital environments can serve as living archives, expanding access to history and helping ensure cultural legacies are experienced by future generations.
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The Augmented Human
Breakout 5
Ted takes us on a journey through the future of human interaction with technology—exploring how AI and immersive visuals are reshaping the way we learn, socialize, and entertain. With AI evolving rapidly, ethical questions loom large, making this conversation more urgent than ever.
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9:10 am
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9:40 am
Next Moves: Defining a New Era of Interactive Entertainment
Main Stage
The future of interactive entertainment is being shaped in real time.
From emerging markets to changing player expectations, two of the industry’s most influential executives will come together to discuss how global industry leaders are thinking about growth, innovation, cultural relevance, and the opportunities ahead in a rapidly evolving market.
9:40 am
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10:10 am
Press Play: Why Every Company Needs a Gaming Strategy
Main Stage
Gaming is underutilized—because it’s misunderstood.
Gaming represents one of the few environments where engagement is sustained, measurable, participatory, and monetizable online as well as offline but most organizations have yet to develop a clear strategy for operating within it. Bergmann delivers a decision-useful view on how interactive environments are reshaping competitive advantage, and why gaming can no longer be treated as an experimental channel, but as a core component of modern business strategy.
10:10 am
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10:40 am
After the Deal: Doing M&A Right in a Creative Industry
Main Stage
Major acquisitions are reshaping the video game industry. But closing the deal is only the beginning.
This conversation examines how companies preserve creative autonomy, align cultures, and unlock long-term growth during post-acquisition integration. As consolidation accelerates across interactive entertainment, the session offers a rare look at how successful integrations actually happen.
11:00 am
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11:30 am
Unexpected Play: Why Games Are Becoming Core to Platform Strategy
Main Stage
Video games are no longer confined to traditional publishers and consoles.
Some of the most strategic investments in interactive entertainment are coming from platforms that were never traditionally part of the video gaming industry. Major platforms are embedding games directly into their ecosystems, technology and media products, and subscription offerings. As competition for attention intensifies and consumer appetite for daily casual gaming grows, video games are emerging as a strategic layer inside modern tech, media, and commerce ecosystems.
11:30 am
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12:00 pm
The Game Plan: Scaling the NBA’s Reach & Impact Through 2K
Main Stage
From digital product launches to international expansion, interactive platforms are shaping how the league operates on and off the court.
For the NBA, video gaming is more than a channel. It’s infrastructure. This conversation explores how the NBA x 2K partnership powers global brand growth, athlete storytelling, and year-round fan engagement.
12:00 pm
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12:30 pm
Beyond the Diamond: How MLB The Show Is Redefining Sports Storytelling
Main Stage
MLB The Show is redefining how sports stories are experienced by fans and players alike.
As sports fandom becomes more participatory and platform-native, digital platforms are deepening year-round fan engagement. This conversation explores how interactive sports worlds extend beyond the broadcast—and what executives across media and sports can learn from building living, evolving story ecosystems that mirror the real game in real time.
1:30 pm
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2:00 pm
Rebuilding a Classic: Bringing Tony Hawk to a New Generation
Main Stage
How beloved games are rebuilt to meet modern expectations.
The Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater franchise defined a generation of players, blending real-world skate culture with deeply engaging gameplay. As audiences evolve and expectations rise, bringing a beloved title back to market requires more than nostalgia—it demands a thoughtful reimagining of what made it resonate in the first place. Together, Tony Hawk and Kurt Tillmanns discuss the approach behind rebuilding Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4, from modernizing gameplay and systems to preserving the feel, identity, and cultural impact of an iconic series.
2:00 pm
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2:30 pm
8-Bit to 24 Frames: Building Franchises for the Screen
Main Stage
From iconic game IP to television and beyond, the most enduring franchises are built to move.
As franchises move from games into serialized storytelling, adaptation alone is no longer enough. From how game adaptations are packaged to how creative direction is established across mediums, and partners are aligned, this conversation offers a clear view into how franchises are built to scale across platforms without losing what made them resonate.
2:30 pm
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3:00 pm
Owning the Game: Investment, IP Acquisition, and the New Economics of Interactive Entertainment
Main Stage
Intellectual property is emerging as one of the defining assets in interactive entertainment.
This discussion will explore how capital is reshaping the industry, from acquiring and revitalizing iconic franchises to financing the next generation of studios and original IP. As ownership models evolve and long-term capital shifts towards building portfolios of enduring franchises, this session examines what makes game IP a durable asset class and how it can be sustained over time.
3:35 pm
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4:00 pm
The Future of Sports Fandom: How adidas Connects with Gen Z & Alpha on Roblox
Breakout 1
Fandom is forming where the next generation already spends its time.
Sports fandom is being reshaped by a generation that grows up in interactive, social environments—engaging with sport not just as spectators, but as participants. As Gen Z and Alpha increasingly treat gaming platforms as part of their daily media habits, brands like adidas are evolving how they show up.
In partnership with Gamefam, FIFA, and Roblox, adidas has explored how to engage this audience with multiple activations inside FIFA Super Soccer—one of the most played sports games on the platform.
This session will unpack how sports brands are integrating interactive platforms into their broader ecosystem, which formats drive meaningful engagement, and how success is measured in environments where participation—not just reach—defines impact.
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Competitive Worlds: How Esports Is Shaping Global Culture and Fandom
Breakout 2
Esports is more than a competition, it’s a cultural force shaping modern fandom across regions, platforms, and generations.
Leaders from Riot Games, ESL FACEIT Group, and UC Irvine explore how esports leagues, teams, and global tournaments create cultural relevance, and how it can serve as a blueprint for digital-first, community-led engagement at scale.
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The Healing Power of Games: Surprising Healthcare Advancements Inspired by Gaming
Breakout 3
Embedding interactive treatments into modern healthcare at scale.
As interactive technologies demonstrate measurable impact across clinical care, rehabilitation, and accessibility, they are moving from experimentation towards infrastructure. This session focuses on the system-level strategy needed to embed interactive treatments into modern healthcare at scale.
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4:05 pm
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4:30 pm
Participation, Not Placement: The Future of Brand Integration is Activating Players
Breakout 1
A blueprint for building brand presence that is embraced by communities, not imposed on them.
As interactive platforms become cultural hubs, brands must participate in ways that feel native, meaningful, and culturally fluent. This session will explore how brands are moving beyond traditional sponsorships toward co-created experiences, immersive storytelling, and community-driven activations across interactive and physical environments.
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Shipping the Unscripted: What It Takes to Launch an AI-Native Game
Breakout 2
AI-native games are changing how interactive experiences are created.
A new category of interactive entertainment is emerging—one where gameplay is unscripted, voice-driven, and powered by generative AI in real time. From latency and safety to celebrity-driven IP, Courtroom Chaos Starring Snoop Dogg, leaders from Amazon Luna will share learnings from the launch of an AI-native game at scale.
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Creators at the Center: How User-Generated Content Is Creating New Value in Games
Breakout 3
Creator-driven ecosystems with the freedom to modify
As creators are given the tools and freedom to build, they are producing new experiences, reinterpreting existing IP, and introducing entirely new contexts in which that IP can live, often reflecting their own creative perspective and style. This session brings together leaders from Overwolf and Chartis to examine how user-generated content is extending the reach of games while opening new pathways for monetization, distribution, and cross-IP collaboration—connecting creator activity with broader commercial opportunity.
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Player-First Partnerships: Redefining Brand Engagement in Esports
Breakout 4
Esports partnerships today require more than visibility. They demand authenticity, alignment, and long-term strategy.
Drawing on Riot’s player-first philosophy, Mastercard’s evolution as a global esports partner, and CAA’s role aligning rights holders, brands, and talent, this discussion offers a blueprint for building partnerships that fans embrace while driving durable revenue growth and ecosystem stability.
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Be part of iicon
Tickets are now available for a limited number of spots. Register today to secure your chance to join the conversation and connect with leaders shaping the future of interactive entertainment.
