As far as statements of intent go, it’s hard to make a more definitive one than what the Trump administration has done to Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil: snatching a legal US resident away from his family, stripping him of his rights, and detaining him with intent to deport, all for the non-crime of exercising his First Amendment rights by helping lead protests against Israel’s genocide of Palestinians. This follows previous weeks in which the Trump administration passed down numerous anti-trans edicts, made moves to annex Canada, imposed tariffs that threaten to crash the US economy, and began an ongoing project to dismantle the federal government. You can understand, then, why some game developers would be hesitant to enter the United States, even if it means missing out on career-defining opportunities.
The annual Game Developers Conference takes place next week in San Francisco, and while the event has received ample criticism for prohibitively high prices and other accessibility issues over the years, it remains an important event for developers from all over the world to gather, network, and share knowledge. But as of the past few weeks, some developers are canceling their plans to attend.
"I had flight tickets, hotel, and pass all lined up and decided to cancel last week due to the possibility of being turned around at the border for being trans – which according to a recent memo can be considered fraud," Lóa Gunnars, an independent game designer and educator based out of Reykjavík, Iceland told Aftermath. "I’ve been planning [to attend GDC] for about four months, and [it] would have been my 10th year there. ... GDC is incredibly valuable to me. I studied game design [at] NYU, and GDC is my main way of staying connected to the North American game industry, a place where I meet old friends and make new connections."
In the Republican US, they could grab me and make me go away, and nobody would be able to do shit even if they tried.
In other cases, more specific headlines generated by the Trump administration’s smash-and-grab tactics have developers un-packing their bags. Rami Ismail, an indie developer, speaker, and consultant formerly of Vlambeer, told Aftermath that immigration agents' abduction of pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil solidified his decision to keep his distance from a conference he's been critical of in the past.
"I can barely get into the US under the Democrats," Ismail said. "The Republicans are straight up disappearing people, mate. I'm Egyptian. I know what disappearing is: Little van shows up, gone you are. In the Republican US, they could grab me and make me go away, and nobody would be able to do shit even if they tried. I think if anyone with Western privilege would be worried about going to Egypt, they should now be equally worried about going to the US. These things are random, unfair, and without recourse."
Others, like Subnautica Below Zero, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and Assassin's Creed: Freedom Cry writer Jill Murray, who is based in Montreal, are maintaining a healthy distance from the increasingly bad ol’ US of A out of senses of both solidarity and self-preservation.
"[The breaking point] was seeing how afraid trans and BIPOC friends were of crossing the border. I take it seriously and don’t really want to go where they can’t go," Murray told Aftermath. "My biggest personal factor is that I’ve been self employed for a very long time, and that can make me face more questioning. With a trade war on, it doesn’t feel like the risk is warranted – even if I’m facing mounting pressures to network, given the overall situation of the industry."
Vivid Foundry founder Tanya Kan and game trailer maker Gary J Kings, two developers who are residents of Canada, kicked off a discussion of the difficult choice many international developers face in regard to GDC on Bluesky. Both cancelled their plans this week after hearing the story of Becky Burke, a British tourist who’s been detained in an ICE facility for two weeks due to visa issues, unable to voluntarily return home. Burke’s father has called the situation “a nightmare.”
"[Burke's] case highlights the system's cruelty by detaining her in inhumane conditions,” Kan told Aftermath. “From there we looked at other factors and came to the conclusion that the political climate was devolving too rapidly for us to not feel anxious whilst needing to be in our top form at GDC."
It doesn’t feel like the risk is warranted – even if I’m facing mounting pressures to network, given the overall situation of the industry.
Trump’s escalating trade war with Canada – the goal of which sure seems to be annexation of a sovereign nation – has many Canadians bunkering down on their side of the border.
"The straw that broke the camel's back was the President's constant and repeated economic and military threats to Canada, including tariffs and especially annexation," BancyCo co-founder Benjamin Rivers told Aftermath. "Since a vast swath of Canadian businesses have decided to remove American products and pivot to non-American services, and citizens are increasingly opting out of travelling to the US, we thought it was only prudent to do the same. So instead of attending events like GDC or PAX, we've opted to spend our marketing budget on events in Canada, Europe, and Asia."
Rivers by no means relishes having to steer clear of a country where many friends reside, but in times of political upheaval, safe is far preferable to sorry.
"We know that American friends and colleagues don't support what the government is doing, and we'll dearly miss meeting them at events like GDC,” he said. “But it seems insane to travel to a country that has all but declared you its enemy, and in which random innocent travelers are already being detained, so we've opted to not cross that border for the foreseeable future."
Conditions, unfortunately, do not look to be improving, even in supposed liberal strongholds like California, which finds itself under the shaky stewardship of right-wing-guest-hosting podcaster-in-chief Gavin Newsom. What, if anything, can GDC and other, similar events do? Most developers believe the obvious answer is the best, fraught with logistical concerns though it might be: move.
"It might help a bit if the GDC talks were live [streamed] so at least it’s possible to follow along online conversations. But even when they did for covid it just [wasn't] the same; active participation during talks and the mingling between events are the important bits," said Gunnars. "A more central Europe conference [might be GDC's best bet]? I’m not sure why GDC Europe never held the same appeal."
I don’t think the industry in the US has had to grapple with the possibility of becoming less central before, but I think it’s a real possibility now.
“It would be nice to see the industry decide to convene elsewhere on a rotating basis,” said Murray. “I hope there’s an opportunity here for other conferences to grow, and for international organizers to reach out to each other and combine resources and ideas to capture some of that magnetic mass attraction GDC has always had. I don’t think the industry in the US has had to grapple with the possibility of becoming less central before, but I think it’s a real possibility now.”
Despite how quickly things are accelerating, the fact is that the current climate in the US didn’t come out of nowhere. Christina Pollock, a developer who's worked on series like Call of Duty and has, at various points, resided in Brisbane, San Francisco, and Vancouver, told Aftermath that she’s faced visa issues when it comes to entering the US since 2020. She’s not alone.
"Every year we hear the same story from developers from all around the world that two things hold them back from GDC: the cost of visiting SF and difficulty with US visas,” Pollock said. “Plenty of other North American industry conventions successfully rotate through cities and venues. SIGGRAPH, NANOG et al have had successful events in Canada. … If GDC is willing to break away from its home venue and look towards Toronto or Vancouver, I think they'll find that organizing events internationally isn't nearly as difficult as people might think. The game industry is already a global community; our premiere conference should reflect that."
