Beyond Play: A French-American Community Event on the Future of Video Games
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Gray Area
2665 Mission St
San Francisco
CA, 94110
March 16 - March 16, 2025
San Francisco’s Gray Area will soon host Beyond Play, the first-ever French-American community event dedicated to fostering collaboration, reflection, and artistic dialogue in the video game industry.
Organized by Villa Albertine in partnership with La Région Occitanie, Gray Area, CNC and Institut français, this exclusive event will bring together industry leaders, creatives, and professionals for an evening of insightful discussions, networking, and artistic exploration.
Taking place on March 16, 2025, from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Gray Area in the Mission District of San Francisco, Beyond Play aims to engage the American professional community and gaming enthusiasts in meaningful exchanges. Attendance is by invitation only, with RSVP details to follow.
The event will kick off with an Intellectual Property Marketplace, offering a unique opportunity for American publishers to meet with five leading French studios from the Game Changer delegation. This session will facilitate transatlantic collaboration and open doors for new business opportunities.
Following the marketplace, a series of expert-led discussions will highlight the dynamic interplay between France and the United States in the gaming sector. The first panel will explore the global appeal of both industries, delving into economic incentives such as tax credits, technological advancements, and the evolving relationship between the two gaming powerhouses. The second panel will focus on the significance of art, artificial intelligence, and impact-driven games, examining how video games transcend entertainment to shape storytelling, social change, and cultural expression.
Program Schedule:
- 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM – Intellectual Property Marketplace / Meetings between French studios and American publishers
- 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM – French-American Panels:
- Panel 1: A Deep Dive into the French and U.S. Bond in the Gaming Industry – Exploring tax credits, regional incentives, and the cultural and technological exchanges shaping the global gaming landscape.
- Panel 2: The Importance of Art, AI, and Impact in Video Games – Examining the role of art and AI in gaming, from storytelling and design to social impact and community engagement.
- 6:00 PM – 6:10 PM – Presentation of The Siren by artist Mélanie Courtinat, recipient of the French Immersion Grant
- 6:10 PM – 7:00 PM – Cocktail and networking session
As a special highlight, The Siren, an innovative video game installation by French artist Mélanie Courtinat, will be presented. This immersive work challenges traditional gaming conventions, inviting audiences to reflect on their engagement with digital art and interactive experiences.
Beyond Play is part of the Game Changer program, an initiative developed by Villa Albertine in collaboration with the Institut Français, La Région Occitanie, and Games for Change. This program provides five selected French studios with a 10-day immersion in the American gaming industry, covering topics such as artificial intelligence, fundraising, adaptation, marketing, press relations, impact games, community engagement, legal contracts, and pitching.
During their stay from March 11 to 19, 2025, the selected representatives will participate in exclusive workshops and masterclasses led by U.S. gaming experts. They will also visit major industry players such as Riot Games, Ubisoft, Survios, Twitch, PlayStation, and CAA. The program includes two key networking events: a reception at the French Consulate in Los Angeles on March 13 and Beyond Play in San Francisco on March 16, coinciding with the Game Developers Conference (GDC). Delegates will also receive accreditation and access to the GDC, ensuring unparalleled exposure to the American gaming ecosystem.
Gray Area, the venue for Beyond Play, is a nonprofit cultural incubator in San Francisco dedicated to fostering interdisciplinary collaboration. Since 2008, it has established itself as a unique hub for critically engaging with technology and culture, empowering creative practitioners to drive social impact through groundbreaking work.
With an emphasis on cross-cultural exchange, technological innovation, and artistic exploration, Beyond Play promises to be a landmark event for professionals and creatives looking to shape the future of the gaming industry.
Stay tuned for the official RSVP link and secure your invitation to this exclusive symposium.
In partnership with
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La Région Occitanie
The Région Occitanie, a cradle of artistic creation in video games, aims to establish itself as a major player on the European stage. Proud of its companies that produce iconic titles, the Région Occitanie is a partner of the Game Changer program by Villa Albertine, which aims to showcase its talents internationally.
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Gray Area Foundation for the Arts
Gray Area is a nonprofit in San Francisco applying creativity for positive social impact.
“We use digital tools to create art and design projects that benefit society. We test and scale projects with high impact potential, teach digital tools to support artists and technologists, and inspire our community by promoting meaningful new work.
We apply the promise and inspiration of digital art to a broader social context. Our programs are transforming cities into creative outlets, applying technology to solve problems, and shaping how art is created and consumed in the digital era.”
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Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC)
Created in 1946, the Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC) is a public administrative organization, set up as a separate and financially independent entity which comes under the authority of the French ministry of culture and communication. Its principal missions are : support for the film, broadcast, video, video games, immersive productions and technical industries; promotion of film and television for distribution to all audiences and preservation and development of the film heritage.