No one ever went to GDC for technical presentations. It was always about networking and no amount of online events can replace face-to-face meetings when it's c

No one ever went to GDC for technical presentations. It was always about networking and no amount of online events can replace face-to-face meetings when it's comes to business. Yeah you can reach a lot of people through friends of friends and Linkedin, but it's much easier to get funding or publishing deal in-person. Also jobs in gamedev usually pay way below other IT markets and being part of community and parties is one of ways companies keep their staff from leaving for better paying jobs.