GodotCon 2026 🎮, Steam Launch Timing 📈, Unity PhotoMode 📷
🎮 Game Dev Events & Community
GodotCon Returns to Europe: Amsterdam Hosts 2026 Conference
GodotCon is officially returning to Europe with a 2026 edition in Amsterdam, home of the Godot Foundation. The two-day event runs April 23–24 at Pathé Amsterdam Noord, co-organized with the Dutch Games Association. Organizers are calling for talk and workshop proposals across all levels until March 30 and are actively seeking sponsors. Tickets are available now, and a separate US Godot-focused event is also confirmed for 2026.
Steam Front Page Science: When (and Where) to Launch Your Game
Scraping Steam’s front page for over a month, this post reveals how long games actually survive on Popular Upcoming, New & Trending, and New & Trending Free—and why those widgets behave very differently. The data debunks common indie wisdom, showing that the Winter Sale and other “scary” windows can be some of the best times to launch, especially for demos. It also explains why New & Trending is far more valuable but harder to reach. In the end, careful timing helps, but only a truly good, buzzworthy game will turn exposure into lasting success.
🧪 Tools & Tech for Better Games
Add a Full Photo Mode to Your Unity Game in Minutes
Discover a powerful, little-known Photo Mode system that Unity shipped on GitHub and learn how to modernize it for Unity 6.3. The creator walks through importing the full project, pinning compatible Cinemachine 2.x, fixing render pipeline changes, and wiring it into your own scene with the Input System. Once set up, players can freely position the camera, tweak visual settings, add frames and stickers, and capture custom screenshots. It’s a high-impact feature you can add with almost no coding.
Inside Mutable: Building Next-Gen Character Customization in Unreal Engine
Epic’s Mutable team breaks down how to build Fortnite-grade customization systems directly inside Unreal Engine. Learn how to combine dozens of character parts into a single optimized skeletal mesh, auto-reshape clothing to body morphs, and use clipping and UV packing to eliminate mesh intersections. The session also covers async performance behavior, streaming, and per-platform optimization, plus how to bake out characters or keep them fully dynamic. Upcoming dataless parameters promise even more scalable, content-friendly workflows in UE 5.8.
📊 Industry Trends & Player Insights
Steam Beta Lets User Reviews Include PC Specs and FPS Data
Steam’s latest beta makes reviews far more performance-aware. Players can now attach a reusable PC hardware profile to their reviews, giving real context to performance claims. An optional feature also lets users share anonymized framerate data to help Steam better judge game compatibility. The update even adds a way to submit feedback if you disagree with a game’s Steam Deck Verified rating.