Author: Sacramento Developer Collective

SDC x GDC Partnership

Posted on by Sacramento Developer Collective

Sacramento Developer Collective x GDC: A Major Step Forward for Our Community

SDC is proud to announce an official partnership with the Game Developers Conference — and it’s going to directly benefit Sacramento developers.

For years, the Sacramento Developer Collective (SDC) has worked to create opportunities for indie developers, students, and small teams to learn, connect, and grow.
This partnership with GDC is a huge milestone — not just for SDC, but for the entire Sacramento game development community.

GDC is the premier professional gathering for game creators, and this collaboration gives our community a stronger presence on the show floor, more visibility with industry leaders,
and more meaningful pathways for local developers to share their work with the world.

Why This Partnership Matters

  • Visibility for Sacramento developers: More eyes on the incredible projects being built here in our region.
  • Real opportunities for teams: Showcasing, networking, and connecting with publishers, funders, and collaborators.
  • Community uplift: SDC exists to help developers succeed — this partnership amplifies that mission at the biggest industry stage.

SDC Will Have a Booth at GDC

As part of this partnership, SDC will have an official booth at GDC where we’ll be showcasing games currently being made in the Sacramento community.
Our goal is simple: help developers get discovered, help projects gain traction, and help talented teams connect with the people who can support them.

10 Sponsored Developer Will Be Coming To GDC

We’re excited to share that SDC will be sponsoring 10 developers to attend GDC and show off their games.
These sponsored passes are a direct investment into our community — helping teams who might not otherwise be able to attend take a major step forward.

We also want to recognize how incredibly generous GDC has been in making this partnership possible.
Their support isn’t just symbolic — it materially helps developers get access to the world’s most important industry gathering.
We’re grateful, and we’re committed to making the most of this opportunity for Sacramento creators.

SDC Community Discount Code (GDC)

In addition to the sponsored passes, we’re also providing an SDC community discount code for anyone planning to attend GDC.
If you’re considering going, this is a great way to reduce the cost and join us on-site.

CODE: SDC10

Where to use it: Apply the code during GDC registration checkout here: https://gdc.informafestivals.com/2026/registrations/Attendee?_mc=barter_gdcsf_gdcsf_le_x_partner_2026?

What’s Next

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing more updates — including future blog posts highlighting members of our community who receive sponsored passes,
as well as the games we’ll be showcasing at the SDC booth.

This partnership is about uplifting developers — especially indie teams and emerging creators — by giving them real opportunities to be seen, supported, and celebrated.
We can’t wait to share what’s next.

The Student Showcase at CCS 2026!

Posted on by Sacramento Developer Collective

SDC has proudly offered free booths to students, high school-aged and below, at the Capital Creative Showcase and this year we are continuing that mission! When we first started CCS, our mission was simple — to celebrate the creativity, talent, and passion of local developers and to help them share their work with the world. The event quickly became Sacramento’s biggest celebration of indie games, art, and interactive experiences, providing a stage for developers to connect with fans, publishers, and each other.

However, as CCS grew, we realized that we were leaving out a vital part of our creative community — young, aspiring developers and creators who hadn’t yet reached college. These students are the next generation of innovators, designers, and storytellers. Many of them are already building impressive projects through school programs, coding camps, and independent efforts, but they often lack opportunities to share their work publicly or gain feedback from real players and professionals. We wanted to change that.

That’s why this year, we’re massively expanding our Student Showcase! We’ve reached out to even more local high schools, after-school programs, and coding education camps, inviting them to take part in CCS 2026. This expansion is about more than just giving students free booth space — it’s about giving them a platform to be recognized, to network with working developers, and to see firsthand that game development and creative technology are viable, exciting career paths.

At SDC, we’ve always believed in fostering the next generation of creative talent, not just through CCS, but also through our PGJED (Progressive Game Jam Education) program — a hands-on educational initiative that introduces students to real-world game development practices. Through PGJED, students get to experience what it’s like to plan, build, and iterate on games in a collaborative environment, guided by experienced mentors from the industry. The Student Showcase is the natural extension of that mission — a chance for these young creators to step into the spotlight and share the results of their hard work.

Whether you’re a teacher, a program organizer, or a student developer working on your first big project, we’d love to feature you at CCS! This is your chance to share your creativity, learn from peers and professionals, and be part of Sacramento’s growing creative community.

If you are a student developer still in high school or below, or if you’re submitting on behalf of multiple students as part of a school or organization, please contact:
📧 ccsregistration@sacdevcollective.org

You’ll receive instructions on how to proceed with your application and your 100% student discount code.

When emailing:

  • For organizers: use the subject line: Student Showcase – [Your Organization Name]
  • For individual students: use the subject line: Individual Student – Student Showcase – [Your Name]

Reminder: This discount code is available for students in elementary through high school, as well as for student organizers, per certain conditions.

We can’t wait to see what you’ve been working on and to celebrate your creativity at Capital Creative Showcase 2026, happening May 9th at The Jones Hall @ The Grounds in Roseville!

For more information about CCS, check out the website here!

CCS Steam Event – First Ever!

Posted on by Sacramento Developer Collective

For this year’s Capital Creative Showcase, SDC is doing something completely new — a concurrent Steam Event!

The inspiration came from our friends at OffBrand, who ran a similar Steam Event alongside their in-person game showcase. When we talked to some of the developers who participated, they all said the same thing: the Steam event was a huge boost to their visibility and wishlist numbers. We immediately saw the potential.

Increasing a game’s visibility on Steam is one of the most effective ways to grow your audience and turn convention hype into real, long-term momentum. And that’s what CCS is all about — helping developers get more eyes on their work and giving them every opportunity to succeed. The Steam Event will run during the same weekend as CCS, allowing people all over the world to experience what’s happening here in Sacramento.

If you’d like to be included in the CCS Steam Event, all you need to do during booth registration is select that your game has a Steam page and paste the link to it. Once everything is submitted, you’ll later receive a confirmation email directly from Steam regarding your participation.

Even better — you don’t need to be an on-site exhibitor to join the Steam Event! Developers who can’t attend CCS in person are still welcome to submit their games for inclusion. The more games we have in our submission list, the better our chances of being approved for the Steam event — and the stronger our local dev scene looks to the global audience.

Check out the CCS Website to apply!

A New Era for SDC!

Posted on by Sacramento Developer Collective

A New Era for SDC! Hey everyone! We’re excited to share some big updates with you. The SDC website has been updated and refreshed to better reflect who we are, what we do, and all the amazing things happening in our community. Take a look around—you’ll find it easier than ever to stay up to date on events, programs, and opportunities. But that’s not all! We’re also welcoming our new Social Media Director, Frank Lourence (you might recognize him from Geek Freaks). With Frank onboard, our social media is about to level up in a big way. Expect more frequent updates, behind-the-scenes looks at what our community is working on, and highlights of the incredible games being made right here in Sacramento. This is the start of a new era for SDC. We’re putting a stronger focus on spreading the word about our community—whether that’s through interviews, game spotlights, event coverage, or just celebrating the awesome things you all are building. We’re here to support local developers, and now more than ever, we want to shine a spotlight on you and your games. Stay tuned—it’s going to be a fun year!