gamescom dev panel to examine trust and leadership in games

gamescom dev 2026 in Cologne will host a session on Aug. 25 focused on how game-industry leaders build trust, run studios and advance new leadership models. The panel will bring together five executives and coaches from Europe and North America as part of the developer track ahead of the main gamescom show floor.

Why it matters: - The session centers on a leadership problem the games industry still wrestles with: who gets trusted to lead, and how that trust is earned. - The panel aims to connect leadership style with business outcomes, not just culture or representation. - Organizers say the discussion is meant to show how values-driven leadership can help teams, investors and future developers.

What happened: - gamescom dev 2026 will feature “Leading With Trust: Rewriting The Playbook” on Tuesday, Aug. 25, from 4:15–5:15 p.m. at Stage 8, Level 2 at Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany. - Fiona Cherbak will moderate the panel. - Cherbak is the founder of Rocket Game Talent and a former talent lead for Xbox Game Studios and Sony PlayStation. - The panel is part of gamescom dev 2026, the developer-conference track running Aug. 23–25 in Cologne. - The main gamescom show floor runs Aug. 26–30 at Koelnmesse.

The details: - The session will bring together leaders who have built studios, product lines and executive practices across Europe and North America. - Panelists are Katya Dolgova, Sophie Vo, Carina Kom and Dr. Natasha Skult. - Dolgova is co-founder and COO of Redhill Games, a co-development studio operating from Finland and Cyprus. - Dolgova is also a Women in Games and Women in Tech ambassador. - Vo is a founders coach at Rise and Play. - Vo has coached more than 300 CEOs, founders and executives in gaming and tech. - Vo founded ORIN, a leadership community for women. - Kom is chief product officer and co-founder of Simply Sweet Games. - Kom has led Diversity in Games (Vancouver) for more than 13 years. - Skult is CEO and creative director of MiTale, a Finland-based narrative game studio. - Skult also leads W Love Games, an organization focused on DEI and support for indie developers globally. - Cherbak said the panel is not about proving women can lead. - Cherbak said the conversation is about leading by building trust differently with teams, investors and the next generation of developers. - Dolgova said leaders often have to prove capability again at each new level. - Kom said capital, opportunity and leadership all depend on trust, and that trust does not flow equally.

Between the lines: - The panel reflects a broader push in games toward leadership models that emphasize inclusion, values and organizational trust. - The framing suggests the industry conversation is shifting from representation alone to the mechanics of how power, hiring and investment decisions get made. - By tying leadership to business returns, the session is positioning culture as an operating strategy, not a side issue.

What's next: - Registration and full programming details are available at devcom.global and gamescom.global. - gamescom dev will run before the main trade show, making the panel part of the industry's annual European networking and business calendar. - The session is expected to draw developers, studio leaders and hiring executives looking for practical models of team-building and leadership.

The bottom line: - gamescom dev is using one of its business-focused sessions to argue that trust, not just talent, is what shapes who leads in games and how studios grow.