VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Early Bird Registration is now open for External Development Summit (XDS) 2018. Occurring September 5 -7 in Vancouver, Canada at the Parq Vancouver- XDS is the only annual, international video games industry event with a primary focus on external development for art, animation, audio, software engineering, QA and localization.

Last year’s sold-out event boasted 50 quality speakers, over 500 high caliber attendees from more than 38 countries, 3,000+ B2B meetings, daily networking opportunities and special events, and 39 world-class sponsors. This year is on track to once again exceed expectations. The official capacity has been increased to 600 to accommodate growing demand, and organizers are expecting another sold-out event.

Toby Ow, Production Supervisor at Sony Interactive Entertainment said, "XDS has quickly become THE must attend event if you’re involved with external development. There is no greater opportunity to connect with likeminded colleagues and discover the past, present, and future of external development." In a similar sentiment, Alex Stein, Art Manager at Treyarch/Activision, stated, "How is it XDS only continues to improve every year? See you next year!"

Early Bird Passes are on sale for $769USD until June 12 (i.e. June 11 at 11:59 PM PST), when prices increase to $899USD. To register, visit: www.xdsummit.com.

Sponsor/exhibitor opportunities are already over 60% sold-out. To find out more, contact Partnerships Manager Rachel Orris directly at Rachel@xdsummit.com. All other inquiries can be directed to info@xdsummit.com.

About XDS
External Development Summit (XDS) is the only annual, international video games industry event with a primary focus on external development for art, animation, audio, software engineering, QA and localization. A professionals only event, XDS brings together a niche community of game developers and publishers, vendors, middleware providers, and trade organizations to advance the industry through collaboration, sharing of best practices, networking and the delivery of a high-calibre, educational program.

Website: www.xdsummit.com
XDS 2018 Trailer: https://youtu.be/nqFO-Mpj8EE
Submit a Presentation: http://xdsummit.com/agenda/presentation-submissions/
XDS 2018 Industry Report: http://xdsummit.com/xds-2018-industry-insights-report-released/
XDS 2017 Event Retrospective: http://xdsummit.com/xds-2017-event-retrospective/

Media Contact:
Madelynn Kalyk, Media Relations
madelynn@xdsummit.com
T: 604-456-1853