(UPDATED) Representatives from video game giants across the globe will be speaking at a game development summit in Boracay, in what the organizers described as the "first of its kind" in the Philippines.

GameDev Summit (GDS) is a business-to-business summit where professional video game workers and advocates can connect and establish their own networks.

The summit puts a spotlight on the Philippines and the region for the international video game industry to see, and features the "XDS Main Stage”, which hails from the well established External Development Summit (XDS) of Vancouver.

Game development experts and advocates from Xbox, Electronic Arts (EA), Riot Games, Capcom, Respawn Entertainment, Gearbox Software, Remedy Entertainment, and Sentinel Games headline the list of speakers.   

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The summit will be the perfect opportunity to connect industry leaders from indie and major gaming companies around the world with each other, GameOps founder and chief executive officer Andro Baluyut told ABS-CBN News.

The event will be divided into two: the External Development Track at The Lind, and the Indie Track at SeaWind Resort. The organizers capitalized on Boracay’s status as a tourist hotspot in the Philippines to entice international attendees to participate.     

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The ExDev track will cater to developers and studios that are looking for services, while the Indie track will cater to indie game developers wanting to learn from the best of the best. 

Ryan Lastimosa (Sentinel Games), Karin Bruér (Remedy Entertainment), Shiew Yeu Loh (Riot Games), Eric Petterson (EA Dice), Sam Carlisle (XBox), Ashley Liu (Keywords Studios), Hiroko Matsuda (Capcom), Eric Barrios (Respawn Entertainment), Jesse Sosa (Gearbox Software) and more give their insights in the ExDev track. 

Meanwhile, Juney Dijkstra (EA), Johan Toresson (Raw Fury), Meg Clarke (Team17), Clara Sia (Devolver Digital), Jason Della Rocca (Execution Labs), Kristian Roberts (Nordicity) Thierry Baujard (Spielfabrique UG), Sarah Johana (Toge Productions), and even former Senator Bam Aquino, who is a known esports and gaming advocate will be talking in the Indie Track. 

For Baluyut, who has been a presence in the game development industry since 2013, the event also seeks to inform potential investors of the state of game development in the country. 

The Philippines is no stranger to huge gaming events, such as the Electronic Sports and Gaming Summit, CONQuest, and the Philippines Game Development Expo, which was handled by the GDAP, where Baluyut is a board member.

On top of this, GDAP, along with the Department of Trade and Industry has been launching initiatives to develop and support the local video game industry. 

As one of those initiatives, the summit will boost the Philippine game development profile by showcasing the games and expertise of our studios, and generate interest from both the local and foreign business community. 

Baluyut, who has been a presence in the game development industry since 2013, hopes GameDev Summit and other similar initiatives will accelerate the local video game development scene and inspire more Filipinos to join the industry. 

That, alongside galvanizing the support of the local investment community, can perhaps create a Filipino game development studio that the Philippines is known for.

Passes range from $285 to $850 (all-access), and the summit offers discounts for attendees booking at the participating hotels. 

Reservations and more information about the event are on their official website.