Jeff Gardiner

Jeff Gardiner is the Founder and CEO of Something Wicked Games, building Wyrdsong, a preternatural open-world RPG. 

BAFTA Award-winning Lead Producer of Fallout 4, Jeff is a 20-year veteran of the video game industry, over 15 years of which he has spent at Bethesda Games Studios. During his tenure at Bethesda, he has played a role in creating and shipping most of their major titles, including The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Fallout 3, Fallout 4, and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. As Project Lead of Fallout 76, Jeff oversaw both its creation and its redemption to become the most-played RPG on Xbox Live at the time of his departure. 

In addition to helming his studio and new franchise, Jeff has consulted with some of the biggest names on YouTube, as well as film, television, comic, and game publishers to create, develop, and refine their IP. 

What’s Next for RPGs?

With the rise of amazingly successful RPGs such as Baldur’s Gate 3, Elden Ring, and others, the RPG genre has achieved heights previously thought impossible. This includes critical success in terms of sales and commercial success – RPGs win more Game of the Year Awards than any other genre.

However, crafting these behemoths is also fraught with peril. Many major publishers have attempted to enter the genre and have failed. Even studios that have previously found success have struggled under ever-growing budgets and endless timelines.

This talk will be focused on what’s next in the space, how laying the proper groundwork for new studios to enter the genre, making them “built to last,” is a critical component for long-term viability. This will include discussions on how to focus a team on what matters, how to make a game that’s properly budgeted and scoped, that will meet or exceed the lofty expectations that the genre has put upon itself.