DEVELOP

A look ahead to this year’s Develop Brighton, as the conference returns to its place in the sun

We’ve often said that Develop is a fixture in Edge’s UK calendar but for the past two years, following a certain amount of pandemic-related rescheduling and a move to a fully virtual event in 2019, ‘fixture’ perhaps hasn’t been quite the right word. For 2022, though, it’s business as usual for the conference, taking place from July 12–14 in its traditional home at Brighton’s Hilton Metropole. “There’s no getting away from the fact that, you know, Brighton in July is probably going to be nicer than Brighton in October,” laughs Andy Lane, managing director of Develop organiser Tandem Events, admitting that part of what makes Develop special is the chance for a summertime trip to the seaside.

But what really matters, of course, is what happens out of the (potential) sunshine, inside the Metropole’s conference halls. Headlining the programme this year is Arkane Lyon studio head, and recipient of the Develop Star Award, Dinga Bakaba. Along with other members of the Deathloop team, he’ll be talking panel moderator – and Edge features editor – Alex Spencer through the ways Arkane broke from studio tradition, and the development challenges that resulted. Over in the conference’s Design track, meanwhile, there’s a look at one of said challenges, as campaign director Dana Nightingale explains how Deathloop’s opening was redesigned at the 11th hour of production.