Our Impressions From the Digital Dragons Conference 2026

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During our first experience at the Digital Dragons Conference last year, we gained many interesting and useful insights into various aspects of the gaming world. Still buzzing from the last event, we couldn’t pass up another chance to try out upcoming indie games, talk to developers, and attend lectures and discussions that offered a fresh perspective on the industry. Although this year’s Digital Dragons overlapped with other events we were participating in, we managed to attend the two most important days of the conference, and you’ll find our coverage of them in this article. 

Behind the Scenes of Game Development

Both days of the conference were filled with numerous events focused on game development from a technical perspective. The first item on our agenda was a lecture titled “Behind the Cinematics of Cronos: The New Dawn,” in which Piotr Nowakowski and Michał Pikul from Bloober Team discussed the tools, techniques, and approaches that helped them create the cutscenes for this new horror IP. After the visuals, it was time to focus on the audio aspect, which we had the opportunity to explore during Wilbert Roget II’s presentation. Using his scores for Helldivers 2, Star Wars: Outlaws, and Call of Duty: WWII as examples, he demonstrated how music can add nuance to gameplay and the story being told. 

Blockbuster titles were also a part of another panel, which focused on maintaining documentation in game development. On this occasion, Jarosław Ruciński and Adrian Fulneczek from CD PROJEKT RED shared details about the development of The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 in the context of project documentation and valuable lessons learned during the production process of DLCs, sequels, and ports to new platforms. We also had the opportunity to listen to a discussion on the impact of war and geopolitics on the gaming industry, taking into account legal compliance, political risk, and market access. 

Plenty of surprises in the Indie Zone 

As usual, we spent a lot of time in the Indie Zone, where we tried out a variety of upcoming titles from independent developers. Of the 50 demos available at the event, we managed to play a dozen or so, and the following titles caught our attention: 

• The Librarian: A Tale about Stories on a Long Road – a mysterious tale of a journey marked by significant choices, 

• BABA YAGA: Whispers of the BOOM – a top-down action-adventure inspired by Slavic myths, 

• Greedy Dive – an exploration roguelite where every dive brings something new, 

• Martial Law: Our Spring – a pixelated adventure set in the shadows of the past, 

• Cars and Guns: Paper Parts – a surreal vehicular game with a soulslike heart, 

• Woke charm – a metroidvania with a charming aesthetic, 

• Land of Infinite Dreams – a story-driven action-adventure set in a dreamworld shaped by imagination, 

• MUTTER – a stop-motion horror with a personal narrative, 

• Foxy Dumplings – an absolutely adorable food truck simulator, 

• Frau Perchta – an unsettling game that combines arcade-style mini-games with Germanic folklore, 

• Soaked in Sin – a collection of minigames reminiscent of bath time fun, 

• Falling Apart – a point-and-click about a man descending into his own fractured mind, 

• Carrion Viscera – a reverse horror game for VR technology, 

• Suck It Up! – an action-adventure about clearing a city of its critter infestation, 

• Ecumene Aztec – a brutal action-adventure set in the time of the Aztecs. 

In addition to trying out games in the Indie Zone, participants also had the opportunity to check out various announcements and presentations during the showcases and pitches. We were able to learn the details about upcoming productions such as Barkour, Voivod: The Nuclear Warrior, and Cosminers, which are set to be released in the near future. 

Awards Presented, Anticipation for Next Year

As it does every year, the highlight of the conference was the Digital Dragons Awards gala, during which the best Polish and international games of 2025 were honored. We witnessed a fierce battle for the top categories between Cronos: The New Dawn and The Alters, and we also saw recognition for the demos we had the chance to try out in the Indie Zone as part of the Indie Dragon Awards.  

In addition, we had the opportunity to meet and talk with the creators of titles such as Cronos: The New Dawn, named the best Polish game of 2025, as well as the highly acclaimed MOUSE: P.I. For Hire. From the educational and insight-driven aspects of game development to dancing robots, this year’s edition of Digital Dragons was exceptionally fruitful and interesting for us, which is why we’ll be eagerly awaiting the new games and announcements that will take center stage at next year’s event.