LOS ANGELES (April 9, 2026) – USC Games, the top-ranked collegiate game design program, will kick off its 10th anniversary edition of the USC Games Expo with a keynote panel discussion with John Riccitiello, the former CEO of Unity Technologies and Electronic Arts; and Frank D. Gibeau, the President of Zynga. Riccitiello and Gibeau, considered pioneers in developing the global games industry, have both established endowed chairs at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. USC Games is a joint program of the School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) and the Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California. Riccitiello also sits on SCA’s Board of Councilors.
Jim Huntley, the Associate Professor in the Interactive Media & Games Division, specializing in games marketing and publishing, will be the chairholder of the Frank D. Gibeau Endowed Chair. SCA has 36 endowed chairs that provide funding for the academic divisions of the faculty members who serve as chairholders.
The 10th annual USC Games Expo will take place on May 12, 2026 at 4PM PST at the USC School of Cinematic Arts campus. Riccitiello and Gibeau lead off the Advanced Games Project (AGP) Spotlight Show, held at Eileen Norris Cinema Theatre with a live stream on Twitch and the USC Games Expo website. Attendees will have the chance to play more than sixty games created by students enrolled in various USC Games classes, in a carnival-like atmosphere supported by Wemade, the global game developer and publisher behind the Legend of Mir series and a leader in MMORPG and blockchain gaming. Attendees can also experience interactive installations from USC’s newly established Themed Entertainment program, check out an esports tournament, and preview new titles developed in Games as a Service and Live Operations (GLO), a first-of-its-kind class that focuses on the “live” component of game development, using PUBG MOBILE’s World of Wonder platform.
This year’s show features 10 titles created in USC Games’ flagship AGP course, in which students create games in a professional studio atmosphere. They pitch, develop, refine, and launch their original games as the culminating project of the USC Games curriculum. More information on the AGP titles can be found here.
“The USC Games Expo is all about the joy making and playing games,” says Danny Bilson, the Director of USC Games, who will also be installed as the John Riccitiello Chair in Games and Interactive Media at the event. “This is where our students get to show off their creations to the industry professionals they want to work with, and where the professionals get a glimpse into the innovations the next generation is working on. In addition to being a coming out party for our graduating students, the Expo is truly a celebration of all things gaming.”
“At Wemade, we believe the future of gaming is shaped by bold ideas and the next generation of creators,” says Kwan-Ho Park, Chairman & CEO of Wemade. “By supporting the USC Games Expo, we are investing in student developers who are pushing boundaries, redefining what’s possible in interactive storytelling and gameplay, and shaping the future of the games industry.”
AGP Spotlight Show Keynote Panelists:
John Riccitiello – Former CEO of Unity Technologies and Electronic Arts
John Riccitiello is a longtime leader in the video game industry, known for shaping some of the most influential gaming companies in the world. He served as CEO of Unity Technologies, taking the company public and guiding the platform’s growth as the industry standard for real-time 3D development, and previously led Electronic Arts as CEO, overseeing major franchises across console, PC, and mobile.
Frank D. Gibeau – President, Zynga
Frank Gibeau’s career is defined by a lifelong love of games and a commitment to leading companies where people are empowered to pursue their creative ambitions. A 30-year industry veteran, Frank is an expert in the mobile, PC, and console markets. As CEO of Zynga, he orchestrated a historic turnaround and rapid growth phase that led to a pivotal combination with Take-Two Interactive in 2022. Previously, Frank spent two decades at EA leading iconic franchises like The Sims, EA SPORTS, Need for Speed, and Battlefield.
About USC Games
USC Games is a flagship collaboration offered jointly by the School of Cinematic Arts Division of Interactive Media & Games and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science. This unified brand allows press, industry, students, and faculty to discuss the overall efforts at USC in games and simultaneously clarify the important distinctions between the offerings of the various programs.
The program has been ranked No. 1 for twelve years, as evaluated by the Princeton Review. The program at the School of Cinematic Arts focuses on both the design and production of interactive media and games. Students emerge as creative media leaders, fluent in many forms of visual expression and storytelling, with a sophistication to design and develop innovative interactive experiences that expand the state of interactive art and play across domains, such as entertainment, education, health care, and social action.
The Computer Science Games program at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering provides students with a grounding in the fundamentals of computer science and a cross-disciplinary background in game development. Students emerge with an engineering-oriented game-programming skillset, with an understanding of key technologies and the ability to lead complex technical teams in the development of games.
In addition to the advanced games class, USC Games offers the USC Games Expo and an annual industry event held at the Game Developers Conference. USC Games brings more shared courses under this umbrella, including those from other schools at USCgames@usc.edu.
About WEMADE
WEMADE is the only company combining over two decades of AAA game development success with a fully operational, game-proven blockchain ecosystem—built entirely on its proprietary Layer-1 mainnet, WEMIX3.0. Known for global hits such as The Legend of Mir, MIR4, NIGHT CROWS and Legend of YMIR, WEMADE is leading the industry in seamlessly integrating gameplay, tokenomics, NFTs, stablecoin payments, and blockchain infrastructure. Through WEMIX PLAY, WEMADE delivers a unified digital economy where players, creators, and investors can own, trade, and benefit from digital assets—powering the next generation of interactive entertainment and driving the evolution of Web3 gaming. For more information, please visit https://wemade.com/.
About the USC School of Cinematic Arts
The University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts is one of the leading film schools in the world. Founded in collaboration with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1929 over 95 years ago, the USC School of Cinematic Arts has fueled and mirrored the growth of entertainment as an industry and an art form. The School offers comprehensive programs in directing, producing, writing, critical studies, animation and digital arts, production, interactive media, and games, all backed by a broad liberal arts education and taught by leading practitioners in each field. Its more than 18,000 alumni are among the world’s most distinguished animators, scholars, teachers, writers, directors, producers, cinematographers, editors, sound experts, and industry executives. Since 1973, not a year has passed without an alumnus or alumna being nominated for an Academy Award. https://cinema.usc.edu/.
About the USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Founded in 1905, the USC Viterbi School of Engineering was named in 2004 as the Andrew and Erna Viterbi School of Engineering, honoring USC alumnus Andrew Viterbi, who developed an algorithm to connect the world, and his wife Erna. Located in Los Angeles, a global center for arts, technology, business, and innovation in the heart of the Pacific Rim, USC Viterbi draws undergraduate and graduate students from all over the world. With more than 10,000 students, 400 faculty across all ranks and appointment levels, and more than 40 in-residence or affiliated members of the National Academies, USC Viterbi is considered among the top engineering programs. Under the leadership of Dean Yannis C . Yortsos, the school helps re-imagine the 21st century engineer, by pioneering the Grand Challenge Scholars Program, leading national efforts in enhancing diversity, and changing the conversation about engineering. With its vision of engineering a better world for all humanity, USC Viterbi embodies the power of engineering (Engineering+) to advance discovery and solutions across all disciplines, to serve California, the nation, and the world. In 2024, the USC Viterbi School of Engineering launched the School of Advanced Computing, thus creating a new school “within a school.” http://viterbi.usc.edu/
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Press Contact for USC Games:
Colette Vignocchi
colette@zebrapartners.net
USC Games Press Kit