What. A. Week.
GDC 2026 is in the books, and I’m still processing everything that happened. In just a few days, we packed in more energy, conversations, and momentum than I could have imagined:
🤝 50+ meetings with game developers
🌮 100+ attendees at the inaugural Jest Developer Luncheon
💰 100+ applications to the Jest Games Fund
Here’s a quick look back at a week that changed everything for Jest.
The Announcement
A week before GDC, we officially announced Jest to the world via a TechCrunch exclusive: https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/26/jest-a-marketplace-for-messaging-games-is-challenging-the-app-store-status-quo/.
After months of building quietly, it was surreal to finally share what we’ve been working on - a marketplace for messaging games, which leverages texting to engage and retain consumers.
The timing was intentional. We wanted the announcement to land right before the biggest week in games so we could walk into GDC with momentum - and that’s exactly what happened. By the time GDC kicked off in San Francisco, our inbox was already flooded.
1:1 Meetings with Game Developers
The core of our GDC was back-to-back meetings with game developers - over 50 of them across the week. From solo indie creators with ambitious ideas to established studios with top franchises, we sat down with developers building every kind of game imaginable.
What stood out most was how quickly conversations shifted from “what is Jest?” to “how do we build on it?” Developers quickly understood the vision: a new approach to distribution that remains largely untapped, yet highly sticky. Many had been actively looking for a way to break out of the app store grind, and the energy in the meetings reflected that.
The First-Ever Jest Developer Luncheon
One of the highlights of the week was hosting our first Jest Developer Luncheon - a focused gathering of mobile game developers exploring messaging games.
We brought together 100+ developers, creators, and industry leaders for an afternoon of tacos, product deep dives, and candid conversations about where gaming is headed. We shared our vision for messaging as the next major platform, gave an inside look at Jest, and introduced the Jest Games Fund.
A key moment from the luncheon was a live conversation on stage with Michael Dawson, Chief Business Officer of Pocket Gems and an early Jest launch partner. We discussed what it looks like to build for messaging, how it compares to traditional app store distribution, and why teams like Pocket Gems are leaning into this new platform. Michael’s perspective helped ground the opportunity in real operator experience and sparked a lot of follow-on conversations with developers in the room.
We’ll be sharing the deck from the luncheon in a separate blog post - stay tuned!
The Jest Games Fund
Last but not least: we received 100+ applications to the Jest Games Fund.
We are grateful to have so many teams eager to partner with us to explore messaging as a new platform. We are currently working through the applications and will circle back with every team as soon as possible.
What’s Next
GDC confirmed what we already believed: developers are hungry for a new way to reach players, and Jest is building exactly that. We’re now heads-down following up on every meeting, reviewing every application to the Jest Games Fund, and turning this momentum into real launches.
If you’re a developer and we didn’t get a chance to connect at GDC, reach out or apply to the Jest Games Fund for up to $1M in growth funding for messaging games. Applications are open until April 15.
👉 Apply for the fund here: https://about.jest.com/fund/
We’re just getting started.