FRIDAY 26 JUNE 2026

RUN FOR THE BORDER

BALLYCONNELL, IRELAND

RunForTheBorderIreland

earlyinterest

ATS US NAI

Run For The Border is Ireland's largest international video games industry event. Game developers from the North & South of Ireland crash a small-town pub on the border for a jam-packed day of knowledge sharing, networking, nosh, and a fair bit of craic.

You missed it. It was class.

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OUR 2026 SPEAKER LINEUP

Jane Tan

Not Here Not There, Co. Clare

@wild_narrative

Lessons from the Trenches

The good, the bad, and the beautiful: what I've learned from my first year as an indie dev, and why I still try to make what I make.

Tom Cuthbertson

Monitr Games, Omagh

@tommycut

A Gambler's Guide to Gamedev

Every creative field is a gamble... A poker fan brings lessons on risk & reward from the gaming tables to the games industry.

Thomas Cashman

Viridian Software, Dublin

@viridiansoft

Porting Pitfalls

10 tips in 10 minutes to make sure your game is ready for porting.

Irina Kuksova

Sharp Glass Games, Belfast

@deathwishbloom

Should you kiss your best friend?

The agony and the ecstasy of designing a 10-dimensional relationship system for a romance-mystery visual novel.

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Brian Baglow

Scottish Games Network, Edinburgh

@brianbaglow

Ecosystem eats industry for breakfast

Our industry has serious issues: it's insular, incestuous and increasingly isolated from the rest of the world... which is a problem, since the world needs us now more than ever.

Caroline Anderson & Katherine Rowlandson

Kippie, Derry

@kippiecic

Lessons from Review Club: How to co-design with kids

After years of designing games for kids and with kids, we'll let you in on the results that have surprised us most.

Sam Redfern

Psychic Software, Galway

@psychicsoftware

How to write 400k words without losing your mind (mostly)

Reflections on my 5.5 year journey directing a massive RPG, and how it somehow worked out.

Treasa McCabe

Spooky Doorway, Dundalk

@spookydoorway

Holding the Vision

Always listen, but don't always act; how iterative feedback shaped The Séance of Blake Manor.

What is Run For The Border?

Irish game developers love to catch up with each other for a pint at international events like GDC & Gamescom... but for some reason, we rarely bother to make the journey to visit one another's events on home turf. Yes, it’s weird. No one knows why. So, Run For The Border was created to equalise everyone's inconvenience across the island! We're breaking down borders, on the border. One magical day each year, gamedevs of all shapes and sizes from hither and thither lay siege t

RFTB-Ireland

Apr 202 min read

Schedule of Events: June 26

Here's what this Friday looks like: 11:30am Derry coach departs from Tinney's Bar, BT48 7EL Galway coach departs from Ardán, CREW hub, H918K85 Dublin coach departs from The Gresham, D01 C3W7 12 / Midday Belfast coach departs from The Pixel Mill, BT2 8HS 2:00 - 2:30 Arrive at Lizzie Buggies. Sign in and start schmoozing. Square Coffee and Lizzie Buggies Bar will be open. 2:45 First Timers’ Table, hosted by Jules from Creative Europe Galway. This is to help those new to the ind

RFTB-Ireland

Jun 241 min read

How to Prepare for RFTB 2026

With only a week to go, we’ve put some tips together to help you make the most out of Run For The Border this year: 1. Be memorable! There are 250 people coming to RFTB 2026… how are you going to remember them all? How are they going to remember you? And I'm not talking about "wear a funky shirt" although that's a good start. You need a dependable method to keep the conversation going after the buses all go home. Do you have a LinkedIn account? Do you keep all your business c

RFTB-Ireland

Jun 183 min read

Two weeks to go!

Only two weeks left until Run For The Border 2026! It's our 5th year, and Run For The Border keeps growing... We can confirm that over 240 devs are going to be in Ballyconnell on June 26. A few bonuses you might not have known about: 1. Free drinks! Thanks to StoryToys Dublin, everyone gets a free drink ticket on entry. This can be used at the bar or the coffee van. If one drink isn't enough, we'll have some random optional icebreakers and spot prizes. And of course, you can

RFTB-Ireland

Jun 122 min read

2026 Speakers Announced!

As my old granny used to say: We've got a kickass line-up of wild topics and whimsical treats for your ears and eyeballs this year at Run For The Border. She really did used to say that and I never understood why until this very day. Open wide because here come this year's speakers! Brian Baglow Scottish Games Network, Edinburgh @brianbaglow Ecosystem eats Industry for Breakfast The games industry has a serious problem: it's insular, it's incestuous and it's increasingly isol

RFTB-Ireland

Jun 102 min read

Ride Share?

Shortly after releasing tickets, we put out a survey on the site to see if there would be any interest in RFTB implementing a third party Ride Share service. We figured it could work something like this: Drivers: opt in to enter your starting point and number of seats in your vehicle Passengers: Search for drivers from your area, connect with them to secure a seat. Unfortunately we didn't get enough responses - none from drivers - so we have decided not to subscribe to a thir

RFTB-Ireland

May 242 min read

Everything you need to know about RFTB 2026 so far

Key Info Date: Friday 26 June 2026 Location: Ballyconnell, Co Cavan Venue: Lizzie Buggies Bar Start Time: 15:30 / when buses arrive End Time: 21:00 / when buses leave Tickets Ticket Price: £14 / €16 Tickets + Dublin Coach Tickets + Belfast Coach Tickets + Galway Coach Tickets + Derry Coach Tickets + I'll get there myself Tickets are for entry into the event, and are the same price whether you take the coach or drive yourself. The four coaches are provided free for your conven

RFTB-Ireland

May 155 min read

Should I Speak at RFTB?

In a word: yes. Yes, you absolutely should. What if I've never spoken at an event before? Still yes. What if I'm new to the industry? Still yes. What if nobody likes my talk? Impossible. You are a wonderful person with so much to offer. Yes! I would like to speak at RFTB 2026! Run For The Border makes an effort to showcase a wide range of speakers and subjects from all over our wee island: from startups to veterans, from console to tabletop, from indie to AAA, from freelancer

RFTB-Ireland

May 123 min read

What to expect at RFTB 2026

Get ready for the amazing 5th non-consecutive year of Run For The Border! If you've never been to one of these, here's what's on the menu: Who else is going? You'll be glad to hear that Run For The Border has nothing to do with Running but plenty to do with Border. The event was created to get the North and South working together, trading talent and skills, and maybe even partnering up to mooch off each other's screen funding. 2025 brought in 200+ attendees from Belfast, Dubl

RFTB-Ireland

Apr 193 min read

The RFTB Origin Story

The story begins, as most good stories do, in an Irish pub. It just so happens this Irish Pub was located in Cologne, Germany. The Corkonian, to be exact; a wee dander from the Kölnmesse during Gamescom week. So there we was and we says to weselves we says "Bruh you live like two hours from me, how come I only see you when I get off a plane?" Only we didn't say Bruh because it was 2018 at the time, I just put that in to be relatable. I'm also not sure if the above story is en

RFTB-Ireland

Apr 182 min read