When the conference ends, the experience continues at Track for the Belgian Launch Party.

Curious what Belgian game studios have been cooking up? The Launch Party puts the spotlight on a selection of Belgian games released in 2026.

Grab a beer and meet the devs behind the games.

Lead developer of the innovations team for the VRT internal production team. Working on games for Ketnet; embedded systems, VFX, and games for TV productions.

Bünyamin Yürük is a Visual Creative at VRT, where he works across 3D, virtual production, real-time graphics and emerging AI workflows. He graduated from Digital Arts & Entertainment in 2025 and previously gained experience working with Unreal Engine, virtual production and VFX. At VRT, he has been exploring how AI and real-time technologies can be integrated into creative production, including projects that combine game development, visual content and broadcast.

When day one of UNWRAP comes to a close on Oct. 29, we’re keeping the energy exactly where it belongs: with a live set from Black Sun Empire.

Black Sun Empire - The Dutch Drum & bass royalty is playing our afterparty. Yes, really. Bring your dancing shoes, because this one's going to hit hard.

The afterparty is included in your UNWRAP ticket.

🎧Listen on Spotify or on YouTube

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Our afterparty is powered by Blinking Pixel, a Maxymum label

Ulrik Van Hecke is the Founder & CEO of Ambrio, a Belgian deep-tech company developing spatial audio technology for artists and live performance. He initiated the project and invented the concept behind Ambrio’s spatial mixer, leading it from an initial idea to a funded company with a working product and a first market launch planned for February 2027.

With a background in electrical and space engineering, and as a pianist, DJ and producer, Ulrik combines technical and creative perspectives. He has hands-on experience across funding, manufacturing, IP, and electrical and mechanical product development.

Thibault is the founder of Frameboy, a creative studio focused on creating experiences across screens, spaces, and audiences.

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Wim is a C++ and Rust developer who spends his days between artists and creatives, and his evenings hallucinating and vibing. He writes the Unreal C++ behind the visuals of immersive live experiences, small and large, and moonlights in XR with Italian designers of sporty cars.

His idea of relaxing is cross-compiling Linux for new silicon, and his idea of a "small weekend project" is scoping a multi-GPU path-traced render engine for immersive domes. He once built an entire native Android pipeline for C++ and Rust, purely to avoid writing a single line of Java — a decision he describes as "a matter of principle" and everyone else describes as "concerning." If it has pixels, a GPU, and a usb or network port, Wim has probably made it do something it wasn't designed for.

Goran is a VFX and facial animation specialist with over 20 years of experience in film, television, and game cinematics. He has worked in senior roles at Weta Digital and Goodbye Kansas Studios, specializing in realistic facial animation, facial motion capture, scanning, and performance-driven character work. He is a founding member of the Society for Game Cinematics, an active member of the Visual Effects Society (VES), and a two-time VES Award nominee.

Video games artist for the last 28 years. Started as Texture Artist, worked my way up to become Art Director on several gaming projects but also board and card games related to various IP's. One thing i've learned is that since i love playing games i want to make them look better by contributing to their development. Also, i love working, tutoring and learning from other artists.

Ann-Sophie Dewaele graduated from Digital Arts and Entertainment in 2014. After a few years in games and animation, she took those skills into the music industry. Together with record label Consouling she put together Deep Listening, one of the first Ghent festivals focused on immersive experience and the link between tech and music. She was a JUMP Music Accelerator fellow in 2020 and is currently head of Communications at Democrazy, Boomtown and Club Wintercircus.

Regis Le Roy is Academic Director at DAE (Digital Arts and Entertainment), the game, VFX and 3D animation program of Howest University of Applied Sciences in Kortrijk, Belgium. He has more than 25 years of experience in academia and serves as vice chairman of Flanders Audiovisual Fund. He was also one of the founders of the DAE program, holds a master's degree in game technology, and is a lifelong gamer.

I've been working at Triangle Factory since I graduated in 2024 from DAE. I touched a variety of technical topics during my time here, be it anti-cheat, art tooling, 3rd-party integrations or gameplay code.

One of the things I contributed to, are a couple of our internal packages which help us reuse code across projects. As a way of giving back to the amazing community that helped shape me to where I am now, I would love if you came to hear me talk about how we tackle this at Triangle Factory.

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Jasper Vis is co-founder of MAXYMUM, a game technology company building next-gen, engine-agnostic tools for game designers. Jasper has spent his career at the intersection of design and technology, crafting immersive digital experiences for global clients and brands. He spent six years in the games industry working on triple-A titles published under the famous Sierra label.

In 2025, he co-founded MAXYMUM with a group of industry veterans to tackle a problem that's plagued game development for decades: giving designers a tool built specifically to support their daily work.

Tomas Luyke is Director of Marketing Technology & Innovation at Nettwerk Music Group, the independent label behind artists like Paris Paloma, SYML, Passenger and LEISURE. He bridges technology with artist strategy and leads the label’s AI and innovation initiatives.

Before joining Nettwerk, Tomas held roles at various independent and major labels, most recently as Head of Artist & Label Services at Warner Music Benelux. Across these positions, he supported global artists and labels in developing campaigns spanning frontline, catalog, and digital strategy. This cross-label experience gives him a unique perspective on how major and independent ecosystems can coexist and how technology is transforming both.

Tomas also contributes to Music Tech Netherlands, connecting the country’s music and tech communities. His current focus is the applied use of AI across marketing operations, audience development, and strategic planning, alongside internal AI enablement and training, helping teams build fluency through workflows and real campaign use cases. He advocates for a future where digital intelligence supports stronger decision-making and frees up more space for human creativity.

Patricija Keica works at the intersection of AI and visual storytelling in the beauty industry. She joined L'Oréal as an intern straight from Howest Digital Arts and Entertainment (DAE), curious about how AI tools were being used in beauty, and started experimenting with the company's internal creative tools, work that ended up featured in live ad campaigns.

Today, Patricija works as a visual consultant and creator, using AI and other tools to bring L'Oréal's campaigns to life. She also owns the company's internal CreAItech tool and trains colleagues on how to use AI creatively. She's interested in how techniques born in gaming and entertainment find new life in one of the most image-driven industries out there.

Luc Delrue is CEO of ENT.A, the Flemish spearhead cluster for innovation in entertainment, connecting companies and knowledge institutions to drive innovation and growth.

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Veerle Van Schoelant is Artistic Coordinator at 30CC and a guest lecturer in Cultural Studies at UCLL KU Leuven.  Trained as a social worker in cultural work, she also holds a degree in History from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). Before joining 30CC, she worked as a production manager for Filmfabriek, Villanella and fABULEUS.

Her work is characterized by connecting socio-cultural methodologies with contemporary arts practices, fostering participation, co-creation and collaboration. At 30CC, she has initiated and developed a range of pioneering projects, including the emerging artists platform Eigen Kweek, For Real, a performing arts festival exploring the intersection of art and new technology, and SHIFT, an inclusive creative and digital youth hub. She is currently involved in the development of Leuven’s new Performing Arts Site (Podiumkunstensite), scheduled to open in 2031.

I'm the co-founder and CEO of ikii, a creative agency and venture studio operating at the intersection of live entertainment, premium experiences, and emerging technologies.

Alongside this, I serve on the advisory board of KIKK Festival, on the board of MusicTech Belgium and Capitane Coop, and as a strategic advisor to companies including Tickets For Good, Citizen BKLYN, Levita, and Temple Studios.

Tim Van Dingenen graduated from Digital Arts & Entertainment in 2014 and has since built his career in broadcast and media graphics. His work spans 2D and 3D design, augmented reality, live production, and AI-driven creative workflows. In 2025, he became Manager of Boost Graphics, where he leads the department with a strong focus on innovation, emerging technology, and the future of real-time visual storytelling.

Melissa Herrera is Content Platforms Manager at Studio 100 Benelux.

She is responsible for how Studio 100 content is distributed and experienced across digital content platforms, both internally and externally. With experience at the intersection of content, digital platforms and emerging technologies, she contributes to the ongoing evolution of well-known Studio 100 worlds into new digital formats and experiences.

I graduated from DAE in 2024 and have since worked as a Lighting Artist at Climax Studios, gaining experience across AAA games in Unreal Engine 5, Unity, and proprietary engines.

Most recently, I've worked on Exodus, an upcoming sci-fi RPG, where I focused on gameplay lighting,taking maps from blockout to shippable, implementing PBL into the project, and optimizing lots (and lots) of lights.

Ethan Francis is a CG Generalist at Black Kite Studios. Beginning his career as a runner at ILM, to now a Generalist at Black Kite Studios, he has worked on a range of adverts for clients such as Apple, Samsung, McDonald's, KFC and many more.

He has a passion for organic modelling and immersing himself in the film, TV and games community which led him to be part of the CG101 and Concept101 team.

Brenda Ximena Roldan Romero is a 3D Animator with experience across high-end VFX and Feature Animation. Since graduating with First-Class Honours and a Distinction from Bournemouth University, she has worked on projects for major studios including Disney, DreamWorks, Marvel, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, BBC, at studios like DNEG, Framestore, Jellyfish Pictures, Axis, Triggerfish and more. Her recent credits include Eyes of Wakanda (2025), DogMan (2025), The Wheel of Time (2025), and several upcoming NDA films.

Brenda is also the co-director of CG101 and collaborator at Concept101, two community-led events focused on creating free, accessible resources for artists in animation and VFX. With over 20 talks delivered at major festivals, she’s passionate about storytelling, character performance, and empowering the next generation of talent.

Maarten was always fascinated by early 3D animation. He studied at DAE and started his career at Framestore as a Junior 3D Animator. His focus on creature animation quickly led to one project after another in that niche.

From there, he moved to Pixomondo to work on House of the Dragon, then returned to Framestore for Harry Potter and How to Train Your Dragon 2.

Alongside his main projects, he also takes on freelance work, like teaching animation at VFX workshops for DoubleJump Academy.

Benjamin Yde is a synthetic data and simulation expert at Vintecc, a Belgian industrial technology company specializing in mechatronics, computer vision, digital twins, and AI-driven automation. Graduated in 2019 from Howest DAE in Kortrijk as a game developer and has been with Vintecc since then.

Today he builds synthetic data pipelines using Houdini, develops simulation and 3D visualization tooling in C++ and Python, and works extensively with OpenUSD across the stack from Houdini's Solaris to Nvidia Omniverse. He has a particular interest in bridging the gap between the VFX and industrial worlds, applying production-grade tools like OpenUSD and PhysX to real-world industrial use cases.

In his free time he maintains open-source guides on C++, Python, OpenUSD, Docker, and Linux on GitHub. He also co-organizes the Belgian Houdini User Group together with Simon Verstraete.

Keltic Vermeersch is a Belgian game developer, environment artist, and storyteller.

Over the past several years, he has contributed to AAA titles including Horizon Forbidden West, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, and Project 007. Alongside his work in games, he’s an author, entrepreneur, and (naively positive) founder of an indie game studio, where he’s developing his own original projects.

I'm Winston. The creator behind Horror Skunx 1 & 2, with over 12 million subscribers! I'm a VFX artist with a main focus on 3D animation from the beginning, and now lead a studio with around 20 people!

Pieter Paepe is a leading regulatory and litigation lawyer with extensive experience in EU law, competition law, digital regulation, and dispute resolution.

He serves as trusted counsel to companies navigating complex legal and regulatory challenges, from market entry and compliance to high-stakes litigation. Pieter has successfully argued several landmark cases before the European Court of Justice and advises businesses operating in highly regulated and technology-driven industries.

Chris Hanney is an independent game developer who has worked with teams all over the world to make fun interactive experiences, including Starship Home, Space Pirate Trainer, Shredders, Curiosmos and many more. He is also developing the game community tool Gameplainer.com

Damian Gerrits is currently an Associate Art Lead at Moon Studios, where he has been working on No Rest for the Wicked since joining the studio in 2022. His primary focus has been shaping the game's lighting style and direction, from the earliest explorations on how to complement a hand-painted and handcrafted world to the final lighting seen in the game today.

Throughout development, Damian has worked on the majority of the game's world and cinematic lighting, helping define the visual mood and atmosphere across the project. He has also contributed to the creation of multiple trailers through lighting, editing, and team leadership. These experiences led him into his current role as Associate Art Lead, where he continues to focus on lighting while working closely with and supporting the wider art team throughout development.

I graduated DAE in 2019 and found my first job as a lighting artist at rebellion game studios film division in oxford.

There I spent almost 3 years growing my skillset and working on a couple of live action and full cg projects. (sniper elite 5 cinematic trailer, evil genius 2 cinematic trailer, ...). After which I joined steamroller animation as a lighting supervisor in the summer of 2022. There we released our award winning animated pilot Spice frontier and I worked on many other client projects and pitches.

Gianluca Sorrentino (he/him) is a Studio and Game Director who helped start up a Belgian indie game studio - Bolt Blaster Games. He oversaw the creative and game direction of GAZZLERS, a cartoon-inspired VR shooter, and helped shape the team behind The Spell Brigade, a co-op bullet heaven action roguelite with ragtag wizards that sold 1M+ copies while still in Early Access. Gianluca also took care of marketing until the success of The Spell Brigade allowed to find a full-time person.

Fav game: Team Fortress 2

Playing right now: UFO 50

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Maria Nevoisa (she/her) is a marketing and publishing pro with 12+ years in the industry. Among the companies she worked at, there's CD Projekt RED, where she contributed to launching one of the most memorable and unique video game marketing campaigns of the last years for Cyberpunk 2077. Maria also taught Video Games Marketing at Collegium Civitas University and loves knowledge sharing.

‍Fav game: Disco Elysium

‍Playing right now: Replaced

Involved in Bevy development since its start, François is now one of the main maintainers of the game engine, and a promoter of open source everywhere.

Stefan Brandmair is a masters student at TU Wien and an open-source graphics and tooling programmer. He has worked on the FlaxEngine, contributed to Babylon.js, maintained gl-matrix and serves as an invited expert in the GPU for the Web Working Group.

His work focuses on the WebGPU Extended Shading Language (WESL), building compilers, modular shader libraries, resilient IDE tooling, debuggers and serving the needs of game developers. Much of this work is motivated by the design challenges of the modern and modular Bevy game engine.

I live in Arnhem, Netherlands. I am originally from Florida. I am 26 y/o. I have been programming for about 10 years.

My name is Jarne, I am a first class AI nerd and ML engineer at Datameister. I hold a PhD in self-supervised 3D deep learning. The best thing for me is rabbit-holing in research and making algorithms work for media & entertainment, robotics and CAD.

Jesús has 30 years of experience in the digital industry, including the last 20 at Microsoft, where he has held a wide range of roles across Innovation, Artificial Intelligence and Engineering. In 2014, he became the inventor of one of Microsoft’s protected patents.

He has worked across multiple industries with a strong focus on Media and Entertainment, partnering with more than 300 clients in 35 countries. He has led large‑scale consumer experiences reaching millions of users and downloads, and he advises several game studios and product teams.

Jesús is an internationally awarded speaker with more than 300 sessions and keynotes at global events. He is also an AI Tutor at the University of Oxford and an Associate Professor at various universities and business schools around the world.

Marijn Goossens (1994) is an media innovation pioneer and RITCS alumnus who made headlines by directing Belgium's first VR fiction film, Paradise (2016), as well as the world's first 16K film in partnership with Nokia (2017). Following the successful sale of his first XR agency, Soulmade (2025), he founded Noctales, an innovative experience studio creating high-end projects for clients & partners including Technopolis, River Cleanup, Airscan, and Wit-Gele Kruis.

Leveraging his background as a former VR researcher at Thomas More, Marijn also runs the Technology & AI hub and works on strategic research at Future Media Hubs from VRT Innovation, where he provides critical trendwatching and strategic recommendations. As an international speaker and creative strategist, he continually pushes the boundaries of technological innovation and experimental narrative forms to shape the future of the media landscape.

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Tom is a senior lecturer at Howest University of Applied Sciences, where he teaches C++, algorithms, and core computer science principles to future game developers. He holds a Master’s degree in Electronics Engineering and a Master’s in Industrial Management, combining deep technical expertise with strategic insight into software development. His career spans ASIC design, embedded systems, industrial automation, and scientific research, from custom digital circuits to interactive socio-economic models.

Tom is an active member of the international C++ community. He has spoken at conferences including CppCon, CppNorth, CppOnSea, and GDC, serves on the board of the Belgian C++ User Group (BeCPP), and co-organized the BeCPP Symposium. At Howest DAE Game Development, he brings his industry experience, teaching practice, and passion for retro gaming into the classroom, helping students navigate modern C++ game programming while appreciating its roots.

Josse Raes (24) is a video editor and AI creative at Het Bataljon, driving their specialized AI video label, Dyslexic Donkey. While naturally skeptical of the "AI hype", Josse is fascinated by its practical integration into video production. Combining a traditional editing background with a passion for creative experimentation, he explores how AI can genuinely push the boundaries of visual storytelling.

Mind Control Games founder and game developer behind titles like Cash Cleaner Simulator and Cartel Tycoon.

With over 15 years of experience in the game development industry, has contributed to a wide range of projects across genres and platforms. Formerly part of Moon Moose and tinyBuild, bringing a strong background in both indie and published game production.

Mateo Covic is a 23-year-old solo game developer who created his game Paddle Paddle Paddle in just four months - from idea to Steam launch. The game has sold over 250,000 copies in less than a year and became a global hit.

In his talk, Mateo will walk through the entire development process and share why short development cycles and small games can achieve a massive impact.

Christoph De Preter combines deep legal expertise with hands-on executive experience in the technology sector. Before returning to legal practice, he served as Chief Commercial Officer of global geospatial software companies Luciad and Hexagon Geospatial, leading international growth and strategic partnerships.

Christoph advises game developers and technology companies on intellectual property, data governance, commercial contracts, platform strategies, and complex disputes, bringing a unique blend of legal, commercial, and operational insight.

Max Tiel is director of Thunderboom, a non-profit innovation lab for the music industry. Thunderboom is the driving force behind various cooperative responsible music-tech projects and their goal is to make sure that emerging tech adds positive value to the music industry. They work with a wide variety of national and international partners. One example of their work is Open Culture Tech, a talent development, knowledge and network program aiming to make the latest.

Jason Della Rocca is a game business consultant, investor, funding advisor, and ecosystem strategist. He currently spends the bulk of his time advising game studio founders on funding and product strategy, and advising governments around the world how to better grow/support the success of their regional game development ecosystem.As the co-founder of Execution Labs, he was a hands-on early stage investor to 25 independent game studios from North America and Europe. In parallel Jason helped launch GamePlay Space, a non-profit hub to support indies and guide them toward business success, whose alumni have generated over $300m in game sales and funding. Between 2000-09 he served as the executive director of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), and was honored for his industry building efforts with the inaugural Ambassador Award at the Game Developers Conference. In 2009, Jason was named to Game Developer Magazine’s “Power50,” a list which profiles 50 of the most important contributors to the state of the game industry. As a sought after expert on the game industry, Jason has lectured at conferences and universities worldwide.

Brian Jesse is co-founder and CEO of Grey Matter Games.  Formerly of Epic Games / Psyonix and Wolfram|Alpha. He was a gameplay programmer on Rocket Racing in Fortnite and server engineer during the free-to-play launch of Rocket League and the launch of Rocket League Sideswipe. Brian's entrepreneurial career includes experience in virtual reality, front-end web development, backend systems, cloud infrastructure, and mobile app development. After moving from California to Flanders for the strong indie scene, he is working on a title in the Rust programming language using the open source game engine Bevy.

During his time as a researcher at Howest's Digital Arts and Entertainment, Glenn has committed the last five years focussed on new and innovative technologies applied in the development of games, vfx, and animation. Primary amongst these, of course, Artificial Intelligence. He has given numerous talks on this subject to audiences of all skill levels, with a focus on getting anyone up-to-date with the newest trends and developments. His talks tend to be high-level, high-speed, and cover a wide spread of subjects.

Tara Beutels works as a Strategic and Commercial Expert at Amplo. With around nine years of experience, she’s a true veteran in the field. Amplo has been a partner of Unwrap since the very beginning, and once again, we’re thrilled to be part of this year’s edition.

As an HR partner in the creative sector, we know better than anyone what freelancers in the gaming, entertainment, and media industries face on a daily basis.

Looking for advice or guidance on freelancing? Then our talk is definitely for you. You’ll also find us at the career fair on both days. Looking forward to meeting you!