Rob Pardo, the lead developer of the team-based PvP game Arkheron, developed by Bonfire Studios and published by DreamAge, will be a keynote speaker at the Game Developers Conference (GDC).

Pardo is the former Chief Creative Officer (CCO) of Blizzard and the founder of Bonfire Studios. He will deliver his keynote on the GDC Festival of Gaming main stage in San Francisco on March 12 at 9:00 AM (PST). The speech will be broadcast live worldwide via the official GDC Twitch channel. The theme of his lecture is 'The Journey to Creating Games That Last,' where Pardo will share his development philosophy and the process of creating games that keep players engaged, based on his decades of experience in the industry.

During his 17-year tenure at Blizzard, Pardo played a pivotal role in the development of global hits such as StarCraft 2, World of Warcraft, and Diablo 3. In 2006, he was named one of TIME's '100 Most Influential People in the World.' After leaving Blizzard, he co-founded Bonfire Studios in 2016.

Arkheron, the first title from Bonfire Studios, is a battle royale PvP game where 45 players are divided into 15 teams of three. The game features strategic depth, allowing players to create their own builds and strategies through various item combinations, with combat outcomes shifting based on these choices. Arkheron verified its gameplay through community tests in Korea and Japan last December and participated in Steam Next Fest with a demo released on February 21.

Bonfire Studios was co-founded in 2016 by Pardo, along with Nick Carpenter, former Blizzard VP of Art and Cinematics, and Min Kim, former CEO of Nexon America.