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11:15am
Anisa Sanusi Limit Break11:15am - 12:00pmRoom 7Breaking Limits: How Mentorship Builds Better Studios
Thursday 16th July11:15am - 12:00pmRoom 7Since its inception in 2019, Limit Break has grown from a small cohort of 100 participants to a massive network of over 1,600 mentors and mentees. But how does a volunteer-run non-profit achieve this scale, and more importantly, why should game studios care?
In this session, Limit Break Founder Anisa Sanusi shares the origin story of the UK’s largest mentorship program for maginalised talent. She will reveal how a grassroots initiative evolved into a pillar of the industry, supporting thousands of careers from entry-level students to seasoned veterans.
Attendees will discover how supporting mentorship programs improves staff retention, levels up their skills, and fosters a healthier, more diverse studio culture. Anisa will also offer practical advice on running a successful non-profit. Whether you want to start your own employee resource group, launch a charity initiative, or simply become a better mentor, this talk will give you the tips you need for managing volunteers, organising community events on little or no budget, and that success often means embracing the chaos, ditching perfectionism, and just doing whatever it takes to get the job done.
Session Takeaway
- The Benefits of Mentorship: Understand the business benefits of mentorship, including higher staff retention, increased skill development, and improved team morale.
- Building a Community: Practical steps on how to set up and manage your own non-profit, charity, or internal employee resource group using a volunteer model.
- Better Mentoring and Leadership Skills: Learn how mentoring can help you to become a more effective leader in your own studio.
12:15pm
Molly Holmes Panda Cat Games12:15pm - 1:00pmRoom 7A Beginners Guide to Tiktok (for Indie Games)
Thursday 16th July12:15pm - 1:00pmRoom 7Learn the basics of using TikTok to launch your game and build your brand from Panda Cat Games’ Social Media Manager, Molly Holmes. She’ll share her tried and tested tips and tricks, and what she’s learnt about launching your social presence from scratch and building a following - so that you can do the same for your indie games company. (Warning: May include spreadsheets and graphs!)
This will cover:
- Why TikTok?
- Getting started
- What works and what doesn't (trends, rules, attention spans)
- Growing a following
- How to monitor and improve
- Generating ideas and content
Session Takeaway
- Basic understanding of TikTok.
- Knowledge of how to get started.
- Why TikTok can be important for indie games.
- Tips and tricks for how to get the best out of it.
2:00pm
Spring McParlinJones IWGB Game WorkersDeclan Keane ZA/UMJessica Crawford ZA/UM2:00pm - 2:45pmRoom 7Fireside Chat with ZA/UM - How Unionisation Empowers Everyone!
Thursday 16th July2:00pm - 2:45pmRoom 7The video games ecosystem has encountered many steep challenges recently with increasing redundancies, reduction in new talent entering the industry, and the rise of generative AI to name a few.
Such uncertainty would make anyone doubt the future and wonder where they stand. This was no different for the staff at the Disco Elysium studio ZA/UM. Yet there was a difference, such a difference that it brought employees together to talk, share their concerns and build the courage to address such matters to management. Time passed, yet as of October 2025, developers at ZA/UM formed the first officially recognized trade union in the UK video games industry. Represented by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) as the "ZA/UM Workers' Alliance," the union secured a voluntary recognition agreement with management to negotiate on job security, pay, and conditions following industry-wide layoffs.
How did such development happen?
Join us for this eye opening session as we explore what it takes to build momentum towards unionisation amongst workers, examining the steps needed to make such change happen from start to finish, and go down the rabbit hole with members of the “ZA/UM Workers' Alliance” to discuss their experiences and the impact unionising has had throughout the studio.
Session Takeaway
- Firsthand telling what it takes to create collective action within a studio and strengthen resolve in having difficult conversations as a team.
- The process in breaking down barriers between staff and management to communicate on mutual grounds for the progression of the company.
- The benefits of unisonising as a video game company that provides advantages for everyone within the business, from empowering workers to meeting goals and compromises as management.
3:00pm
HaZ Dulull Beyond The Pixels3:00pm - 3:45pmRoom 7How to Start an Indie Game Studio From Your Home Bedroom
Thursday 16th July3:00pm - 3:45pmRoom 7What does it really take to turn a game idea into a sustainable indie studio, without a publisher at the start, a big team, or a flashy office?
In this candid, behind-the-scenes session, you’ll get a practical roadmap to building an indie game studio from the ground up, starting right where many great studios begin: your bedroom. Drawing on HaZ’s real-world experience of setting up Beyond The Pixels, this talk breaks down the key creative and business decisions every aspiring indie developer must face.
We’ll explore how to scope your first game idea realistically, choose the right engine for your goals, and avoid the common traps that stall projects early. You’ll learn how to assemble a lean, flexible team, collaborate effectively, and start building a genuine, engaged community from day one, not as an afterthought.
Beyond development, the session dives into the often-unspoken business side of indie games: legal setup, trademarks, publishing routes, funding strategies, and the realities of managing cashflow. No buzzwords, no wishful thinking—just honest insight into what it takes to survive and thrive as an independent studio in today’s crowded market.
Whether you’re a solo developer, a student, or a creative ready to take the leap, this session offers a clear, transparent look at turning passion into a studio—and giving your indie game its best chance.
Session Takeaway
- A Solid foundation of what it takes to build an indie studio from scratch.
- Tip on how to deal with business and strategic decisions of running an indie studio.
- The confidence to just take that leap and go for it!
4:00pm
Alistair Hume Full Dive Games4:00pm - 4:45pmRoom 7Making Ambitious Games from Scratch in the UK - Highs, Lows, Lessons and Resources
Thursday 16th July4:00pm - 4:45pmRoom 7I've made a conscious choice to build my career in the UK. I love the culture, landscape, diversity and talent in this wonderful melting pot.
In late 2025, I gave a version of this talk to the Unreal Meetup group in London. The goal was to share my journey in launching a game development studio, finding funding, building a product and finding a way of working that can create incredible and competitive videogame experiences in an increasingly challenging market. After a great response, I'd like to evolve the talk for Develop, and share the granular steps and lessons that I've learned since embarking on the ambitious journey to start a high-end game development studio.
Attendees will go on a linear journey through my work so far, starting in a bedroom, and reaching Gamescom and beyond. As we travel, we will reach checkpoints, in the form of lessons, resources and takeaways, that can be applied to other projects, goals or journeys.
There's no special trick, secret or exceptional talent. Instead, there are repeatable actions, granular tasks and perspectives that can be applied by anyone. I must stress that I don't claim to have all the answers, nor am I a runaway success at everything I undertake. However, I have been able to break into the industry and take on my some of my wildest dreams and goals within game development over the years. I'd love to share that with my peers, and hopefully help a few others to do the same.
Session Takeaway
- Starting a studio from scratch. Step-by-step guidance, lessons and examples.
- Applying for and deploying project finance in the UK. Resources and strategy.
- The realities of building a videogame development studio. What do you actually need to do/have to make it work?
- A step by step journey towards our first high-end commercial videogame. Starting in our bedroom, all the way to Gamescom and beyond.
- How to get your work out into the world - daily tasks and actions.
