A relaxed and informal roundtable designed to help you get the most out of your time at the conference. A diverse panel of friendly and experienced devs from across the whole industry spectrum want to help anyone who feels shy, awkward, a little out of place, on the outside, or just unable to really squeeze all the goodness out of this amazing show. You'll feel positive, empowered and fully equipped to have an absolutely smashing time, with tips on how to be productive, tools to network, and commitments from volunteers to be your safety net should things get a little too much! Finally, should you feel like it would help, we'll match people up with Show Mentors to ensure however long you're in Brighton, you go back to your studio feeling invigorated and inspired!

Session Takeaway

• Shared experiences that will give you some ideas on best practise plus do's and don'ts for networking at every event.
• Recommendations for talks to attend and delegates to meet, plus practical help to do so!
• Knowledge of safe and quiet spaces to help manage your experience at the show.
• Introductions to helpers who you can approach throughout your visit if you need a friendly face!

Jazeena McCallum
CRITICAL REFLEX

Annabel Ashalley-Anthony
Melanin Gamers

Game development is already a difficult, long, messy marathon. Add ADHD traits like novelty chasing, time blindness, and idea overload, and it can feel like you are constantly fighting your own brain.

This light hearted talk is a practical, real world look at how to work with ADHD in game development and turn common pain points into strengths. Instead of trying to force a “normal” workflow, I will share approaches that harness what ADHD can be good at: creative problem solving, momentum bursts, rapid iteration, and high energy finishing pushes.

It is not a medical talk or about motivation hacks. It is an overview of strategies, habits, and production choices that help you ship, stay sane, and use your brain the way it actually works. It's around how I have turned something that could be considered debilitating into a super power to get sh*t done.

Session Takeaway

• A simple way to capture ideas without derailing the main project.
• A method for choosing the next task when focus is inconsistent.
• A repeatable approach for turning hyperfocus into finished work.

Rory Martin
Giraffe Head Studios Ltd

Burnout is a very common yet often hidden issue in the games industry. Many founders and senior leaders experience burnout multiple times, usually in silence while pretending they're fine. When you're under constant pressure, feel like you can't switch off or aren't able to prioritise your own needs, burnout becomes almost inevitable. But you can avoid it if you catch it early enough and make positive changes.

This roundtable creates a safe space for games leaders to share authentic experiences of burnout, stress and exhaustion. It's a chance for you to let your mask down for a moment and speak honestly without judgement or the need to perform. We will normalise these experiences and help you recognise signs of burnout in yourself and others.

Rather than offering generic advice, the discussion will focus on practical, experience-led insights:

- What burnout actually feels like before it becomes unavoidable

- Why people commonly ignore or rationalise the signals

- What has genuinely helped with recovery and prevention.

You'll learn why you need to look after yourself in order to be a good leader for your team and the hidden cost of “just pushing through”.

My goal is to help you feel less alone in your struggles and leave with tools you can apply immediately in your own life and studio.

Session Takeaway

• How to recognise burnout signals in yourself or your team.
• Practical tips for recovery and prevention.
• Reassurance that burnout is unfortunately common and you're not alone if you're struggling with it.

Cat Burton
Goth Boss Studios

Join us to talk about how to make the games industry a more equitable, diverse and inclusive place to be. Through this roundtable, we’ll aim to discuss actionable takeaways to make your studio or company a more inclusive place to work for, and share tips on how to do so sustainably. You will also learn what Raise the Game and their partners are up to, and how you can get involved.

Session Takeaway

• How to make your studio a more equitable, diverse and inclusive place.
• Take action sustainably.
• Make long-lasting changes in your studio culture.
• Become a more organisationally mature studio.

Cinzia Musio
Ukie

Jonas Gawe
Limit Break Mentorship / Electric Saint

This Free Round table gives the opportunity to hear firsthand from those who have made the journey from education to industry and those who build the pathways. It provides an opportunity to participate in an open discussion about those experiences and their lessons.

In this open, organic conversation, the students and the path builders will share the positive impact of studio-led mentorship and dedicated incubation. We’ll explore the gaps they found and how the support structures helped them overcome those challenges.

Whether you're a student looking for your own path or a studio head looking to build a better internal culture, join us for a constructive look at the practical magic that happens when industry pathways and emerging talent meet.

Session Takeaway

• Gain first‑hand knowledge from those that have made the transition from education to industry.

• Learn how studios and programmes support graduates through mentorship and pathways.

• Gain clarity on practical next steps for moving from education into professional practice.

Eva Kioseoglou
The Chinese Room

Gilbert McGirr
Supercell

Sam Miller
Supercell

Alfie Wright
Moss Monkey Games

Chris Filip
UK Global Screen Fund (BFI)

Sandrine le Comte
Studio Gobo

Javi Galvan
Studio Gobo

Jake Habgood
Freelance

This Roundtable is focused on the learnings from today’s Games Edu track. We will be consolidating and sharing our thoughts with each other, giving plenty of time for networking to build the necessary bridges and move the discussion into practice.

We will cover the key outcomes from the earlier sessions in the track. Giving a chance for educators, studio leads, and practitioners to share their own observations and challenges, looking for the common ground: where are the successes happening, and where do the challenges remain?

Moving on to networking and further discussion with the view to building the connections that will create lasting links to maintain the momentum and turn conversation into action.

Session Takeaway

• Consolidate key themes and learning from the Games Edu track.
• Share challenges and successes in developing early‑career talent.
• Build new connections across industry, education, and bridging organisations.

Laurence Oldham
Digital Impact Incubator

Tom Cole
University of Greenwich

A relaxed and informal roundtable designed to help you get the most out of your time at the conference. A diverse panel of friendly and experienced devs from across the whole industry spectrum want to help anyone who feels shy, awkward, a little out of place, on the outside, or just unable to really squeeze all the goodness out of this amazing show. You'll feel positive, empowered and fully equipped to have an absolutely smashing time, with tips on how to be productive, tools to network, and commitments from volunteers to be your safety net should things get a little too much! Finally, should you feel like it would help, we'll match people up with Show Mentors to ensure however long you're in Brighton, you go back to your studio feeling invigorated and inspired!

Session Takeaway

• Shared experiences that will give you some ideas on best practise plus do's and dont's for networking at every event.
• Recommendations for talks to attend and delegates to meet, plus practical help to do so!
• Knowledge of safe and quiet spaces to help manage your experience at the show. 
• Introductions to helpers who you can approach throughout your visit if you need a friendly face!

Jazeena McCallum
CRITICAL REFLEX

Annabel Ashalley-Anthony
Melanin Gamers

Join Mark Taylor, University of Sheffield, and Cinzia Musio, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion expert at Ukie, who will exclusively reveal the findings of the UK Games Industry Census, and the UK Games Industry’s action plan to address the results. In this presentation you will learn about the key findings of the industry-wide census, the biggest areas that call for action, and what everyone who works in games can do to support a more diverse and inclusive industry. You will leave this session with key takeaways to support the games industry towards regrowing in an inclusive and diverse way, building a stronger future by turning data into action.

Session Takeaway

• Learn how the UK games industry has transformed since 2021
• Understand who’s been most affected by layoffs, and how their work has changed
• Work together across the industry to leverage change
• Learn how you can support your workplace to enact change
• Learn how the games industry can be a more inclusive place to work for with specific actions

Mark Taylor
University of Sheffield

Cinzia Musio
Ukie

Are you someone who is new to the games industry looking for your first client, or have you been in the industry for quite some time as an employee but are now looking to take the freelancer plunge?

When we first take that step, it feels like there are so many unknowns. I know when I first ventured my mind went to:

‘Where do I find the work so I can keep being able to pay rent?’

‘How much should I charge for my skills and time?’

‘What is a self assessment and how do I even go about it?’

And many, many more.

It took time for me to find the answers, and even longer to realise what I should have been asking in the first place.

In this ‘How Does One Freelance?’ roundtable we will discover those questions and openly explore the answers together to help establish whether this work structure is for you. We will discuss all the main FAQ’s, the pros and cons to the choices that don’t necessarily have a right answer, as well as ensure you know how to look after yourself from a work, money and business perspective in a sustainable way. By the end we will have gained insight from one another and leave with a much stronger understanding of what day to day life as a freelancer in games (regardless of your role) could look like.

Session Takeaway

• The Work - We will break down different ways to build up your client network and maintain sustainable work so you are thriving and not just surviving.

• The Money - A topic we often are too shy to speak about, but we will cover how to price your services and how to go about getting paid.

• The Business - How not to have HMRC on your back about self assessment and tax, as well as better understanding legal contracts and business expenses.

Lorna McFall
Freelance UI UX Designer

The D2C conversation in games has been dominated by one number: saving 25-30% on legacy platform fees by monetizing directly to players. That argument misses the true opportunity now available to studios: lower risk, improved financial control, and unlocking new growth channels. Indeed the studios experiencing rapid D2C growth have moved past the fee debate. They are building a direct player relationship, and that relationship has become the highest-returning channel in their business.

Liam Wiltshire, VP and GM at Tebex, will show how the best-in-class D2C monetization adopters do differently using real data from Tebex's platform of 45,000+ gaming stores. Don’t miss his session, where attendees will leave with actionable next steps to turn their existing player community into a wholly owned revenue engine that lowers CAC, improves retention, and increases player LTV.

Liam Wiltshire
Tebex

This year’s LGBTQ+ round table will compare where we were at last year's roundtable, were we are now, and tackle key issues LGBTQ+ professionals are facing in the ever-changing social and political landscape. The hosts will present a series of topics, which attendees will be free to openly discuss, sharing their thoughts, insights and experiences, in a safe and supportive environment. Attendees should leave with a better understanding of what others are or have experienced, steps they have taken to navigate these, the knowledge they are not alone in most instances, and tangible or actionable takeaways to facilitate a better working and social environment for all.

Session Takeaway

• What LGBTQ+ professionals are experiencing in 2026.

• Practical ways to navigate and mitigate negativity.

• Examples of changes to EDI practices around the world along with practical advice on how to navigate them and minimise the effect on yourself.

• Steps you or your business can take to support LGBTQ+ individuals and employees.

James Dodd
Out Making Games

How studios turn player signal into better products, faster decisions and stronger games without being captured by the loudest voices.

Phil Mansell
Cultivated Games

Tom Gayner
Levellr

Rich Barnwell
Entity

Nicholas Lovell
Director, Co-owner and Investor at Spilt Milk Studios

This roundtable will open a vital discussion about the barriers many games industry employers face to implementing positive mental health and wellbeing practices. The types of organisations that make up our fast-paced industry are so diverse that there is no "one size fits all" approach to getting mental health support at work right. This fosters an environment in which leaders will often struggle alone to support the mental health of their teams, not knowing how to overcome barriers including finances, time, personnel, and more. Opening up an honest discussion about these barriers, and sharing best practice on how to overcome them, will ensure attendees leave with practical actions to level up their workplace wellbeing. 

Session Takeaway

• Understand the barriers to implementing mental health support faced by organisations across the games industry.
• Gain insight into methods to overcome these barriers, with best practice and recommendations that can be flexible to suit your organisational make-up.
• Connect with industry peers to understand that you're not alone in facing these challenges: this is an opportunity to learn from others and share your insights in a supportive, facilitated environment.
• Leave with actionable goals to improve mental health support in your company.

Izzie Micul
Safe In Our World

Over the last two decades, videogame technology has evolved dramatically, from tightly constrained hardware and bespoke engines to globally connected platforms, shared toolsets and rapid innovation.

In this panel, technology leaders from Sumo Digital will look back at how the industry reached this point, examine the realities studios face today, and discuss what the next wave of change could mean for teams, pipelines and leadership.

Drawing on Sumo Digital’s experience across original IP, co-development, live services, tools, art and R&D, the conversation will explore how past technology decisions continue to shape modern development, and how the choices studios make now will define the next generation of game production. With perspectives from across Sumo’s studios and divisions, alongside voices from major platform and technology partners, the session will combine practical experience with a forward-looking view of the industry.

Hosted by Bastion, the panel will unpack key technology trends, lessons learned from real-world projects, and the realities of building sustainable, future-facing technology strategies in an industry that rarely stands still. The discussion will aim to be honest and pragmatic, looking beyond buzzwords to explore what innovation actually looks like in practice.

Session Takeaway

• A clearer understanding of how past technology decisions continue to influence modern game development.
• Practical insight into the trends currently shaping production and studio operations.
• A more grounded perspective on emerging technologies and how to approach them realistically.
• Real-world lessons from studios and partners working across large-scale game development.

Dario Jelusic
Atomhawk

David Smethurst
Sumo Digital

Terry Goodwin
Lab42

Dan Wood
Bastion

This session is open to everyone, regardless of ethnicity, as meaningful change depends on all of us being part of the conversation.

This roundtable marks 10 years since the founding of BiG (BAME in Games), reflecting on how ethnic diversity and inclusion in the games industry has evolved over the past decade and where critical gaps remain. When BiG was established it was based on the suggested figure of just 4% representation from underrepresented ethnic groups, later some credible industry surveys showed it to be 10% in 2020 and 12% in 2022. Since then, a lack of consistent, credible census data has left the industry relying on assumptions rather than evidence and a complete lack of consistent data capture for making any credible correlations. An industry census is now due to be published in Spring 2026.

Co-hosted by Kish Hirani (BiG) and Safiyya Ingar (voice actor and performance capture artist), this session brings together perspectives from across development and performance. Kish will guide discussion around studio roles: programming, art, design, production, and leadership, while Safiyya will explore inclusion within voice acting and performance capture, where visibility and access present different but equally important challenges.

Through a series of guided topics, attendees will be invited to openly share experiences, insights, and practical approaches in a safe and supportive environment. The session will examine not just representation, but retention, progression, and the structural changes needed to sustain meaningful inclusion across all areas of game development especially as we enter into an era of more job uncertainties in our industry.

Session Takeaway

• A clearer picture of what we do and don’t know about ethnic diversity in games today, including the risks of operating without reliable data.

• First-hand perspectives from both game development and performance disciplines on barriers, progress, and lived experiences.

• Practical approaches individuals and studios are using to improve representation, retention, and progression.

• Ideas for how the industry can move toward better data collection, accountability, and long-term change.

Kish Hirani
BiG (BAME in Games)

Safiyya Ingar
Safiyya Ingar

Market correction," "investor caution," or "the end of the world as we know it": all fair descriptions of the games industry in 2025. While we are seeing early signs of recovery, is the optimism real and here to stay? Gone are the days of pitching to a handful of publishers, signing a contract, and watching a lump sum hit your bank account. Today, game development is more often than not financed through a variety of sources, blending grants, tax credit advances, project financing, publisher backing and even VC backing. Established studios are also leveraging maximum revenue from back catalogue titles through bundles and licensing to support the development of new titles.

In this panel, our industry experts will break down the current landscape of capital raising. Through a candid, boots-on-the-ground discussion, we will uncover how strategic studios actually keep their operations afloat. We will also explore how diverse funding models work, how to successfully combine them, and how to tailor the best approach for your specific project. Whether you’re a brand-new indie startup or an established veteran studio, you will walk away with actionable strategies on how to think about and secure the capital you need to bring your next game to life.

Session Takeaway

• Understanding the "Funding map": an up to date view of the current capital raising landscape and why relying on a single source of finance is no longer the standard.

• Decoding Funding Sources: Practical knowledge of how different financial instruments work, including government grants, tax credit advances, project financing, and equity.

• Showcase being ‘smart’ about raising capital for a studio through a tailored approach: The ability to identify which specific mix of funding is most realistic and beneficial for their specific studio size (from solo indie to large developer).

Pamina Bou
Factortech

Phil Mansell
Cultivated Games

Christoph Ortlepp
Zenos

Melissa Yin
Keywords Studios

Nainan Shah
The Mini Fund

Dr Dave Ranyard
Dream Reality Interactive

The games industry thrives on creativity, collaboration, and community—but is not immune to the wider societal problem of sexual harassment and sexist behaviours. We appreciate this may feel like a challenging topic, but we are very used to having these discussions, and making them sensitive and engaging.

Sexism, Sexual Safety and Allyship in Gaming sets the scene by grounding these issues in a broader cultural and legal context, including an overview of the UK’s Worker Protection Act.

We’ll explore why sexual harassment is not just a legal risk, but a serious barrier to wellbeing, retention, and innovation; considering this issue in the context of gaming.

The session will consider challenges that are particularly acute in the gaming industry: power imbalances, freelancer and contractor vulnerability, social events blurring professional boundaries, online spaces, and long-standing cultural norms that can normalise “banter,” exclusion, or silence.

We’ll examine common behaviours to watch out for and discuss their real impacts, especially for women, LGBTQ+ people, and other marginalised groups.

Crucially, this talk is not just about identifying problems, it’s about action. Attendees will learn practical, accessible ways to be a good ally and active bystander, regardless of role or seniority. This includes how to safely intervene, support colleagues, challenge harmful behaviour, and help create environments where people feel able to speak up, so everyone can do their best work and feel they belong in gaming.

Session Takeaway

• Identification of potentially unharmful behaviours.
• Becoming confident for bystander intervention.
• Supporting affected parties.

Helen Race
Survivors' Network

In parliaments and courtrooms, clinics and classrooms, conversations are taking place about game design. Various moral panics have orbited the medium of games since their inception, but growing calls for legislative regulation of game design – couched in broader anxieties about the ‘addictiveness’ of games – are being answered and enacted with little intervention or oversight from professional designers. Industry in general has been reluctant, perhaps understandably, to acknowledge or seriously engage with these difficult and slippery, often anecdotal, notions of ‘video game addiction’ or the WHO’s ratified condition ‘Gaming Disorder’. However, simply ignoring the increasingly frantic public mood around unethical game design systems is a luxury we can ill afford. Governments, clinicians, and consumers are coming to conclusions about what game design is, what it sets out to achieve, and who it might be harming through manipulative ‘dark patterns’.

This session presents the findings and recommendations from a five-year ethnographic inquiry into an online community of self-described ‘video game addicts’, blending a deep analysis of public sentiment, game design practices, anthropology and philosophy to generate fresh insights into this phenomena.

Session Takeaway

• A thorough understanding of ‘video game addiction’ as a concept, as a social category, and a contested diagnosis, and how it poses a meaningful challenge to our collective assumptions as designers: a challenge we can no longer ignore.
• Evidence-based recommendations for proactive reflection on ethics in contemporary game design, from monetisation to core loops.
• Case studies of self-regulation and other moral panics that provide practical tools for navigating public and institutional engagement, that designers might be better advocates for their practices and industry.

Tom Colebrooke
Ground Shatter

Game development rarely goes exactly to plan. Technical challenges, slipping milestones, scope changes, and sudden priority shifts, often under pressure. Producers are there to monitor and mitigate risks, but what can you do when a crisis situation develops regardless of your efforts?

This roundtable brings producers and other game development leaders together to talk honestly about how crises can be navigated without destroying the game or the teams that make them. The session explores how to deal with chaotic situations and what actually helps when a team is behind or faces serious technical, team, or financial issues.

Through shared experiences, participants unpack how to communicate under pressure, make hard calls, and learn from real-world examples of games that had to delay or pivot.

This is a practical, experience-driven conversation aimed at producers, project leads, studio heads, and publisher teams who want healthier and more resilient collaborations.

Session Takeaway

Learn about different types of crisis situations you might face during development and how peers have dealt with them

How to effectively communicate during high pressure situations

How to handle tension such as disagreements, shifting priorities, and unmet deadlines

How to deal with stakeholders such as publishers during a crisis situation

Eline Muijres
Cohop Games

Sally Blake
Silent Games

Since 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.

Anisa Sanusi
Limit Break

With most advisory boards and leading games companies still dominated by leaders in their 50s and beyond, the perspectives of under-35 professionals are too often overlooked. This roundtable creates a dedicated space for younger voices in the games industry to speak candidly about the issues they find most challenging and concerning, including career progression, job security, workplace culture, AI, freedom of speech, leadership, and the future of the industry

Session Takeaway

Top 5 areas to be considered by the industry from the under 35s, these can be published and circulated to some of the national and regional advisory boards who represent the sector.

Gina Jackson
Pitchify

Learn 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.

Molly Holmes
Panda Cat Games

If you’re a dev who wants to make your game more accessible, but are constantly struggling to get the greenlight - this session is for you.

Our roundtable brings together accessibility specialists working in studios and a former director who successfully established a dedicated accessibility role to give insights on how to get buy-in for accessibility at your studio. We’ll provide a safe space to discuss the challenges of achieving buy-in and explore strategies for making a business case for accessibility. We’ll also share resources, data and help foster connections with the accessibility community that you can take away to help you going forward.

This roundtable aims to be accessible and approachable for everyone, from juniors to directors. We welcome accessibility consultants and lived experience experts to bring their experience to the table and learn more about the challenges developers face in making accessibility a priority.

Alongside Cari, our moderators are:

Robert Macdonald, a UI/UX veteran with over 21 years of experience in game development, most recently serving as Studio UI/UX Director at Splash Damage, where he oversaw UI, UX, and accessibility across multiple projects. His credits include Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Gears Tactics, Gears of War 4 and Batman: Arkham Origins, spanning multiple platforms and genres. An advocate for inclusive design, he led studio-wide accessibility initiatives, including creating and recruiting for Splash Damage’s first dedicated accessibility role and helping embed accessibility into development culture and production practices.

Harriet Frayling, Senior Accessibility Specialist at Many Cats Studios. Harriet has spent 8+ years providing technical accessibility and inclusive design guidance, workshops and talks to studios, publishers and communities. Drawing on her lived experience as a disabled professional, and her expertise as an award winning accessibility consultant, she has helped numerous teams from AAA to Indie navigate the complexities of game accessibility, delivering expert accessibility consultation, research, analysis, testing and process development.

Session Takeaway

• Space to discuss challenges with getting buy-in for accessibility.

• Insights from industry veterans on making a business case for accessibility.

• Resources, data, and connections with the accessibility community.

Cari Watterton
Scopely

Robert Macdonald
Freelance

Harriet Frayling
Many Cats Studios

The 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.

Spring McParlinJones
IWGB Game Workers

Chris Harper
Technical Artist

Having open conversations around mental health helps to create a positive culture around mental well-being. This session will explore the importance of eliminating the stigma surrounding mental health by raising awareness and promoting regular conversation around the topic. It will give strategies to help employers understand how to support their staff’s mental health and offer staff ways to feel supported and safe to talk about their mental health. A positive and practical continuum of ideas and resources will be given throughout to support the talented individuals who work to create the games that we love.

Session Takeaway

• How creating a positive mental well-being culture benefits everyone.

• The importance of starting and continuing conversations about mental health to enable support.

• Access to a practical toolkit of ideas that range from easy to implement to in-depth strategies to support mental health.

Katie Squires
South Westerly Games Ltd

What 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!

HaZ Dulull
Beyond The Pixels

Join us for sun, sand, and stories in this special live recording of mayamada's Story x Story podcast! Nigel & Tazziii will be discussing the games industry, reacting to the newly released Games Industry Census, and introducing the brand new end of year "Do I Look Like A Gamer?" Players & Makers Awards.

Join the mayamada team at Develop:Brighton for a special live recording of the Story x Story Podcast! Hosted by mayamada Co-Founder Nigel Twumasi and Creative Director Tazziii, we're diving into the heart of the gaming industry. The Games Industry Census will have landed the day before, so if you want to continue the conversation, unpack the findings, and share what they mean for you and your work, this is the place to do it. We'll be inviting attendees from aspiring professionals and freelancers to indie developers and AAA studios to share their perspectives in a relaxed, open setting. We'll also be introducing the Players & Makers Awards - a brand new initiative celebrating people and projects building a more inclusive games culture and industry, launching as part of the 5th year of "Do I Look Like A Gamer?" Our aim is to provide a casual and thought-provoking platform for meaningful conversations around the games industry. If you want more of your voice to be represented in games, don't miss this opportunity to be part of the conversation!

Session Takeaway

Nigel Twumasi
mayamada

Tazziii
mayamada

I'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.

Alistair Hume
Full Dive Games

End your Develop 2026 on a high (or at least a very weird note)...

Join us for a Taskmaster-style showdown featuring:

🎮 Video game trivia

🧠 Puzzling nonsense

💥 Physical challenges of questionable purpose

🏆 Prizes include actual items (Develop passes) and concepts like ‘smug satisfaction’ and ‘mild regret’

The Rules?

They’re made up on the spot. But we can confirm that fire beats leaf beats water beats fire. Expect that logic to settle more than one argument.

Your hosts, Stevie Ward and Jon Torrens, will be your gloriously biased BOSSES. Will they be fair? Or petty? Only the fates (and their caffeine levels) can say. They’re easily bribed, too. And vain.

Expect:

✔ Tomfoolery

✔ Shenanigans*

✔ Silliness

(*the value of shenanigans may go down as well as up)

Also: There’s beer. Which probably should have been the first bullet point.

Will you survive the madness?

Of course you will*.

Stevie Ward
Future Publishing

Jon Torrens
Communication Coach