Category Archives: events

Game Republic to host Northern Lights panel at Develop Brighton

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Game Republic will again be partnering with major UK game developer conference Develop: Brighton, 11th-13th July, and in addition, Game Republic MD Jamie Sefton will be chairing a special business panel with the first two panelists confirmed Bobby Thandi (XR Games), Simon Iwanisak (Red Kite Games) and more speakers to be announced shortly.

Northern Lights will celebrate Game Republic’s 20th anniversary this year and will be looking at the factors that drive success for games companies in Yorkshire and The North and the incredible history of games making in the region. Looking to the future, Jamie will be asking panelists to share their insights and what they will be doing to support sector success going forward. Game Republic members will get a 10% discount on Early Bird tickets if they book before 6th April 2023 using the code KMDHCK 

“As a region, we have great successes to share and examples of how companies can collaborate with each other, with educational institutions and suppliers through networks to enhance their business,” says Sefton. “Our partnership and this panel with Develop: Brighton will be another great way for us to mark our 20-year anniversary.”

picture of Simon IwaniszakSimon Iwaniszak has over 17 years of industry experience, the last 11 spent running the multi-award-winning development studio, Red Kite Games. Founded by Simon in 2012, Red Kite is now part of the Sumo Digital family of studios. Having built a reputation for delivering a high-quality service creating AAA PC/console games across varying genres, Red Kite supports multiple world-class publishing partners. Before Red Kite, Simon started his career at Rockstar working on incredible franchises such as Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption. Simon is a proud Ambassador of the games charity SpecialEffect – which Game Republic is supporting all year – and provides consultation for several Yorkshire-based universities.

Bobby Thandi wearing virtual headsetBobby Thandi is the Founder and CEO of XR Games – an award-winning VR game development studio. Bobby secures contracts from key clients such as Sony Pictures and develops key relationships with global partners such as Meta, Microsoft, Valve, and others. Bobby is responsible for attracting top tier talent as XR Games rapidly scales off the back of the hit VR game ‘Zombieland: Headshot Fever’. Bobby has won an array of awards including ‘Creative Entrepreneur of the Year’ at the 2022 Great British Entrepreneur Awards and ‘Leeds City Region Leader’ at the 2021 Northern Leadership Awards. Bobby was also a 2022 ‘EY Entrepreneur of the Year’ finalist.

Link to the business panels at Develop: Brighton here

#GR20 @developconf

Game Republic Pitching Event, Thursday 9th March, Online

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UPDATE! This event now takes place online via Zoom at 4pm.

The next Game Republic business networking event is a pre-GDC special on pitching and securing business at events courtesy of our Official Partners Red Kite Games, Barclays and Escape Technology!

David Valjalo, Creative Director of Strategic Partnerships at Tencent will present opportunities for developers and have a Q&A session on pitching to investors. We’ll also have a Q&A with Rob Hewson, CEO & Creative Director at Huey Games, about how they pitch to publishers at GDC.

Game Republic’s Jamie Sefton will give some top tips when attending GDC and international events. 

If you would like access to this event – and all Game Republic’s events for the year – please get in touch about membership.

Game Republic Reception & Dinner at the Yorkshire Games Festival 2023

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Our next event is a special Game Republic Member-Exclusive Dinner event in partnership with the National Science & Media Museum and the Yorkshire Games Festival on Wednesday 8th February 2023 – supported by our partners Red Kite Games, Barclays and Escape Technology!

Tickets include a special drinks reception (alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks) at the National Media Museum from 6.00pm, followed by a two-course dinner at MyLahore restaurant from 7.20pm (non-alcoholic drinks). The reception and dinner will be attended by Game Republic members, National Science & Media Museum guests – including BAFTA representatives – and Yorkshire Games Festival speakers.

We’ll be collecting for SpecialEffect at this and every event in 2023 as part of our 20th birthday celebrations to raise money all year for this amazing charity. If you can, please donate.

The Yorkshire Games Festival is from 4 – 10 February at the National Science and Media Museum, and includes a free Family Weekend (4-5 Feb), Schools events, a BAFTA panel celebrating the Yorkshire games industry, and two days of industry Game Talks – you can have a 10% discount on these by using the code YGFGR10 on the YGF website.

Game Republic PR Special – Thursday 26th January, Sheffield

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In the first event of 2023 – Game Republic’s 20th birthday year – our first event is on Thursday 26th January at the Showroom in Sheffield.

The event will feature talks and interviews to help game developers promote their game successfully, with a Q&A with Andy Kelly, PR person at publisher Devolver Digital, plus a presentation from games PR company Renaissance on top tips for getting your game noticed.

We’ll also have a presentation from training provider Mastered and drinks and networking afterwards. We’ll be collecting for Special Effect at this and every event in 2023 as part of our birthday celebrations to raise money all year for this amazing charity.

If you are interested in joining Game Republic to access our events, get in touch.

 

Game Republic Christmas Party, Quiz and Movie! Wednesday 14th December 2022

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It’s Chriiiissssttttmaaaaaasssss! Yes our next event is the Game Republic Christmas Party & Quiz 2022 on Wednesday 14th December, 7.30pm – 11pm at the Everyman Cinema in Leeds.

This year, as well as food, drinks, the legendary games quiz (with prizes), we’ll also watch a movie – and our members have chosen Die Hard – and enjoy popcorn.

Please note – the Christmas party currently takes place during a planned rail strike, so while we hope that it will be resolved, if it doesn’t, members will need to find alternative transport to the event.

Last year’s quiz winners were Revolution Software – will they retain the crown or will we see previous winners Red Kite Games or Team17 win it back? Or maybe a completely new quiz team? All will be discovered on the 14th December.

Our Christmas party is kindly sponsored and made possible by Barclays, XR Games and Red Kite Games. Game Republic is a paid membership network – if you’d like to join so you can attend our events and meet our brilliant games companies and universities/colleges, get in touch.

Edit – photos of the event now featured!