The Game Republic Speakers Reception and Dinner formed the launch of the Yorkshire Games Festival on 6th March. Due to the museum being closed for renovations, the reception was held at Waller’s Brewery at Sunbridge Wells. The snug underground tunnel venue provided a great setting for the event alongside the dinner at La Caverna sponsored by Affiliate members Johnston Carmichael and the event formed part of Game Republic’s event programme for 2024 supported by Official Partners Barclays, Red Kite Games and Escape Technology.
The Reception marked the start of the Yorkshire Games Festival. Speakers from Larian Studios acclaimed Baldur’s Gate, Square Enix, Newfangled Games, Radical Forge, Sad Owl Studios and Void Interactive will be joining the Yorkshire Games Festival from 7-10 March. Events will be happening across the city which Sally Folkard, Head of screen and cultural engagement at the National Science and Media Museum believed might encourage a wider range of people to encounter and participate in the events this year.
Attendees of the dinner were invited to a roundtable with the BFI before the event, where Anna Mansi and Chris Filip shared opportunities for games companies through finance and funding through the Global Screen Fund. They were joined by Andrew McMillan and Ryan Milne from Johnston Carmichael who provided further insights into funding, the UK Games Fund and also Video Games Expenditure Credit.
Speaking at the event, Jamie Sefton MD of Game Republic said “It is fantastic this year to see longtime member of Game Republic Alex Earle, from the amazing Radical Forge hosting this great Yorkshire Games Festival. Huge thanks as always to the National Science and Media Museum team – Sally, Bex, Jo and everyone – even during a year when the museum is closed (and most of the roads) to get ready for City of Culture in 2025, they have still managed to pull together a fantastic line-up of speakers. Big thanks too to our Official Partners Red Kite Games, Barclays and Escape Technology – and our brilliant sponsor for this evening’s Dinner, Johnston Carmichael accountants. We have an incredible games industry in the North.
In two weeks – I will be off to Game Developer’s Conference (GDC) to help many of our companies to showcase just some of the talent we have here. I always feel so proud of what our companies have created and continue to create right here.
This reception, our trade missions, our regular Game Republic events and the many free meetups that happen across the region play such an important role in supporting our existing games companies but also inspiring the next generation of game developers. The way games companies collaborate is our industry’s super power, so I look forward to seeing people make new connections tonight.”
Game Republic’s next event is an online webinar on Engaging with International Markets on 12th March. If you would like to attend this or other events in-person and online for free, you can join us here.
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