Ken Kutaragi “The Father of PlayStation” will be making a rare appearance in the UK to speak at Game Republic New Horizons Conference in October 2026. The Sony PlayStation legend Ken Kutaragi will headline the UK flagship games industry conference in an interview with Chris Dring from The Game Business Game Republic New Horizons, 14-16 October, Middlesbrough.
Announced on 31st March, the news spread to all major and global games industry media including GamesIndustry.biz, Video Games Chronicle and The Games Business creating a spike in registrations for the early bird rate. The event forms part of the 2026 Game Republic event programme supported by Red Kite Games, Xsolla and Double Eleven.
Ken Kutaragi, born in 1950, is the former Chairman and Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI), known as the “Father of PlayStation”. Kutaragi joined Sony Corp. in 1975, and established SCEI in 1993. His creation of PlayStation®, PlayStation®2, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) and PlayStation®3 led game industry into a global mainstream industry. Kutaragi has been a director of Sony Corp. from 2000 to 2005, and served as COO from 2003 to 2005. Subsequently, Kutaragi served as an outside director for several listed companies, including Rakuten, KADOKAWA, SmartNews, and GA Technologies. More recently, he became the Dean and Professor of the Faculty of Information Science at KINDAI University. He is currently the CEO Representative Director of Ascent Robotics, and CEO and President of Cyber AI Entertainment.
Game Republic New Horizons, the major UK games industry conference, has announced its first keynote speaker will be “the Father of PlayStation” Ken Kutaragi. The former Chairman and Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) will have an on-stage interview with Chris Dring from The Game Business, as well as host a meet-and-greet session.
Ken Kutaragi said, “I am absolutely delighted to be coming to the UK to take part in the Game Republic New Horizons conference. I am looking forward to sharing my experience and lifetime of innovation and my insights on future opportunities with all the attendees.”
“We’re just so excited and thrilled to be welcoming Ken Kutaragi to GR New Horizons – it’s a bit of a “pinch me” moment!” said MD Jamie Sefton. “Bringing such a legend in the industry to the UK shows the ambition we have for this conference to be a major unmissable and unique international event in the games industry calendar.”
Game Republic New Horizons Set to Be Bigger and Better in 2026
Last year’s inaugural GR new Horizons conference brought over 250 developers from across the UK, Europe, the US and Japan, studio leaders and senior leaders from the creative industries to the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough for talks including from MachineGames’ Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Supercell, Kickstarter and TV comedian and winner of Taskmaster Maisie Adam. For the 2026 conference, taking place 14 – 16 October, organisers are promising the conference is set to be even bigger and better – and bringing Ken Kutaragi from Japan is just the first announcement of an exciting line-up that will make it a must-attend event for games companies as well as digital and creative leaders.
Game Republic New Horizons, taking place 14 – 16 October – with the main conference day on the 15th October once again at the stunning Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough – promises a legendary selection of quality speakers, the best after-party in the games industry and some new exciting additions including a curated indie showcase, masterclasses, business workshops, tech deep-dives, an expo and an Investor Zone in collaboration with Games London. The team also promise some unique experiences on the final day that will be revealed soon. Early Bird tickets at £149 are available now until the end of April 2026 via the conference website as well as discounted accommodation: grnewhorizons.gamerepublic.net
First sponsors to come on board include Kudos Games, Steel City Interactive, Plus Accounting, Escape Technology and Behaviour Interactive. Game Republic New Horizons is supported by Tees Valley Combined Authority and Middlesbrough Council. Media Partners include GamesIndustry.biz, Pocket Gamer, The Game Business, Video Games Chronicle and MobileGamer.biz.
Game Republic New Horizon’s International Advisory Board
The news follows the story a few weeks back confirming that the Game Republic team have brought together an advisory board reflecting the vision for creating an internationally-recognised conference. See full story here. Advisory board members include Stefan Lampinen (Game Advisor Ltd in Sweden), Tony Byus (Rainy Frog publisher in Japan), Asher McClennahan (Kickstarter from the USA), Elaine Dowman (IMIRT – the Irish Game Makers Association), David Lilley (Kudos Games), Gina Jackson OBE (Pitchify), Simon Iwaniszak (Red Kite Games) Des Gayle (Day Off Interactive), Kimberley Turner (Double Eleven), Charles Cecil (Revolution), HaZ Dulull (Beyond The Pixel), Bob Makin (Behaviour), Alison Lacy (Radical Forge), Callum Underwood (Uwu Biz), Michael French MBE (Games London), Andrew Crawshaw (Thunkd), John Sanderson (Pitstop Productions), Ron Ashtiani (Last Arrow Games), Nina Cliff (Business Development) and Chris Taylor (Eaton Smith Solicitors), Chris Dring (The Game Business), Ben Robinson (ID@Xbox), Olly Bennett (Cardboard Sword), Sarah York (Panda Cat Games), Luke Mills (Dink) and Nareice Wint (Miami Avalon) as well as local representatives Charlie Kemp (Tees Valley Combined Authority) and Michelle Shelton (Middlesbrough Council).
A reminder of Game Republic New Horizons 2025
The conference in 2025 proved a big success – see feature here
About Game Republic
Game Republic is the largest games industry body in the North of England with over 2000 developers, educational partners and industry service providers. The network runs 12 events a year for game developers, online webinars and works internationally on trade missions and at national and international events supporting games businesses across The North of England and the UK. The network also provides business development support for its members.
To find out about events Game Republic events and webinars visit the events page.
If you are interested in becoming a Game Republic member, affiliate or educational partner to come to events for free, get business development support and join the network you can apply to join Game Republic here.
If you are developing or supporting games in The North, you can join the Great Northern Games Discord here
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