Managing Director of Game Republic, Jamie Sefton, has been awarded an Honorary Master of Arts degree by Leeds Arts University for his contribution to the Northern and UK Games Industry.
“I am truly honoured to receive this recognition for my contribution to the games industry in the North of England with Game Republic, particularly as it’s from Leeds Arts University; an institution that celebrates creativity in the arts and has such distinguished alumni, ” said Sefton. “It was also fantastic to meet the Chancellor and iconic lead singer, DJ, activist and actor Skin from Skunk Anansie – her speech to graduates about the importance of being political as well as creative was relevant and inspiring.”
Jamie began his career in the games industry in 1999 as a writer and editor of magazines and websites such as Arcade, Official PlayStation 2 and the “legendary” PC Zone, travelling around the world to interview major game development studios across Europe, China, Canada and the USA, and featuring world exclusives of games such as Half-Life 2 by Valve.
Jamie is now the Managing Director of the largest games industry network and trade body in the North, Game Republic, which celebrated its 20th birthday year in 2023 and won the Supporting Star Award at the Develop: Brighton Conference in 2024. Game Republic has more than 2000 members and runs monthly business events in the region featuring guest companies including Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox, as well as providing business development help and contacts. Game Republic also owns the free GaMaYo network which hosts twice-yearly events in the North for 400+ game developers, the Game Republic Awards that recognises brilliant individuals and companies, and organises the flagship UK international games industry conference Game Republic New Horizons at the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough.
Jamie picked up his Honorary Masters from Leeds Arts University on Monday 6th July 2026, with an audience of hundreds of graduates, Vice-Chancellor Professor Simone Wonnacott, and Chancellor Skin, acclaimed DJ, fashion icon, actress, activist and lead singer of multi-million selling rock band, Skunk Anansie. Dr Jackie Mulligan (co-director of Game Republic) and daughter Harriet were also present for the presentation. Here is what he said in his acceptance of the Award
“I feel very honoured to receive this recognition today for my contribution to the games industry here in Yorkshire and the North with Game Republic, particularly as it’s from Leeds Arts University; an institution that has been a pioneer in creativity and the arts, and has such distinguished alumni. You should all be immensely proud of your achievements in graduating today – and it’s fantastic I’m able to share in your celebration along with my wife Dr Jackie Mulligan and daughter Harriet, without whom I wouldn’t be receiving this Honorary Master of Arts degree today.
The arts have enriched my life through music, TV, film, art, design, architecture, comic books and of course videogames – I’m a fan of creative people and in awe of their incredible work, whether that’s the Boards of Canada’s latest album or Nintendo’s new Star Fox game.
In my own career, I’ve performed comedy at the Edinburgh festival, played a genie of the lamp in panto at Leeds City Varieties – *I still remember the moves* – made comedy music videos for Paramount, stayed at Skywalker Ranch, produced a dance record that was played on Radio One, portrayed a solicitor in Emmerdale, recorded a radio comedy pilot at BBC Broadcasting House, edited PC Zone games magazine, interviewed music legends including my personal hero Trevor Horn for the site MusicRadar and run Game Republic, the largest games industry network and trade body outside London…
People often think of careers as a linear process, a progression line from graduation to junior, then mid to senior jobs in one area or company. However, as I have hopefully just shown, that usually isn’t the case and especially not in the creative industries where it is less linear and more of a squiggly line.
I’m going to share with you four lessons I’ve learned from my own squiggly career in the creative industries, that I hope will prove useful to you as you pursue your own careers from today.
When I decided I wanted to try writing about videogames, it was after I blagged my way into a games business conference in London in 1998, saying I was writing music for TV (which I was) and games (which I wasn’t). As a result of that, I met legendary Mario and Zelda game designer Shigeru Miyamoto on the Nintendo stand.
It was telling this story in an interview for a staff writer that got me my first games journalism job at Arcade Magazine at Future Publishing in Bath.
Lesson One – I learned that sticking your elbows out a bit sometimes is important in getting a break into a creative career – and if nothing else your efforts will always create a good story.
I have met and worked with some incredibly creative writers, artists, actors and musicians in my life starting at school and through university and into my career, such as Mark Ibson, an outsider artist and gallery owner, Ralph Ineson, an actor who played Finchy from The Office and most recently Galactus in the recent Marvel Fantastic Four movie, Rhianna Pratchett writer of scripts for games like Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Will Porter, who came to Leeds Arts University a decade ago to talk about the writing of the script of the wonderful game Alien: Isolation.
Lesson Two – you have probably already met people that will be very significant in your life after university, and you will meet people throughout your career, that will also become incredibly important. So, look around you now, nurture your colleagues and friends, and always be respectful, kind, authentic and generous in helping each other – networks are your strength.
I love to be around creative people – but I’m also passionate about making the North a great place to work in the creative industries and especially games. I grew up in rural countryside East Yorkshire in the 1980s and back then, I felt it was the furthest you could possibly get from opportunities to work in TV, film and games. But, I still continued to play games, write scripts, and at university and afterwards wrote articles for the college newspaper, read books, performed comedy, learned to make electronic music, collected vinyl records and pursued many other interests – which I still do. A phrase I recently heard which absolutely resonated with me was, “my hobbies have hobbies”.
Lesson Three – Never lose your interests and passions – they may change over time, but every experience and interest you gain in creative pursuits is never wasted. In fact every bit of work you do – whether you are stacking shelves or picking fruit (and I did both) – provides you experience, soft skills, and potential friends that will always be valuable when pursuing your path in life.
After working in magazines for many years, I moved back to Yorkshire in 2005 and soon afterwards joined Game Republic, to help the game development scene in the region grow. I wanted to show that you can have a fantastic time working in games right here in the North. I brought the Eurogamer Expo – EGX – to Leeds in 2009 and subsequently hosted the Game Republic events that brought Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, Apple and more brilliant companies to the region. I loved the job and it was publicly funded, so I felt I was secure and that I had landed on my feet after leaving full-time journalism. Then, the funding got cut by the incoming Government in 2011 and I was made redundant.
It was a shock and I was fearful for the future, but with my wife and business partner Jackie, we decided to keep Game Republic going privately and for the last 15 years Game Republic has grown with the support of games companies and educational partners, and hosted bigger and better events, connecting more and more creative and inspiring people.
Lesson Four – Your career in the creative industries may at times feel like you are in Mario Kart getting hit by red shells. You will need resilience, self-belief and you will build that as you go – and sometimes what might seem like the end, is just the sign of something new beginning.
And this is your new beginning too – and you are in exactly the right place – The North – possibly home of the next Prime Minister, but definitely a rich and vibrant region where a fifth of the games in the UK are being made and with a stellar history of art, film, TV, theatre, music and more. Here you are with an amazing network around you already, and where you have already achieved an incredible milestone from a prestigious institution.
Thanks again to Leeds Arts University for this Honorary Master of Arts degree.
I hope you all enjoy your next adventures and in the wise words of videogame character Mario that I hope boosts you onwards and upwards – Woo Hoo!”
To find out about Game Republic work – including events on the Great Northern Games Discord, GaMaYo and Game Republic events and webinars visit the events page.
If you are interested in becoming a Game Republic member 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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