This profile forms part of a series of interviews produced as part of Game Republic’s 20th Anniversary celebrations supported by our Official Partners Barclays, Escape Technology and Red Kite Games.
Nina Cliff is Director of Business Development at Sumo Group, her role is all about finding great projects for Sumo studios around the world that best fit their strengths, knowledge and expertise.
Nina got into games back in 2004 (coming up to 20 years!) when she cofounded GameHorizon – a regional business support network for the games industry, just like Game Republic. During her time at GameHorizon, Nina’s role was to support games companies in the North East and grow the profile of the region to attract business and talent. GameHorizon’s annual conference became a popular slot on the games industry calendar, bringing the UK industry together with a roster of inspirational global speakers.
Since then, Nina worked in various business development roles in, publishing, development and services before joining Scottish mobile game developer Tag Games in 2014 as Head of Business Development.
What is great about working in the games industry?
I mean, first of all, games are cool! That novelty never wears off for me. The games industry is exactly how you’d expect it to be. It’s often compared to film and TV, but I think it’s so unique given the interactive nature of games and how we can push boundaries and change expectations in so many ways.
But it’s the people who make it for me. Ever since I started in games, I have been overwhelmed by how open, welcoming and friendly people are. It is packed full of kind, talented people who have a genuine love for the work they do. I have made so many amazing friends throughout my time in games, and that makes it an industry that I can’t ever imaging leaving.
It’s still a relatively young industry which is always learning and growing, and that’s really exciting to be a part of. We’re so lucky to get to do something we love for work every day and I think it really shows.
What words of advice do you have for people starting out in the games sector?
My advice would be to build your network. I genuinely believe that a strong network of friends, colleagues, peers and mentors will create a support foundation that will see you through your career and life no matter your discipline, experience or aspiration. It doesn’t have to be as extensive as building a network for business development is, but you can find a network in your own way.
Plus, there are so many great networking events to get involved with, like Game Republic, GaMaYo and Game Bridge. But it doesn’t even have to be in person anymore, there are so many communities and networks you can find online if that suits you more. It’s never been easier to grow your network and meet like-minded people who have similar life experience or goals as you.
Sumo Developer Conference (SDC) in the heart of the city at the University of Sheffield. As Sheffield is Sumo’s birthplace it’s only fitting that we should host our annual conference here., For the last two years, we’ve welcomed our teams from all over the world – including India, Poland and Canada – for two days of collaboration, learning and – of course – loads of games
What work have you been doing in the region to support the games industry, what’s the impact you are having?
We’re so lucky to have studios not only across the UK, but all over the world that are doing great work to support their local industries. In Yorkshire, Sumo’s two studios – Red Kite Games based in Leeds and Sumo Sheffield – are doing amazing work with local schools and universities to share insights into careers in games, tips on how to get started and inspiring the next generation of talent.
In Sheffield, Sumo Digital’s Director of Education Partnerships, Dr Jacob Habgood, runs the Sumo Digital Academy – an apprenticeship programme for those from other industries to translate their skills to games programming. He also has amazing connections with Sheffield Hallam University and often takes part in guest lectures, most recently supporting computer science students with bringing an existing game to PlayStation.
We also now have our own internal conference: Sumo Developer Conference (SDC) in the heart of the city at the University of Sheffield. As Sheffield is Sumo’s birthplace it’s only fitting that we should host our annual conference here., For the last two years, we’ve welcomed our teams from all over the world – including India, Poland and Canada – for two days of collaboration, learning and – of course – loads of games. It’s wonderful to be able to introduce people to what Sheffield has to offer, and for them to see where Sumo started compared to how big it is now!
What has been a highlight of your career / work so far for the industry?
I have to say that joining Sumo has been a real highlight of my career so far. I first met Carl, Paul and Darren (Sumo’s founders) back when GameHorizon started and worked closely with Game Republic. I’ve followed Sumo’s journey over the last 20 years and witnessed it growing from strength-to-strength to become the group of incredible studios and amazing talent it is today, not to mention the growing portfolio of incredible titles and awesome partners.
Being part of Sumo Group is more than I hoped it would be and I have been pretty blown away by it since joining. The scale of the group is super impressive, but my real highlight has been the genuine love and care for the people and the energy that goes into continually listening and making improvements for them.
People have often looked to the West Coast for development excellence, but Sumo has always been a shining example of that right here in Yorkshire.
There’s no end of good stuff happening at Sumo. Across the Group our people are coming together to make a difference in their local communities, with local students or helping to make the games industry a safer, more inclusive place to be.
What influence do you think your company and similar types of company can have on the region and the games industry?
There’s no end of good stuff happening at Sumo. Across the Group our people are coming together to make a difference in their local communities, with local students or helping to make the games industry a safer, more inclusive place to be.
Our studios all over the UK run their own student and school engagement programmes with partners like Ahead Partnership where they’re able to visit schools, share insights into games as a career and hopefully inspire the next generation of developers.
As a Group, we welcomed our Charity Partnerships Manager last year which has allowed us to add even more support to the way we give back and the scale at which we can do it. Sumo proudly supports its Group charities: SpecialEffect, Solving Kids’ Cancer and GamesAid all year round with events, fundraising and donations, and each of our studios chooses a charity close to their hearts or their local community to work with. It’s amazing to see everyone in Sumo coming together and make it a priority to do good.
Finally, our internal inclusion and belonging initiative, Prism, sees our people working together to evolve our policies, physical spaces and ways of working. It houses four streams (LGBTQ+, Women & Marginalised Genders, Ethnic Minorities and Ability & Wellbeing) which welcome people to share their voices and experiences, host internal events and more.
What do you think of the role of Game Republic?
The games industry in Yorkshire is so lucky to have Jamie and Game Republic working solely in its best interest. Game Republic brings the local industry together, but also brings the global industry to Yorkshire.
There is real value in a connected local industry that encourages this kind of collaboration. As they say, a rising tide lifts all boats and when everyone believes in the greater good of a network and is contributing, the collective success is shared. This kind of safety in numbers helps you weather the difficult times too.
I saw the benefit GameHorizon brought to the North East first-hand and would love it if this kind of initiative came back one day.
Why is the region a good place to do business?
Yorkshire is a pretty special place. It has great cities like Sheffield, Leeds, and York but also the most incredible countryside. It’s also well connected to the rest of the country which makes visiting easy.
One of the best things Yorkshire has going for it though, is the people. It’s always really stood out to me how friendly people are. You’ll find some real characters here!
All of this makes a job where relationships are everything much easier. There’s a real sense that people really care about the work they’re doing. For a global business like Sumo, which is staffed by people from everywhere, to be able to call Yorkshire home is something really special. From a business point of view, Yorkshire is the heart of the country that really has it all.
What projects are coming up ?
We’ve just held the second Sumo Developer Conference, which was two-days full of talks, collaboration and knowledge sharing. Over 1,100 people descended on Sheffield for the week to meet their colleagues, learn something new and get a sneak peek of projects being worked on across Sumo’s studios.
And this year was extra special as it culminated in our 20th anniversary celebration: SumoFest – an incredible one-day festival of music, food and face paint! A lot of Sumo’s people still work remotely post-pandemic so it means the world to us all to get people together.
