Pitching Event Gets Snowed Under!

Posted on March 9, 2023 by jamie

David Valjalo, Creative Director of Strategic Partnerships at Tencent Games joined Game Republic members online to discuss their investing in games, when heavy snow meant that most of Yorkshire and The North could not travel to the event which was due to take place at Eagle Labs, Avenue HQ in Leeds. Thanks to Zoom, nearly 40 companies were able to attend the online event which provided insider insights into how to pitch to publishers and investors.

Rob Hewson, CEO & Creative Director at Huey Games also joined the session, presenting useful tips and advice to help companies pitch their games to publishers and platform-holders, such as “Start with the Art”, in that you should always have your artwork upfront in pitch decks. Jamie Sefton, a well-seasoned GDC attendee heading to the event as part of a DIT trade mission, then shared his tips for looking after yourself and making the most of the event, such as buying the cheaper GDC Expo Pass and checking your meeting locations to make sure you arrive on time.

At the event Jamie also announced a special bonus webinar on 23rd May with Valve. Find more info and links in the Event Calendar.

Thanks to our 20th Anniversary Official Partners: Barclays, Red Kite Games and Escape Technology #GR20

To get FREE access to Game Republic events – join Game Republic

Game Republic’s Jamie Sefton celebrates incredible Games Industry in Barclays video feature

Posted on March 2, 2023 by jamie

Jamie Sefton, MD of Game Republic has declared Yorkshire’s friendliness, location and social scene as a good reason for businesses to set up in Yorkshire and The North in a feature about Game Republic by Barclays.

The feature which is now live on Barclays’ Games Hub focused on the heritage and legacy of the network as well as what is lined up for the 20^th Anniversary year which has been supported by Official Partners Barclays, Red Kite Games and Escape Technology.

Jamie Sefton with a banner with Official Partner logos

Jamie outlines the forthcoming programme of events being supported by Official Partners Barclays, Red Kite Games and Escape Technology

When asked about the work of Game Republic “Events are just the tip of the iceberg,” Jamie explained to Elaine Dowman, Barclays Head of Games and Creative. He went on to explain how much of the support provided to Game Republic members is behind the scenes, introducing companies to publishers, platform-holders, Universities and colleges to industry speakers and helping all the companies to “listening and meeting companies to help them to get the support they need that will make a big difference to their business.”

Commenting about the support of Game Republic’s work, one of the companies that helped to establish Game Republic in 2003, Revolution Software’s Charles Cecil recently said “Revolution has gained so much from our membership whether it’s having the opportunity to meet and speak to key industry representatives (one deal led to many millions of pounds of business); learn of new services; share ideas and opportunities with like-minded colleagues; and so much more. Steering a perfect balance between business and social, we are blessed to have such a brilliant organisation to champion, advocate, and support developers in the Yorkshire and the Humber region. Raising a glass to the next 20.”

Jamie’s passion for the region and how supportive the industry is to each other shone through the interview as he explained how he had been helped by larger companies like Sumo in the early stages of making the network independent after he was made redundant.

“We are lucky to have companies like Team17 and Revolution who have helped keep wealth within the region.” He continued, stating that the power of the ecosystem is key to success in Yorkshire and The North. He highlighted events like the Student Showcase that enhance talent. With GaMaYo which is managed by Game Republic and events like Leeds Games Toast led by Andrew Crawshaw, he emphasised that the support and the friendliness in the region is a good reason to set up here and to join Game Republic. “Bigger companies, Affiliates and Universities supporting the smaller companies has always been at the heart of Game Republic.”

The next Game Republic business networking event is a pre-GDC special on pitching and securing business at events courtesy of Barclays Eagle Lab at AvenueHQ in Leeds
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. Event produced as part of the 20th Anniversary supported by Official Partners Red Kite Games, Barclays and Escape Technology! Book here

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

Game Republic exceeds annual fundraising target in 5 weeks

Posted on February 13, 2023 by jamie

Game Republic’s 20^th Anniversary year of events has already exceeded its annual fundraising target, after just five weeks into the year. As part of the year-long event programme which has been supported by Official Partners, Escape Technology, Red Kite Games and Barclays, Game Republic is working with SpecialEffect as Charity Partner. SpecialEffect raises funds that ensure people (especially children) with disabilities can access and enjoy videogames.

Jamie Sefton MD at Game Republic is delighted that the initiative has already raised £1075 (£75 over the £1000 target), he said “This is great and testimony to the generosity we have in our games community. We overshot the target when we were hosting the Game Republic Speakers Dinner with Yorkshire Games Festival and I could not be happier! We will continue to support the fundraising campaign for SpecialEffect through the year. I am excited to see how much is raised by the end of 2023, after such a fantastic start.”

Game Republic has 8 more events including four flagship events for games companies and developers in Yorkshire and The North in 2023, all of which will include opportunities for people to donate to SpecialEffect.

Commenting about Game Republic’s fundraising efforts, Nick Streeter, fundraiser for the SpecialEffect charity said “Game Republic have been fantastic friends and supporters of SpecialEffect over our 15 years and we are so grateful as they celebrate their 20^th anniversary that they have chosen to support SpecialEffect as their charity partner. We look forward to working with the Game Republic community this year to make a difference to the lives of more and more gamers with disabilities who need our help.”

Game Republic Reception and Dinner Celebrates Yorkshire Games Festival

Posted on February 9, 2023 by jamie

MyLahore restaurant in Bradford was the perfect vibrant setting for the annual Game Republic Speakers Dinner that has become a staple of the Yorkshire Games Festival. Games companies joined speakers and organisers of the festival beforehand for a reception at the National Science and Media Museum where Jamie Sefton thanked the Museum for hosting the festival that puts the spotlight on Yorkshire, the North and the wider UK games industry.

Addressing the crowd at the Museum, MD of Game Republic, Jamie Sefton, thanked the many supporters for helping Game Republic reach its 20^th Anniversary: “I’d personally like to thank all our members for their incredible support through 20 years of the network – especially in 2011 when we lost public funding but were backed privately and so enthusiastically by the games companies, and in 2020-2021 during those difficult pandemic years.”

The Yorkshire Games Festival began eight years ago and has grown in popularity with an extensive programme of talks and activities for all ages. On 9^th February 2023, the festival will celebrate the heritage of Yorkshire’s games industry in a BAFTA panel featuring Game Republic members Andrew Crawshaw (Thunkd) and Abbie Willett (Sumo).

Game Republic was instrumental in the establishing of the Yorkshire Games Festival and this year it has formed part of the 20^th Anniversary celebrations of the network. At the reception, Jamie thanked the Official Partners supporting Game Republic in this important milestone year.

“Having Red Kite Games, Escape Technology and Barclays as Official Partners in 2023 means such a lot,” said Sefton. “Each one of our Official Partners are making a massive impact on the games industry in the region and far beyond. Thanks to Red Kite Games for employing graduates and creating and supporting incredible games development, Barclays for providing support, finance and insights to our industry and Escape Technology who provide invaluable help to our companies to source the technology they need to bring incredible games for us all to play.”

Jamie Sefton with Neil Parmar and John Stopforth from Escape Technology

To find more information about the programme of events for the Yorkshire Games Festival visit the website. To join the Game Republic network click here.

Featured Banner Image Jo Quinton-Tulloch, Director of National Science and Media Museum, Kathryn Penny, Leeds Trinity College and Conor Clarke, Boneloaf

The event also raised funds for SpecialEffect as part of the continued fundraising campaign for Game Republic’s 20th Anniversary. To donate to this fantastic cause that gives more people, especially children, access to videogames, please visit our Game Republic fundraising page.

Red Kite Games, Barclays and Escape Technology sign up as Official Partners to support 20th Anniversary Year celebration of Game Republic

Posted on February 2, 2023 by jamie

Game Republic, the largest network of the games industry in Yorkshire and the North, will be celebrating 20 years supporting games development in the region with a year of events bringing the region’s industry, new developers, suppliers, Universities and colleges together.

The year-long celebration is being supported by three Official Partners Red Kite Games, Barclays and Escape Technology. Jamie Sefton, Managing Director of the network hopes the anniversary events will support and draw attention to the region’s games industry, as the latest figures have UK’s games output valued at over £7.16bn (data: Ukie, 2022).

Jamie Sefton comments, “In twenty years, we have supported incredible growth and success in our games industry for Yorkshire and The North. There is so much talent and innovation happening with games produced in the region being exported around the globe. I am delighted that we have been able to support companies based in the region to make connections with suppliers, platform holders, publishers and investors, and with the incredible pipeline of talent through our excellent Universities and college educational partners. Yorkshire and the North is producing world-leading games and technology and we will be celebrating that throughout the year.”

Company members have expressed their appreciation of the network over the years. Simon Iwaniszak, Studio Director of Red Kite Games believes the milestone is significant for games companies across the region and was quick to sign up as an Official Partner for the year. He explains “Red Kite has been partnered with Game Republic for over 11 years. In the early days, when we were just getting started, Game Republic helped us in more ways than I can remember. Since then, Red Kite has grown into one of Yorkshire’s biggest and most successful games studios, but the support of Game Republic is still as valuable as ever. Jamie works tirelessly to support the Yorkshire games industry and is a true champion having helped it become the powerhouse that it is today.”

Barclays has been supporting Game Republic over the last four years and has chosen to be an Official Partner for the year – Elaine Dowman, Head of Games and Creative for Barclays, explains “As a member of Game Republic for the last four years and working with them, we have seen the great support they give games developers in Yorkshire and the North. We are delighted to be part of their 20^th anniversary of supporting success in the games industry. We are looking forward to a fantastic year of events to celebrate, and help further propel growth in the sector.”

Neil Parmar, Account Director at Escape Technology, has been a long term member of the network “20 years ago it all started out as a gathering, here we are today, an organisation worth every penny. I’m proud to be supporting Game Republic, it’s more than just another networking event but more so a network of family members from this amazing gaming industry here in the UK”

The 20^th Anniversary Game Republic events programme kicked off in Sheffield on Thursday 26^th January, where the events for the Anniversary year were announced including new Game Republic Awards and a Summer Arcade Birthday Party. It was also announced that all events in this milestone year will raise funds for the charity SpecialEffect which supports physically disabled people to participate in videogames.

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