Yorkshire Games Festival 2023: Festival passes on sale and first speakers announced

Yorkshire Games Festival returns to the National Science and Media Museum for its seventh edition on 4-10 February 2023, with festival passes now on sale and first speakers announced.  

The festival will feature a packed programme of talks, workshops, networking and Q&A events featuring high-profile industry guests, alongside the Young Developers Conference and the return of the popular Let’s Play family weekend. 

The highlight of the festival is the impressive lineup of Game Talks featuring high profile industry guests, taking place on 9-10 February. Game Talks will include a range of exciting talks, and Q&A events from games industry insiders, who will help attendees further their knowledge and employability in the fast-moving sector. The talks will explore the range of roles and routes into the industry, alongside exciting fringe events with opportunities to network and gain first-hand career advice.  

Speakers will include Mark Ranson, Lead Artist at Void Interactive, who will give an in-depth talk on everything you need to know about starting in the games industry. Find out how to stay motivated and flexible as an artist, how to maximise productivity with the tightest budgets, what it means to work across various projects, and soft skills needed to survive and thrive in a demanding industry.  

Lauren Kaye, Founder and Host of She Plays Games, will be giving a talk on how to build up networking skills within the industry and sharing some of her top tricks to get over introvert anxiety when attending networking events.  

Head of Education at British Esports Association, Kalam Neale is also amongst the speakers. Kalam will provide industry insight into the educational developments in esports across the UK, and links to transferrable skills developed from university progression and a variety of careers including, esports, business, creative media, STEM and sport. 

Emily Dervey, Junior 3D Artist at XR Games will be unpacking different routes into the gaming industry, drawing from their own non-linear journey. They’ll also be looking at the current state of accessibility with a specific focus on age and class; highlighting initiatives and trends that are aiming to create opportunities and tools for self-teaching.  

Producer at Radical Forge, Alex Earle will also be joining the festival lineup this year, with a talk on how to become a games producer, sharing tips and tricks from his own journey to become a producer.  

The full programme of Game Talks speakers will be announced in December.  

Matthew Horsfall, Curator of Game Technologies at the National Science and Media Museum commented: “We’re incredibly excited for Yorkshire Games Festival to return for its seventh edition at the National Science and Media Museum. Next year’s festival will welcome developers and industry experts working across the world of gaming to inspire digital creators to take the leap into this fast-paced industry.  Meanwhile our Young Developers Conference and Let’s Play family weekend will share the exciting world of gameplay and how there are incredible opportunities available for everyone within the industry.” 

The popular Let’s Play family weekend will return to take over the museum on 4 and 5 February, with exciting gameplay and activities for the whole family. Young visitors will be able to beta-test new developments from Northern developers, learn new skills in the Exploring Analogue area and compete against friends on the big screen.  

Throughout the festival, the museum will also host the Young Developers Conference, aimed at Key Stage 3 students and designed to engage the games industry’s youngest and brightest stars. The conference will inspire and inform younger game makers about the opportunities available within the games industry.  

More information about the Let’s Play and Young Developers Conference programmes will be announced in January, and current details can be found on the Yorkshire Games Festival webpage. 

Passes for Yorkshire Games Festival: Game Talks 2023 are now available and can be booked via the Yorkshire Games Festival webpage.  

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