Inaugural Guildford.Games Festival Welcomes More Than 1,000 Visitors

Published on: 2 Jul, 2019
Updated on: 4 Jul, 2019

Guildford, said to be dubbed the “Hollywood of Games”, celebrated creative local talent in gaming technologies in the inaugural 2019 Guildford. GamesFestival, attracting more than 1,000 visitors to G Live on June 28 to 29.

The town is the home of more than 70 video game businesses, employing more than 1,500 people which, it is estimated, make up about 10% of the UK’s game industry workforce. The area is said to be recognised as a UK centre for games development, games publishing, and technology.

There were more than 40 industry-led panels and career workshops at G Live and more than 50 locally made games from 1987 to modern day, all playable in the consumer expo there, as well as the Belong esports arena, Club Minecraft, an industry charity fundraiser.

Kenny Young, winner of the 2019 Guildford.Games Festival’s creative award.

Key figures from the industry including Peter Molyneux (22 Cans), Sean Murray (Hello Games), and Siobhan Reddy (Media Molecule) were at the festival to demonstrate how 30 years after the first UK video game studios were established here, Guildford’s creative talent is still a major contributor to a market that globally is worth around $81 billion.

Members of the Guildford video games community also celebrated Guildford’s talent at The Boileroom art and music venue by announcing the winners of the first Guildford.Games Awards. Media Molecule dominated the awards with four wins including the creative award going to Kenny Young, a freelance worker at Media Molecule.

The festival was opened by Anne Milton MP, followed by a welcome address by leader of Guildford Borough Council, Caroline Reeves who said: “Whether supporting the development the talent pool of the future or through facilitating increased digital infrastructure investment, technology and its advances will re-shape our lives from our leisure time to digital healthcare. We look forward to it becoming an annual celebration.”

Dr Jo Twist OBE, CEO of Ukie (UK Interactive Entertainment) said: “It was particularly great to see so many local families, schools, and colleges taking part in the careers sessions, or talking to developers about how games are created, as well as having fun playing some of the world leading games made in Guildford.

“My hope is that some of our festival visitors go on to be the next generation of game makers, and they will be the catalyst for Guildford’s next exciting, innovative chapter in its history.”