Looking back on Develop:Brighton 2023
Develop:Brighton in a nutshell….
Networking:
Amongst all the Meet to Match’ers, we managed to squeeze in some pretty cool additional networking opportunities…
- UKIE Networking Breakfast — easing us into the ‘Networking’ mood with some coffee and croissants (everyone networks better on a full stomach!).
- IO Interactive Mixer — a chance for an early rum cocktail which we couldn’t pass up. But more importantly, a chance to mix with the teams behind the brands. It was so insightful to hear about some of the exciting projects and efforts that have gone into them. Who doesn’t love a bit of insider info?!
- The Expo — showcasing some amazing studios and services within the industry. The hall was hustling and bustling so we did our best to get around all the stands (and pick up some merch along the way of course!).
The Meet to Match meeting tables were buzzing as were the conversations, where we got the chance to talk to studios and publishers alike about branding, creating experiential websites and all things marketing.
If we met you during these sessions, a big hi from us!
Sessions:
Along with all the networking opportunities, there were also some fantastic and varied sessions held. From conference talks and round tables to bootcamps, every single one delivered such great and interactive content. It was great to see a real mix of topics from:
- Imposter syndrome
- Audio
- Influencer marketing campaigns
- Being a force for good in gaming
- Mastering discoverability
- Designing an accessible game
- Mobile growth
- And tonnes more (too many to list)
There really was something for everyone at this years’ Develop:Brighton!
Star:Awards
An evening of celebrations for those in the industry; and rightly so. The effort, love and attention that goes into creating games is truly mind-blowing.
Here’s a rundown of the winners:
🌍 New Sustainability Star: ustwo games
🧑🎨 Best Game Design: poncle — Vampire Survivors
🎧 Best Audio: Santa Monica Studio — God of War: Ragnarok
© Best Original IP: タンゴゲームワークス（Tango Gameworks） — Hi-Fi Rush
🎨 Best Visual Art: Firesprite — Horizon: Call of the Mountain
🎙 Best Narrative: Santa Monica Studio — God of War: Ragnarok
📺 Best Technical Innovation: Guerrilla
🌟 Diversity Star: Dom Shaw
💫 Marketing Star: nDreams
🧪 Best QA and Localisation Provider: Keywords Studios
💡 Best Creative Provider: Atomhawk
👩🚀 Best Technology Provider: Unreal Engine
🦄 Talent Development Star: Sumo Digital Ltd
✍️ Recruitment Star: Amiqus — Games Recruitment Specialists
📅 Tomorrow’s Star: Shaye Poulton Richards
💿 Publishing Star: Team17 Digital
📲 Best Mobile Game: Desta: The Memories Between — ustwo games
🎮 Best Game: God of War: Ragnarok — Santa Monica Studio
🎬 Best Small Studio: Black Salt Games
🏆 Best Studio: Roll7
✨ Special Recognition Award: Dr Jo Twist OBE (she/her)
We’re proud to be a part of this industry which constantly drives us to be more creative and innovative. It’s ever-changing and we love being on board for the ride!
MarketersInGaming
With just shy of 500 members in the #MarketersInGaming community, it was awesome to finally meet some of them IRL (in real life). And of course we took the chance to recruit some new faces to the community!
We came back slightly lighter as the pin badges were a hit! It was awesome to chat about challenges, as well as celebrate the work of marketers within the #gamesindustry. It’s important to understand the current challenges of studios/publishers of all sizes; from start-up to indie to AAA. There’s definitely so much we can learn from each other to help us succeed.
Welcome all news members to #MarketersInGaming with your shiny new badges of honour!
We’ll be catching up with more #MarketersInGaming at Gamescom too…
