The London Games Festival is back with a bang and it's going to be the best yet with an extended run and bigger events from 2 April to 14 April across the city. The London Games Festival is delivered by Games London, a partnership between Film London and Ukie.
Over 65,000 people attended 40 different events across 20 different venues during the 2018 festival. LGF has more games on show than any other global games event with nearly 400 games to play across its events. The Festival has also established itself as a platform for global business in games, connecting attendees with investors to secure deals worth nearly £20m in potential business last April.
The 2019 event will see the return of tentpole activities for the public, including the headline-grabbing Games Character Cosplay Parade and an expanded Now Play This at Somerset House, which will reach more attendees than ever. Overall the festival will provide a wider programme of outdoor events and an even bigger offering for the games community – while some of its core programming will focus on the impact games are having on culture, health and the wider creative industries.
Highlights of London Games Festival 2019 include:
- The return of the LGF HUB (Tuesday 2 April and Wednesday 3 April) featuring showcases of start-ups and prototypes, workshops and summits on Games Impact, Games Culture, Convergence and Online Live Games
- The return of Now Play This at Somerset House, a festival of playful work and experimental game design which is set to be expanded for 2019 after a popular event in 2018
- The fourth Games Finance Market (Wednesday, 3 April and Thursday 4 April) the only event of its kind in the UK, connecting 60 games studios with 60 global games investors
- A second phase of Ensemble, Games London’s exhibition profiling key UK-based BAME games talent
- Games Character Parade (Saturday, 6 April) featuring a parade of cosplayers at key London locations alongside a day of family-oriented activities
Games London will also have internationally renowned global partners delivering further events during the festival including:
- London’s largest games event EGX Rezzed (Thursday, 4 April to Saturday, 6 April), a showcase of PC and indie games at Tobacco Dock
- The BAFTA Games Awards on the evening of Thursday, 4 April
Applications are now open for developers and industry professionals looking to take part in London Games Festival and the wider Games London programme – including the Games Finance Market and Pitch Bootcamp, the second phase of BAME exhibition Ensemble and an upcoming outbound mission to Slush in Helsinki, Finland in December. Find out more at www.games.london and follow @londongamesfest for more updates over the coming weeks and months.
Evening Standard has also partnered with Games London to be the official media partner for the London Games Festival. To find out more about other partnership and sponsor opportunities at London Games Festival, contact paul.davies@games.london