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With exactly four weeks to go until the MCV/DEVELOP Women In Games Awards, we are very pleased to reveal the shortlist of candidates across all 13 award categories.
With it being 18 months since the last time we were able to celebrate the women of the UK games industry, and almost three years since finalists, guests and supporters were able to gather in-person, it was no surprise that we received hundreds of detailed testimonials and enthusiastic nominations since announcing the return of the awards late last year. Settling on the most compelling of them was no easy task for our shortlisting panel.
Without further ado, here is this year’s shortlist:
CREATIVE IMPACT
- Charlie Bowater, Atomhawk
- Anouk Debruyne, Jagex
- Niamh Houston, Chipzel
- Elly Marshall, Slightly Mad Studios
- Ranj Vekaria, Curve Games
- Hannah Waring, Lab42
DEVELOPMENT IMPACT
- Ruth Anna Caulcott-Cooper, The Chinese Room
- Jemma Harris, Sumo Digital
- Xu He, Netspeak Games
- Anna Marsh, Firesprite
- Simone McDermott, Ripstone
- Catarina Martins, Supermassive Games
TECHNICAL INNOVATION
- Kirsty Fraser, Third Kind Games
- Jo Haslam, Snap Finger Click
- France Quiquere, Sumo Leamington
- Maria Laura Scuri, FACEIT
- Andria Warren, Rare
JOURNALISM IMPACT
- Alice Bell, Rock Paper Shotgun
- Sophie Brugmann, Womenize! Inspiring Stories
- Marie Dealessandri, Games Industry Biz
- Kate Gray, Nintendo Life
- Aimee Hart, Gayming Magazine
- Vic Hood, TechRadar
- Keza Macdonald, The Guardian
EDUCATIONAL IMPACT
- Ruth Falconer, Abertay University
- Bobbie Fletcher, University of Northampton
- Rosalie Hoskins, Into Games
- Robin Milton, Access Creative College
- Shahneila Saeed, Ukie / Digital Schoolhouse
- Sharon Tolaini Sage, Women in Games
ESPORTS IMPACT
- Morgan Ashurst, British Esports Association
- Catherine Bygrave, Gfinity
- Caz Lacey, CAA
- Rachel Rakowski, Logitech
- Becky Wright, National Student Esports
COMMS IMPACT
- Gemma Cooper, Media Molecule
- Amy Ellison, Koch Media
- Livvy Garner, Ubisoft
- Sola Kasali, Electronic Arts
- Becky Mullen, Bastion
- Sarah Wellock, Sega/Atlus
IN-HOUSE HR AND RECRUITMENT IMPACT
- Alison Clark, Outplay Entertainment
- Danielle Davis, NaturalMotion / Zynga
- Bex Holland, Rocksteady Studios
- Kate Lindsay, Splash Damage
- Sara Machado, Hitmarker
- Bernice (Bee) Oshomuvwe, Sony London Studio
BUSINESS IMPACT
- Sally Blake, Silent Games,
- Kirsty Endfield Swipe Right PR
- Gemma Foster, Dlala Studios
- Amelia Lingman, Italic Pig
- Tori Miller, Koch Media
- MJ Widomska, YRS TRULY
CAREER MENTOR
- Gaelle Caballero, Testronic
- Suzy Hampson (TBC), Lucid Games Ltd
- Harinder Sangha, Sumo Digital
- Sophie van den Boomen, Rebellion
- Arielle Vieira, EA
- Lizzie Wilding, Dovetail Games
GAMES CAMPAIGNER
- Marion Mỹ Anh Baxerres, Ubisoft
- Jennifer Estaris, Ustwo Games
- Nickie Harper-Williams, Many Cats Studios
- Karla Reyes, Niantic
- Elli Shapiro, Rocksteady Studios
- Emma Smith, Creative Assembly
RISING STAR
- Frida Arntsen, Silent Games
- Leah Dougherty, Lucid Games Ltd
- Rach Macpherson, Neonhive
- Aisling McElroy, Italic Pig
- Tara Naz, Macademia
- Catrin Price, Codemasters
- Scarlett Sinclair, Hangar 13
- Millicent Thomas, Ubisoft
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION
- This award will be decided by the editorial team and judges and the recipient announced on the day of the event, March 4th.
Huge congratulations to all the above, whose names will be forwarded to our panel of industry judges. All finalists and their guests are invited to join us at the awards presentation on March 4th, at Altitude in London’s Millbank Tower, where the winners will be announced.
As well the finalists, we’d like to not only thank all those that were nominated, but also those that took the time to nominate their peers and colleagues – without whom the task of selecting a shortlist of candidates would have been almost impossible.
In addition we’d like to acknowledge the support of our headline sponsor Rare, award partners Amiqus, Creative Assembly, Hangar 13, Rocksteady, OPM and Virtuos, as well as gift partners Square Enix and Firesprite. Last but not least, of course, our thanks to Women In Games.
