LONDON GAMES FESTIVAL PICKS TOP NEW GAMES AND INTERNATIONAL INNOVATORS FOR ANNUAL OFFICIAL SELECTION
- A diverse range of over 30 games from around the world chosen as part of festival’s second Official Selection
- Games showcased online, on video and in-person at various places across LGF, running 1 April to 10 April
- Titles appearing across four areas: Made in London, Narrative Excellence, International Innovators and Games Are Good For You
Games developers from around the world are set to participate in next month’s London Games Festival, which today unveils the line-up for its second Official Selection.
The London Games Festival 2022 runs 1 April to 10 April as a hybrid event with activity taking place online and in-person.
After its successful introduction last year, the Official Selection returns with over 30 games and apps from around the world representing quality, innovation and diversity. The selection highlights games across four themes: Made In London, Narrative Excellence, International Innovators and Games Are Good For You.
Once again, the games will be presented via a dedicated showcase site available from the start of the festival, with associated store promotions at digital retailers, and online profile videos produced by London Games Festival. Some of the titles will release special content during the festival period while others have free demos available. For in-person attendees, the games will be showcased at a special Trafalgar Square Exhibition – while some individual titles are also on show elsewhere across the festival, such as part of W.A.S.D.’s Curios presentation.
Further details will be announced nearer the festival on special events promoting select games in the line-up.
The Official Selection line-up is:
MADE IN LONDON
Amata App (Amata World)
Beatstar (Space Ape Games)
Citizen Sleeper (Jump Over the Age)
Hellscreen (Jamie Degen)
Mask of the Rose (Failbetter Games)
Operation Outsmart (Unifiq Games)
Paper Trail (Newfangled Games)
Whispers in the West (Team Dissonant)
INTERNATIONAL INNOVATORS
Albert Wilde: The Quantum P.I. (beyondthosehills)
Count On Me (Akribian)
Grimoire Groves (Stardust)
Lab Rat (Chump Squad)
Mythbusters: The Game (Byte Barrel)
Orbisia (Weaveractive)
SCHiM (Ewoud van der Werf)
Swing Dunk (BucketPlay)
Unaki (Shatterplay Studios)
NARRATIVE EXCELLENCE
RichCast (Panivox)
Silt (Spiral Circus)
Spellbound: The Magic Within (Wyrdren Games)
Tamarindos Freaking Dinner (Celery Emblem)
The Adventure Is Real (The Adventure is Real)
The Burning Room (BetaJester)
The Fabulous Fear Machine (Fictiorama Studios)
The Wreck (The Pixel Hunt)
Unknown Number: A First Person Talker (godolphin games)
GAMES ARE GOOD FOR YOU
City of Beats (Torched Hill)
Crooks Like Us (Out of Tune Games)
LumbearJack (Final Boss Games)
My Time at Sandrock (PatheaGames)
PowerWash Simulator (FuturLab)
Trolley Problem, Inc (Read-Graves)
Wholesome: Out And About (Yaldi Games)
“Our 2022 Official Selection games represent the depth, diversity and potential of video games and interactive entertainment,” said Festival Director Michael French. “There are games that entertain and delight, some with gripping narratives and new ways of sharing stories, while others that provoke thought or sooth the soul. We are very proud to present these games from all over the world as part of London Games Festival 2022.”
The Official Selection is just one facet of the returning London Games Festival – other highlights include:
- Trafalgar Square Exhibition – A new large-scale installation that will showcase the Official Selection plus other festival programming
- Ensemble – profiling underrepresented ethnicities working in video games, the new cohort for which will be unveiled at the end of March
- Games Finance Market – which connects investors and publishers with games creators
- The Next Level – a free to attend in-person industry conference on the future of games
- Plus tentpole partner events Now Play This, W.A.S.D., and the BAFTA Games Awards
- For listings head to www.games.london/#whatson
London Games Festival is backed by the Mayor of London. It is delivered by Games London,an initiative from Film London, the capital’s screen industries agency, and video games trade body Ukie (The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment).
And as delegates and studios prepare to visit or connect with London, a range of businesses from across the sector have pledged support for the Festival.
These include Associate Partners Curve Games, Coutts and Taylor Wessing and festival partners Fireshine Games and Making Moves. Other partners – including a new games publisher that officially launches at London Games Festival – will be announced in the coming weeks.
Paul Franks, Interactive Entertainment Lead at Coutts said: “We’re really excited to be sponsoring the London Festival of Games as one of the key partners. Interactive Entertainment is one of the fastest growing industries in the UK. Through this partnership our aim is to highlight our continued support for this sector through our dedicated team of specialists that understand clients’ needs.”
Curve Games: “We’re excited and proud to be an associate partner of the London Games Festival. Showcasing a great variety of games highlights just how significant indie development is – as a publisher dedicated to bringing indie games to market, it’s great to be a part of it.”
Taylor Wessing’s Robert Fenner, Partner: “Taylor Wessing is one of the few large, international law firms with a dedicated Games team, who act for developers, publishers and platforms, from global brands through to indies, in console, PC and mobile. Having worked alongside our clients throughout extraordinary recent times to support some of the industry’s biggest deals through to its most promising start-ups, we’re proud to partner with Games London at this pivotal stage to promote the UK’s exceptional emerging studios and talent.”
Mo Basma, Associate Director, Making Moves: “We’re delighted to be a part of London Games Festival. Making Moves specialise in advising Games Developers, Publishers & Platforms on their office, studio & workplace needs and has worked with Mediatonic (Epic), Hutch Games (MTG), Media Molecule, Kepler Interactive and Wargaming – we’re excited to offer further support to the city’s wide ecosystem of games creators and developers.”
Tina Moore, Head of Product Marketing at Fireshine Games: “We’re delighted to be partnering with London Games Festival to celebrate the games industry’s unique talent and the importance games play in today’s society. With Silt, London Games Festival played a key part in us discovering this special title and the team at Spiral Circus, and we’re thrilled for it to be included in this year’s Official Selection and for the exciting plans we have to shine a light on the game throughout the festival.”
Overall, the online London Games Festival 2022 is set to include over 400 businesses across all its programming, making for its biggest showing since the festival started as a physical event in 2016. For more information and updates head to www.games.london or follow @londongamesfest
For further press information, please contact:
Caroline Miller, Indigo Pearl
T: 020 8964 4545
About Games London
Games London is a groundbreaking programme delivered by Film London, the capital’s screen industries agency, and UK games industry trade body Ukie. The project is backed by the Mayor of London with funding worth £1.2m over three years.
The Games London programme includes a number of initiatives to make London the games capital of the world. It re-established the London Games Festival in April 2016. Other areas of activity include inbound and outbound trade missions and work connecting and supporting games development skills in London.
About Film London
Film London is the capital’s screen industries agency. We connect ideas, talent and finance to develop a pioneering creative culture in the city that delivers success in film, television, animation, games and beyond. We work to sustain, promote and develop London as a global content production hub, support the development of the city’s new and emerging filmmaking talent and invest in a diverse and rich film culture. Funded by the Mayor of London and the National Lottery through the BFI, we also receive support from Arts Council England, Creative Skillset and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Film London’s activities include:
- Maintaining, strengthening and promoting London’s position as world-class city to attract investment through film, television, animation and games
- Investing in local talent through a range of specialised production and training schemes
- Boosting employment and competitiveness in the capital’s screen industries by delivering internationally facing business development events
- Maximising access to the capital’s film culture by helping audiences discover film in all its diversity
- Promoting London through screen tourism
Film London also manages the British Film Commission (www.britishfilmcommission.org.uk) through a public/private partnership which is funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport through the BFI, and the Department for International Trade.
About UK Interactive Entertainment (Ukie)
Ukie (UK Interactive Entertainment) is the trade body for the UK’s games and interactive entertainment industry.
A not-for-profit, it represents businesses of all sizes from small start-ups to large multinational developers, publishers and service companies, working across online, mobile apps, consoles, PC, esports, VR and AR.
Ukie also supports a number of additional initiatives aimed at supporting the sector including Digital Schoolhouse (DSH), askaboutgames.com and Ukie’s Student membership scheme.
Website: ukie.org.uk
Contact: george@ukie.org.uk
