This afternoon at a ceremony in central London, the worthy winners of this year’s MCV/DEVELOP Women In Games Awards were announced. They are:
Games Campaigner – Marion My Anh Baxerres, Project AWR
In-House HR and Recruitment Impact – Julie Piedrabuena, ustwo games
Development Impact – Joanna Haslam, Snap Finger Click
Journalism Impact – Laura Kate Dale, LauraKBuzz
Educational Impact – Marcia Deakin, NextGen Skills Academy
Career Mentor – Beverley Bright, Wushu Studios
Creative Impact – Katie Lowndes, TrailerFarm
Business Impact – MJ Widomska, YRS TRULY
Comms Impact – Lisa Carter, Mimram Media
Rising Star – Natalie Stone, BAFTA
The final award, Outstanding Contribution, went to Cat Channon, who was given a rousing ovation given her 30 years in gaming. Caroline Miller of Indigo Pearl had this to say: “Cat brings an unprecedented level of excellence to every single role she takes. On top of this, she is a mentor to many younger women and a friend to all who are lucky enough to know her, and when you have Cat Channon in your corner you know about it.”
The 2024 awards were hosted by Rebecca Burford and brought together all 40 nominees and their guests, representatives of the sponsors, and many others to help celebrate the achievements of not just the women in the room, but the efforts of all women working in the UK games industry.
We’ll have a full report in the next issue of MCV/DEVELOP. In the meantime, all the photos will be appearing on the awards website over the coming days.
Our congratulations to the winners and thanks to everyone that nominated someone for an award. Special thanks too to our record breaking sponsors: Amiqus, Code Wizards, Dlala Studios, Easton Smith, Firesprite, Gowling WLG, Green Man Gaming, Liquid Violet, Playdemic, Playground Games, Renaissance PR, Rocksteady, Supermassive Games, Ukie, and our charity partner Future Dreams.