Welcome to Manchester Games Network, the business community that advocates for, supports, and connects the video games ecosystem in the Greater Manchester region.

About Manchester Games Network

Manchester Games Network is an industry body supported by some of the region's biggest names and led by a board with a broad spectrum of knowledge and experience. We share a passion for games and for Manchester, its surrounding region, and its unique place on the global cultural stage.

Through events, knowledge sharing, inclusion, and a strategic outlook, we position the industry for global growth. We aim to make Manchester an even better place to create games and nurture the very best talent in the industry.  

Manchester’s Legacy of Games

Manchester has always been a cauldron of creativity, culture and subversion. It was therefore no surprise that in the summer of 1952, computer scientist Christopher Strachey fired up a Ferranti Mark 1 computer and programmed it to play a game. With Alan Turing's help, Strachey created a simple game of draughts on a Ferranti Mark 1 computer, one of the world's first video games.

Draw a line from then to today, and you pass through the city's Ocean Software with its global portfolio of hits through the 1980s and 90s, to the home of the space epic architects Cloud Imperium, Worms wranglers Team17 and Lego masters, TT Games.

Today, Manchester is uniquely poised to create new ways to entertain the world.    

  

Manchester: A Global Games Force

Manchester is ready to embrace opportunities and compete on a global stage. We've always had creativity on our side and a culture of punching above our weight in terms of cultural impact. Now we have the opportunity to create a lasting legacy in games, new IP, and tangible growth.

With an industry that is creating top ten global entertainment entities, a world-class education infrastructure, and a prolific indie development scene, we have the opportunity to soar.   

  

Our Board

  • Laura Harper is a Partner in the Digital, Commerce & Creative team of leading UK law firm Lewis Silkin LLP. Based in Manchester, Laura is a creative industries legal specialist and head of our Interactive Entertainment practice. She is a commercial lawyer specialising in complex intellectual property and media and entertainment matters.  Having worked in the interactive entertainment and video games industry for over two decades, she and her team advise some of the world’s leading Games Publishers and Independent Games studios on legal matters and help studios and publishers navigate an increasingly regulated sector. Laura is also a regular speaker at Games Industry Events.

  • Stephen began his games industry career in 1993, doing PR for Ocean Software, launching titles like Worms and Jurassic Park. He co-founded Head First in 1999 and worked with major clients. As Marketing Director at EA's Chillingo, he worked on hits such as Angry Birds and Cut the Rope. Since 2017, he has run the freelance business HeyStephenHey.

    Currently, he acts as Head of Publishing & Partnerships at indie developer Radical Forge, as well as working on other consultancy projects. Stephen is actively involved in community and educational initiatives, including SpecialEffect, Kings Trust and Manchester Game Network.

  • Louise has worked in the games industry since 2001 and has contributed to over 30 games. Having trained as a fine artist, she worked her way up to the position of Lead Artist, and for the past five years was d3t's Head of Art where she led and grew the team to 45 artists and animators across the UK and Europe.

     Now, as Head of Studio at d3t, Louise is passionate about creating positive cultures where talented game developers are able to thrive on collaboration and creativity without egos. She won the MCV/Develop Women in Games Career Mentor award in 2023 and was shortlisted for the GamesIndustry.biz Best Boss award in both 2022 and 2023.

  • Carl Jones is a senior executive in the global games industry, with over two decades of leadership experience overseeing technology development, business development, game production, marketing and publishing.  Carl began his career as a Defence Analyst for the UK Armed Forces, developing strategic insight and analytical skills that have shaped his approach to creative leadership, innovation, and sustainable growth.

    Carl has held senior roles at internationally recognised studios, including Cloud Imperium Games, Crytek and Sega, where he led creative and commercial strategies, built global teams, and oversaw the development of pioneering IP and cutting-edge technologies.  

    Carl is passionately engaged in advocacy and policy for the UK’s creative industries, and is a board member of Creative UK, the membership organisation representing and investing in UK Creatives.  He has worked with TIGA and UKIE to advance industry priorities on innovation, skills, and international competitiveness, and has collaborated with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) to strengthen the region’s creative and digital economy.  An advocate for cross-sector collaboration, Carl champions partnerships between developers, educators, investors, and government to ensure the UK’s creative industries continue to lead on a global stage.

  • Caroline White is a creative producer and partnerships specialist working across games, XR and emerging technology. She has led innovation projects at MediaCity, XR Stories, Production Park, DARKFIELD and Electric Skies collaborating with major industry and creative technology partners such as WarnerMedia, Microsoft, Manchester City Council and GM Colleges and BT to advance UK R&D in immersive and interactive storytelling. She currently works for BOM and as a creative consultant, supporting Unreal Engine training for neurodiverse creatives and supporting boundary-pushing interactive experiences and games.

  • Senior executive with 25+ years at the forefront of the video games industry, spanning publishing, development, platform strategy, and global partnerships.

    Currently responsible for building a Global Publishing capability to support original IP at Lightspeed Studios. Former VP of Global Third-Party Relations and SVP of Platform & Planning at Sony Interactive Entertainment, where I helped define PlayStation’s partner and platform roadmap across console generations. Held CEO and senior executive publishing and development roles, driving the launch and growth of successful game franchises, managing global distribution, and shaping commercial models that expanded player reach and engagement.

Our Sponsors

Contact us.

Feel free to contact us at contact@manchestergamesnetwork.co.uk or use this form. We would love to know what you think of MGN, whether you would like to get involved as a member or sponsor, your ideas about the games industry in Manchester, or anything else.