guildford.games festival announces three-year partnership with local mental health charity Oakleaf
guildford.games is proud to announce a new three-year partnership with Oakleaf, a Guildford-based mental health charity supporting hundreds of local people every year. The partnership underscores the festival’s commitment not only to celebrating the thriving game development that calls Guildford home, but to strengthening and supporting the wider community that surrounds it.
Now in its sixth year, the guildford.games festival brings together studios, students and players to showcase why Guildford remains one of the UK’s most influential hubs for game development. The festival’s mission is twofold: to foster community between the studios who call Guildford home, and to inspire and support the next generation of developers looking to take their first steps into the industry. Over 4,000 people attended last year’s g.g festival, filling Glive to hear from seasoned developers, get hands-on with new games, meet creators from across Guildford’s studios, and take advantage of dedicated portfolio reviews.
As part of that commitment, tickets for students remain completely free, ensuring accessibility for young people hoping to learn from developers, meet studios, and explore future career opportunities.
Guildford has been a cornerstone of the UK games industry for more than four decades, earning its reputation as the country’s unofficial “Hollywood of Games.” The town has been home to pioneering studios since the 1980s, nurturing talent that has gone on to shape the global industry. Some of the world’s most influential titles were created in Guildford, including Black & White, Fable, Populous, Theme Park, No Man’s Sky, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Battlefield, Until Dawn, and Two Point Hospital. Today, over 60 studios continue that legacy - from indie start-ups to world-leading developers - making Guildford one of the most vibrant, collaborative, and creatively significant development hubs in the world.
This year’s festival features a keynote from Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, CEO of CCP Games, the studio behind EVE Online - a game renowned for its unprecedented player-driven storytelling, emergent politics and long-lasting online community. His appearance follows last year’s keynote from Peter Molyneux, further cementing g.g fest as a major platform for thought-leading voices in the global games space.
Additional speakers, panelists and sessions will be announced over the coming weeks, with topics spanning development, production, community, technology, art, and the future of interactive entertainment.
The partnership with Oakleaf comes at a time when the importance of mental health support within the games industry has never been clearer. Across the sector, studios are placing increasing emphasis on safeguarding the wellbeing of both developers and players. While gaming is sometimes misrepresented in public discourse, research consistently shows that games can provide meaningful mental health benefits - offering connection, escapism, creative expression and supportive online communities.
By aligning with Oakleaf, guildford.games reinforces its belief that the industry thrives when the people who make and play games are supported, understood, and able to be themselves.