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Alison Lacy is the COO of UK studio Radical Forge, as well as being Co-Chair of the GameChangers organisation and a Cluster Board Member for Digital & Creative within the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Most recently, she is also the recipient of the G Into Gaming Award, which was presented to her by Liz Prince, Business Manager of Amiqus, and founder of the G Into Gaming initiative. Here, Liz talks to Alison about the award, her achievements and her goals in games…
Presenting Alison with the G Into Gaming Award was a real highlight – a well deserved recognition for a leader whose integrity and impact continues to shape the games industry for the better. Long may she continue!
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE RECOGNISED WITH THE AWARD, ESPECIALLY BEING DESCRIBED AS ‘EVERYTHING GAMES NEEDS RIGHT NOW’? It was a shock; I absolutely was not expecting it. It’s obviously hugely flattering to be recognised, especially given the people who have received the award in the past. You don’t do things to get awards, so when you do receive appreciation, it’s really amazing because it validates what you’re doing. A lot of the work I do around inclusivity is in my spare time, so to have people say they appreciate it is validating and motivating. Hopefully, it motivates others too, because everything I do is in groups with other people, so it’s a recognition of our collective work.
WHAT DO YOU THINK THE GAMES INDUSTRY NEEDS RIGHT NOW? It’s quite nuanced. There’s no doubt that the industry would benefit from being a more diverse place. A lot of the problems I’ve come up against stem from ‘groupthink’ and the attitude of “this is how we’ve always done it.” It’s a cutting-edge, constantly changing industry, which is what makes it exciting, but perhaps that constant change means we hold on to some old ways of doing things. The industry needs to take a long, hard look at itself and be open and honest about what it finds.
I try to encourage open conversations that aren’t about blame but about what we’re trying to achieve and how to get there. We need to change our business models and perhaps come back to our creative roots. The younger generations coming through are great; they understand the importance of taking care of staff
20 | MCV/DEVELOP October/November 2025
At Amiqus, we have many resources available to help, so please do get in touch via
liz.prince@
amiqus.com
and the quality of relationships at work. If we can bring business acumen to that and have more power over where investment comes from, things will improve. Logically, more diversity across all layers will make the industry better.
WHAT PRINCIPLES OR PRACTICES GUIDE YOU WHEN BUILDING MORE INCLUSIVE WORKPLACES? Recruitment is a core element. When you join a studio, you work with the existing staff, but hiring is the biggest decision you’ll make. We need to be aware of how we make those decisions. I’m a big fan of competency- based interviews to ensure fairness, where everyone gets asked the same things. It’s also important who is doing the interviewing. At Radical Forge, we have technical and cultural interviews. Our cultural interviews are done by a diverse pair of team members who aren’t necessarily senior. We know we’re drawn to people who are like us, so we have to be aware of that unconscious bias. Within the studio, it’s about creating an environment
where everyone can work well. We’ve implemented a set of behaviours, not just values, that evolve depending on your career level. One pillar of these behaviours is about how to actively create an inclusive environment. Another is about individual curiosity – encouraging everyone to ask “why” and to feel they can speak up. A company’s culture isn’t what’s written down; it’s how everyone behaves with each other.
WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO RADICAL FORGE? When I came back to the games industry after some years in the motor industry at Bentley, I spent four years
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