The future of BAFTA Games
BAFTA has appointed a familiar face as their new head of games. Chris Wallace talks to Luke Hebblethwaite to find out what his new role means for the future of BAFTA.
W
e’d hardly be the first to point out that the past few years have been a hugely transformational time. As (at the time of writing) we ‘celebrate’
the two-year anniversary of the first lockdown in the UK, it’s hard not to look back on how drastically our industry, and the world at large, has changed. Of course, most of the changes of the past few years have
been profoundly negative, at least outside of the industry. And while we’ve learned of (or been reminded of) a number of issues that continue to plague our industry, games are at least in the privileged position of seeing more commercial success and wider cultural acceptance than ever before. How much of this growing acceptance comes from
multiple lockdowns boosting consumer appetites for gaming, and how much is just the inevitable consequence of a shifting cultural attitude around games is a debate best
left to another day. Or never, in fact. Don’t email me. But with the spotlight on the industry more than ever,
the industry has a responsibility to not only provide much- needed support on the business side, but also to effectively communicate the potential of games to a rapidly growing consumer audience. It’s in this spirit that BAFTA, itself going through a
transformation with the upcoming departures of CEO Amanda Berry (stepping down in 2023) and COO Kevin Price (leaving in September 2022), has appointed a familiar face as their new head of games – Luke Hebblethwaite. Many of you are likely already familiar with
Hebblethwaite, who spent over five years at Ukie as their insight and innovation manager, with experience working on the UK Games Industry Census, the UK Games Map and Ukie’s annual Consumer Games Market Valuation, among other things.
36 | MCV/DEVELOP April 2022
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