The cohort for Ensemble 2025 by Games London has been announced

Image credit: London Games Festival | From left to right; Annabel Ashalley-Anthony, Jonas Gawe, John Giwa-Amu, Patrick Haraguti, Bulut Karakaya, Zakia Khan, Tara Mustapha, Sarah York

This year's Ensemble exhibition at the London Games Festival is set to highlight the contributions and perspectives of Black, Asian, and underrepresented professionals in the UK gaming sector.

Under the direction of Sharna Jackson, noted author and artistic director, the initiative will spotlight the endeavors of eight game creators and innovators through a series of exhibitions throughout various venues during the 2025 festival.

The inaugural installation will occur at New Game Plus on April 3-4, followed by another display at Trafalgar Square on April 11. The festival is organized by Games London with support from the Mayor of London.

The 2025 cohort features:

Annabel Ashalley-Anthony: CEO and founder of Melanin Games, with experience at EA, Ubisoft, Square Enix, and ZA/UM Studio, focusing on diversity efforts
Jonas Gawe: Community manager and event organizer, collaborating with Into Games, Limit Break, and Electric Saint on Crescent County, and conducting industry masterclasses
John Giwa-Amu: Producer and founder of Good Gate Media, known for works such as The Complex, Five Dates, Ten Dates, Night Book, and Who Pressed Mute on Uncle Marcus
Patrick Haraguti: Creative director and founder of Ronin Game Studio, with more than two decades in 3D artistry and VFX supervision
Bulut Karakaya: Lead programmer at Ustwo, has contributed to Monument Valley 3 and Desta: Between Memories, and co-founded two indie studios
Zakia Khan: Senior character artist and lead artist, having roles with Rare, Lucid Games, NaturalMotion, and Mediatonic Games
Tara Mustapha: Founder and CEO of Code Coven, gaming designer on projects like Cartomancy, Detours, and Insecure – The Come Up Game, partnered with Google, Netflix, and Meta
Sarah York: Founder of Panda Cat Games, with prior work at Team17, GREE, Sony Liverpool, and Rocksteady, contributing to Batman: Arkham Knight and Killzone: Shadowfall

"This marks the seventh year of Ensemble, an exhibition that emphasizes the critical role of diversity in cultivating rich experiences within the games industry," commented Jackson.

"Every day, Black, Asian, and minority ethnic talents in the UK produce vital work. It's essential to celebrate these accomplishments and amplify these voices, particularly to inspire and nurture future talents in the industry."