Games for Change is expanding to the UK for the first time through a new partnership with London Games Festival. The inaugural Games for Change London Summit will take place on April 15, 2026, as part of London Games Festival 2026, marking a significant milestone in the organization’s global growth.
The one-day summit will be held at the Leonardo Royal Hotel London Tower Bridge and is being curated by George E. Osborn, editor of Video Games Industry Memo and author of the forthcoming book Power Play.
The wider London Games Festival runs from April 13–19, bringing international developers, publishers, media, and cultural leaders to the city.
Founded in 2004, Games for Change has spent more than two decades promoting the use of games and immersive media to drive social impact, education, and civic engagement. For those unaware, Games for Change is widely regarded as akin to the Sundance Film Festival, but for the game industry.
The organization operates a growing network of international chapters and is best known for its flagship annual festival in New York City, which has helped position it as a global hub for games with purpose.
The London Summit will bring together developers, researchers, educators, policymakers, and social innovators for a full day of talks, panels, and roundtables focused on how games can be used to address real-world challenges. The event is being delivered in partnership with London Games Festival and supported by a newly formed advisory board made up of leaders from across games, culture, and social impact.
The advisory board includes Jude Ower MBE of Planet Play, James Delaney of Blockworks, Sarah Ticho of Hatsumi and the XR Health Alliance, Phil Stuart of Preloaded, and Deborah Mensah-Bonsu of Supercell. According to the organizers, the group was selected for its long-standing support of the Games for Change mission and its role in connecting the movement to the UK and European games communities.
“London Games Festival provides the perfect platform for our UK debut,” Susanna Pollack, president of Games for Change, said in a prepared statement. “This partnership allows us to connect our global community with London’s uniquely diverse talent and ideas, as well as voices from across the UK and Europe, to build meaningful new partnerships around games for impact.”
Speaker submissions for the Games for Change London Summit are now open and will close on February 26. The organizers are also offering partnership opportunities for companies and organizations interested in supporting the event. Tickets are currently on sale through the official summit website, with additional details about the program, speakers, and agenda to be announced in the coming months.