As GamesBeat begins its 2026 event season, we’re proud to announce the latest addition to our upcoming Summit event: The Boss Mode Awards!
The Boss Mode Awards are a special part of our event honoring women in the games, media and technology industries. Following the vibes of our Boss Mode interview series focusing on exceptional women in the games industry — from the legends to the up-and-comers and the CEOs— the Boss Mode Awards will be open to public nomination, with the winners to be announced at GamesBeat Summit in May. Sponsors for the awards include Webtoons, k-ID, and others to be announced soon.
What is Boss Mode?
Women Driving the Future is a groundbreaking new series by GamesBeat, led by Rachel Kaser, that finally puts the spotlight where it belongs — on the women transforming the business of games, entertainment, and tech, and the industries it touches. It’s the B2B POV, where women leaders will provide critical business insights you need to make more informed decisions, and an inside look into how women leaders driving the future are navigating their business strategy.
From tech to healthcare, entertainment to retail, gaming is no longer a silo — it’s the connective tissue of the modern economy. And women are driving that evolution. In this ongoing series, we go beyond titles to showcase women whose influence is shaping the future of gaming and the industries orbiting it. This isn’t a moment. This is a movement. New chapter. New era. Welcome to BOSS Mode.
The Awards
For the 2026 Summit, we’re introducing three awards:
- The Boss Mode Woman of the Year Award: With this award, GamesBeat honors a woman who has significantly influenced the industry over the past year.
- The Future Boss Rising Star Award: This award honors an up-and-coming woman in the industry who has managed to make a splash in a short time.
- The Final Boss Award for Lifetime Achievement: This award is for the legends who have been in the games industry for years and have made a lasting positive impact on the space.
The Boss Mode Awards are open to all individuals who work in gaming, adjacent to gaming or in an industry that is influenced by gaming. Anyone is eligible to be nominated, as long as they are not professionally affiliated with GamesBeat.
Readers can nominate anyone they wish — except themselves — and a committee of judges will select a winner from the nominees with the most votes. GamesBeat will honor the winners onstage at GamesBeat Summit, May 18-19 2026.
As gaming and interactive entertainment become elements of every tech and media company’s core strategies, women leaders are at the forefront of this change. The mission of the Boss Mode: Women Leaders in Games, Entertainment, Media & Technology Awards is to put a spotlight on the real impact that female leaders have made across the most influential industry in the world.
“Gaming is the connective tissue between AI, technology, Hollywood, music, sports, finance, and beyond — it doesn’t just reflect culture, it creates it. What begins in a game evolves into culture, and what sets strategy in gaming increasingly sets strategy for companies everywhere,” said GamesBeat CEO Gina Joseph. “Boss Mode recognizes the women — from founders and investors to creators, operators, and technologists — who are driving the business of this interactive economy and shaping what comes next.”