Helen�Burnill currently serves the Tonic Games Group, parent organization of Mediatonic,�Ltd.�(Gears POP!, Hatoful Boyfriend, Fall Guys, Yahtzee With Buddies)�as the vice president of business development and marketing.� Burnill has helped shape and steer the company from an independent studio of 40 developers in the United Kingdom to a 250-strong international organization.�Listed as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Women in the industry by GamesIndustry.biz, she also holds a seat on the board of the United Kingdom Interactive Entertainment (UKIE) trade body and was awarded the MCV businesswoman of the year accolade in 2018.��
Existing in the In-between: The Growth of AA/iii Games and What it Means for the Future
With ever-growing AAA budgets and Live-Ops becoming the norm not the exception, building new IPs at scale has become increasingly high-risk. As console content makes its way to a mobile audience near seamlessly, and new contenders such as Google�s Stadia entering the fray, the walls between platforms are crumbling.� Rapid market consolidation and developer-focused publishing options are beginning to grow in strength and number, with former indie developers forming highly successful publishing labels, while AAA powerhouses increasingly edge towards that space between: not quite AAA� but not quite �indie�. We�ll discuss the shifting landscape of platforms, business models and commercial trends -- and what they mean for game creators and publishers of across platform traditions at all scales: indie, AAA, and �space between� alike.