Meet our Festival of Play exhibitors

Festival of Play, in association with Electronic Arts, returned for another successful year.

In July 2023, we brought the activity-packed school trip to two locations: HOST Salford on 6 July and the Library of Birmingham on 12 July. We welcomed over 200 students and 35 teachers to these events.

We kicked off each day with a roaring start. TikTok influencer Ben Black delivered the keynote at both events, getting the students excited about finding their own paths, and the careers potential within the video games industry. Lots of the students were very excited to meet him, so it was aspirational for them to hear from him.

We had a packed programme of brilliant workshop sessions and talks led by Outright Games, Scirra, EVERFI, Tt Games, BOWIEtheHERO and Cyber Choices on a range of engaging topics from game design, QA testing, esports commentating and cyber safety.

Enter the Festival of Play Exhibitor Area

Students were able to get hands-on with some brilliant games in our Exhibitor Area, where they were encouraged to ‘network’ with the industry professionals and ask them questions about their careers. Meet our exciting line-up of exhibitors below...

Codemasters has been making iconic games for over 30 years. Once the UK’s largest independent games developer and publisher, and now a world-leader in racing simulation. Codemasters is a proud member of the EA SPORTS™ family; the Festival of Play is brought to you in association with Electronic Arts.

Our Festival attendees went head-to-head to cross the finish line in F1® 23.
Be the last to brake in EA SPORTS™ F1® 23, the official video game of the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship™, featuring all the updated 2023 cars with the official F1® line-up of your favourite 20 drivers and 10 teams.

Digital Schoolhouse partner Outright Games has established itself as a global leader in the world of video game publishing, having delivered high quality and engaging games that feature the most beloved global family favourite franchises. Outright Games work with some of the biggest names in entertainment like Sony Pictures, Dreamworks, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network to bring their stories and characters to life.

Outright Games brought a big bundle of games for our learners to play at the Festival, including:
DC’s Justice League: Cosmic Chaos
Unite against chaos, in an all-new adventure where the Justice League go head-to-head with Mr. Mxyzptlk, a powerful prankster from the 5th Dimension. Have the freedom to play your way in action-packed missions, gruelling fights and daring challenges!
PAW Patrol: Grand Prix
The PAW Patrol are on their fastest mission yet in PAW Patrol: Grand Prix – To win the Pup Cup! Where no track is too big, no racer too small! Race around Adventure Bay, Jake’s Snowboarding Resort and the Jungle as the PAW Patrol pups and up-to 4 players at once – but look out for the obstacles left by mischievous Mayor Humdinger!

Check out our workshop Part-Baked Games: Chef’s edition, developed in partnership with Outright Games, which introduces students to the concept of prototyping; both on paper and digitally. Learners begin by creating a paper prototype for their own version of Gigantosaurus and then a digital prototype based on these ideas.

TT Games has developed numerous hit LEGO® videogame franchises with cherished brands including Batman, Harry Potter, Marvel Super Heroes and Indiana Jones, as well as popular titles such as LEGO® Lord of the Rings, LEGO® Jurassic World, LEGO® Dimensions™, LEGO® Worlds and many, many more. Across all of their studios the TT Games teams are dedicated to crafting the highest quality entertainment for children and players of all ages.

At the Festival of Play, our attendees had a blast in a galaxy far, far away with LEGO® Star Wars™: The Skywalker Saga.
Play through all nine Star Wars™ saga films in a brand-new LEGO® video game unlike any other. Experience fun-filled adventures, whimsical humour, and the freedom to fully immerse yourself in the Star Wars™ universe like never before.

The folks at Team17 are game players and developers who love fun, quality games. They're an independent games label and creative partner for studios around the world that leads and nurtures without compromising their independent spirit. Over the past 31 years, Team17 has developed and published some of the most popular and recognisable series in video and mobile games. With 110+ titles in their portfolio there is something for everyone.

Visitors at the Festival of Play put their chaotic cooperation to the test in:
Overcooked!
A chaotic couch co-op cooking game for 1-4 players. Working as a team, you and your fellow chefs must prepare, cook and serve up a variety of tasty orders before the baying customers storm out in a huff.
Golf With Your Friends
An entertaining, challenging, multiplayer mini golf game for up to 12 players. A mixture of public and player servers allows you to play with friends no matter where they are in the world!
Moving Out 2
Moving Out is back and wackier than ever, and now with online play! Use your moving skills across brand new dimensions and some old favourites. Help rebuild Smooth Moves and become an all-star F.A.R.T. (Furniture Arrangement & Relocation Technician)!

PQube is a diverse team of creative, professional and welcoming people who are inspired by the games they develop and the developers who they closely collaborate with. They have a strong heritage of publishing award-winning games. They publish between 20-30 games every year.

At the Festival of Play, students had a great time playing:
Curse of the Sea Rats
Embark on an epic, hand-animated, ‘ratoidvania’ adventure, where your crew has been turned into rats by a pirate witch! Explore a rich non-linear world full of action platforming, challenging bosses, and unlock unique abilities - either alone or in local co-op!
Potion Permit
Moonbury's residents need healing, and you're the best chemist around! With your trusty tools, a brewing cauldron, and a canine companion at your side, you'll need to diagnose symptoms, gather ingredients, brew potions, and cure ailments in this open-ended sim RPG.

Multi-award winning EdTech games studio, Brainspark Games is building an eduverse of free, culturally nuanced, 3D-open world, immersive educational mobile games for young people aged 7-13. Fostering a love of learning through play, condense 12 weeks of term-time learning into a few hours of fun, fast gameplay.

At the Festival of Play, learners were introduced to Subject Sparks, a series of free games fully aligned with Key Stages 2 and 3 of the UK national curriculum, covering subjects such as Art, Biology, Careers, Design, Enterprise & Innovation, History, Languages, Mathematics, and more.

The team at Fish Bladder Games have a diverse mix of experience, encompassing AR, VR, digital health solutions, fitness entrepreneurship and even the British Army. Observing the positive impact that play had on children's motivation, the team explored combining video games and being active through play.

Our attendees at the Festival got their blood pumping with Planet Possible.
Swerving, ducking an jumping to collect resources, children adventure through an amazing world in Planet Possible, an incredible new way for children to do more physical activity at school and home. The more they play, the more resources they collect, contributing to a cumulative school total. Schools can also compete against each other! 

Quiztal Games is a brand new studio creating exciting new game experiences. The team is developing their first game concept demo.

At the Festival of Play, visitors put their knowledge to the test in .
A mind-stretching, collaborative quizcapade created to be experienced with friends, family and colleagues, either in person or online. Be the heroes of your own knowledge quest in this choose-your own-adventure game, with hundreds of different ways to play and many allies and enemies to meet along the way.