Venue: Waterloo (further details announcing soon!)
Dates: September 16th
Website: This one!
IRL is an entirely new MCV/DEVELOP industry event. It’s been a long time since we’ve all been able to gather en masse and we think late mid September will be the right time for such a gathering.
This is not the MCV/DEVELOP Awards. Instead IRL will be a more casual, more inclusive event, designed so that anyone and everyone in the industry can attend, meet colleagues, network, and applaud the efforts that have been made by so many over the last year and more.
To that end we’ve secured a brilliant central London venue, right next to Waterloo station. It’s a big blank canvas (in brick) upon which we can craft an event to celebrate the industry. We did consider venues further north, but London remains the UK’s best travel hub for most and an opportunity for many to make a combined trip.
To make the journey worthwhile, IRL will consist of both a casual afternoon meetup, if you want a quiet chat with colleagues and partners, and then a more vibrant evening event with fantastic street food & a well-stocked bar (both to suit all tastes), plus plenty to keep you entertained until late.
All that said, it’s about reconnecting with people, so even for the evening event, there will be quieter spaces (or as quiet as they can be) for those who just want to sit and chat.
In the middle of the evening, we will be giving out just a handful of IRL awards, with individual winners being recognised for their successes and sacrifices across the last year, as well as applauding CSR and diversity initiatives, plus charitable efforts. We aim simply to show the world that games, and the people in games, are a huge force for good.
To make it inclusive to everyone in the industry, we’re looking to hold down ticket prices for IRL to something reasonable – the cost of a good night out in London basically.
And to that end we’re looking for a handful of major partners to support the event. Please contact alex.boucher@biz-media.co.uk if you’re interested in supporting an industry-celebrating event with at least 500 attendees from every walk of the industry.
